I realize that Renderosity doesnt promote any specific camera brands and such and such. (See I have read the news and views and tos and all that good stuff! :P) But I have several questions that I would be much appreciative for a professional's opinions on. For the past 3 years I've been using a Minolta Maxxum QTSI SLR camera with the standard lens it came with. It was a christmas present and I never really expected to fall into the hobby like I did. The camera has been great. Considering I've never had a photo class and dont have the slightest idea about photography on a professional basis, it was excellent for me as in being easily used. Recently I upgraded to a new lens (Minolta 70-210mm F/4.5-4.6 II Zoom lens ---- whatever that means) And wow! I cant get over the difference it made. I'm using it now to work on the November contest and I'll post some stuff soon. Now my question is if a lens made that much of a difference than I am completely in the dark. Is the lens I have a decent one? Also do certain brands of cameras come in better for certain photos? Minolta is all I've ever owned. In the photo forum people's humble non-promoting opinion what brands do you perfer? :) Also, I would love to have a negative scanner but I'm not too sure about the tech end of things. They seem to be quite pricey and I hate to blow quite a bit of money on a hobby. Is there a certain scanner to start off with perhaps? I really dont have the spare time to enroll in a photo course, can anyone recemend a book that might come in handy? (Slynky go easy on the sarcasm Im sure will come :P) Oh and btw I read the Learning Center's piece on photo lighting and found it very insightful! Keep the tutorials coming. ps sorry this post turned into a novel :P

Hi Maygen If you've read any of the really old threads, you'll find me being VERY dopey about things like f-stops (sh'dup, Ry!) and other techie things, coz I had a point-&-shoot digital. Lately, however, I've been forced to learn coz I've got a 1/2 decent digi with manual features and want to know how to use them. So, I've hit my local library and started reading a bit, and got to admit while they are a little out-dated, I've found John Hedgecoe's books to be a big help. Quite a good laugh at 70's fashions, too! There are also a couple of others too, but as I'm in the loft I'll post what they are tomorrow - climbing down ladders at 01:00 isn't my strong point, never mind clambering back up!!! Hope this helps (",) H

Maygen Don't worry about the brand of your camera. You can take an excellent photograph with a disposable or even a pinhole camera (a pinhole doesn't even have a lens, see?). Brand name debates are just dumb, IMO. Your camera accepts different lenses, and to me those lenses are like the different gears on a bicycle--meant to be used. A short lens (wide angle of view) is good for some tasks (landscapes and interiors, for starters), long lenses (telephotos) are essential for other tasks (wildlife and paparazzi work). Your zoom lens (focal lenght 70-210) is in the sort of "short telephoto range". The lens your camera came with might be a 50 mm. It should say on the lens. 50 mm is considered "normal" for 35 mm cameras. The other numbers you listed (4.5-4.6, should the second number be 5.6, perhaps?) have to do with the diameter of the shutter when it's open, AKA the aperture. A smaller number is a bigger aperture. A bigger aperture lets in more light, so you can use a faster shutter. Faster shutter generally means sharper photo, and is also good for moving subjects, of course (freezes the action). If your camera is fully automatic, it is making the decisions about aperture and shutter speed for you. If you like the results then it's making good decisions; but if it has manual overrides, then you are missing out on some creative possibilities... So. You need to know about lenses in general: www.Photo.Net has good tutorial types of things that explain about lenses and lens optics and so forth. Probably a little technical, but...free and fairly short, 10 or 15 pages. Um. Just a thought. Ansel Adams book "The Camera", costs about 17 bucks at Barnes and Noble, is very clear, and is not long. Unlike this post, which is very long, and probably not clear. Sorry! Sue

Welcome to the group. The same thing happened to me in 1953 in the Army. Mom sent me a check to buy a camera. The check bought an Argus C-3.(talk about dating yourself). Then added a used Exacta and a 4x5 Busch Pressman. Just keep adding to your knowledge. There are some web sites for reference try http://www.photography.about.com ,and the book cited is excellent. The thing to develop is a good eye for composition and color. You get that by observation of art, other photographers work and a little book time on what to look for in images.

Thanks for all the info guys! I took a look at a few of the sites and I'm going to shop around for those books. Alot of great advice here and its nice to get several different view points at once. Thanks for taking the time to answer this thread. I'll hit the books and keep an eye on the learning center.