Nikon D70 guide?

[Globetrotter]

I'm finding the D70 manual is way over my head! Has anyone found an easy to understand guide for beginners? For example, I took pics in the snow and they are all way too dark. I want to learn how to prevent these sorts of problems.

I'm not sure whether I need one just for the D70, or general digital SLRs.

Kris

[nanf]

Your example sounds more like a photography issue than a camera issue. If you have a black subject, does it look grey?
If your a beginner in photography then getting an intro to photography book might answer alot of your questions.

[californiagirl]

It sounds like what you need is a good general photography book. Let me look up some resources when I get home, so I can remember the names of my favorites.

The problem you're having there is that the camera is trying to guess how much light it should let in. It figures, hey, in general the stuff I care about should be about mid-grey. So it lets in just enough light to make things about as light as mid-grey. If it's making that judgment based on, say, your average caucasian face, that's going to come out great. Point it at your dalmation, and everything averages out. Point it at snow, or a big black dog, and it's going to give you some nutty results trying to make it come out mid-grey. So you have to override it, and say, no, I want it to be brighter (or darker) than mid-grey. You needed to add exposure for the snow. This isn't a digital camera thing, it's an all cameras thing, and the manual will tell you *how* to override and add exposure, but not why or when. (Quick cheat on some cameras: if it has an icon for a picture mode that shows a bright sunny day at the beach, that will add exposure, because sand with sun on it is also brighter than mid-grey. Try that one for snowy days too. I think the D-70 is probably too oriented towards manual control to offer this kind of mode, but I use a D-100 so I can't be sure.)

Another hack that may help, depending on your shooting style, is to change the way it determines the exposure. By default the camera is set to contemplate the entire scene. If you are good about getting the focus point set where you want it, change it to base exposure on the focus point, not the whole scene. Then, even on a sunny day, if you get somebody's face, it will expose for that, without factoring in the snow. The snow will be very, very white. It helps if you make sure that the thing you're focussing on takes up a good bit of space in the picture (always a good idea to start with).

[Globetrotter]

In general, the pictures turn out darker. I've heard that digital SLRs tend to err on the darker side, so as not to overexpose and lose detail. This means I have to manually brighten all the pictures - not fun.

Kris

[Globetrotter]

Wow, are you a pro? Or prosumer? :)

We're going on a big vacation soon, so I wish I had figured out all this stuff earlier. That's a great point! The D70 does have the little "modes" though not the one for bright sunlight :(

I would love to hear your book recommendations, as long as they're easy to read. Thanks,

Kris

[JLiebCamm]

WE just bought a D70 and bought a DVD that has a tutorial on about it. I have only watched the first 20 minutes of it but I really like it so far.