Disney In The Dark - Photo Tribute to Disney Magic at Night

[MmeLeota]

Yodiwan and Mousekedude - I love those shots!!!

Thanks IC! That was one of those "mistake" pictures that turned out to be a fave.

Question for all my fellow photogs...we are thinking about entering the world of DSLRs. We are looking for a decent camera that is very user-friendly (as this will be our first DSLR and are totally clueless) but is also budget-friendly. We've been looking at the Nikon D3100, and most reviews we've read label it as a fantastic beginner's camera. Any suggestions would be most helpful...

[disneylizzy]

Very nice pics, everyone!
Now, I've got one I'd like to share. Y'all know how I've always appreciated the "artsy" ones that capture certain moods...? Well, how about this: you can't truly appreciate the natural "wilderness" feel of Fort Wilderness without seeing a full moon through the trees....

(In my best Transylvanian accent) Children of the Night! What music they make!

LOL! You guys kill me.

Amazing fireworks shots yodiwan. What kind of camera do you use? My fireworks shots tend to blur.

[Mousekedude]

Yodiwan and Mousekedude - I love those shots!!!

Thanks IC! That was one of those "mistake" pictures that turned out to be a fave.

Question for all my fellow photogs...we are thinking about entering the world of DSLRs. We are looking for a decent camera that is very user-friendly (as this will be our first DSLR and are totally clueless) but is also budget-friendly. We've been looking at the Nikon D3100, and most reviews we've read label it as a fantastic beginner's camera. Any suggestions would be most helpful...

Thanks, MmeLeota! And guess what! All the pictures you've seen us post from our December 2010 trip up till now have been taken with the Nikon D3100! It is truly an amazing camera. Of course, we have more than just the "package" lens that comes with it. We also bought two other specialty lenses (an additional $600 or so...) to round out its capabilities. But even with the package lens, you can get really great shots. I highly recommend this camera to anyone who knows anything about photography but can't afford the super-high-dollar equipment. We're definitely satisfied, and will keep adding other lenses and accessories (remote flash, etc.) as we can afford to. The only thing I don't like about it is that since it is designed as a "super-user-friendly-beginner-level camera", there are some limitations to what you can do with the settings. For example, if you want to put the emphasis on adjusting the F-stop or the shutter speed individually, it is designed to detect and automatically compensate for whatever the conditions are, and will automatically adjust the rest of the settings according to what it thinks you're trying to do. So you can't set the shutter speed and the aperature individually at the same time... you can only set one or the other, and the camera will automatically change the other to what it thinks is best for the conditions... within the limits of the lens you happen to have on it at the time. So it can be kinda frustrating for the techie types (like me) who want full control over all the settings just for experimenting purposes, but the bottom line is that if you figure out how to use the camera the way it's designed, you can't fail to take totally awesome pictures.

[disneylizzy]

f-stop, shutter speed, aperture.........its all greek to me!

[Mousekedude]

f-stop, shutter speed, aperture.........its all greek to me!

In that case, I guarantee that you would love the D3100! It has enough built-in "how-to" guidance features to make even a rank amateur's pictures look good! And if you do know anything about how to take good pics, then... whoah, Nelly! You can do great with it!

[mindflipper]

f-stop, shutter speed, aperture.........its all greek to me!

More like "all geek to me".

[Amy]

f-stop, shutter speed, aperture.........its all greek to me!

More like "all geek to me".

but geek = good!

[MmeLeota]

Ok...I'm gonna say it...holy crap on a stick!!!!! I'm sure if I had gone back to old posts I would have found that tidbit of info Mousekedude, but thanks for letting me in on it. We've already been looking so much so that we have decided to try and get a "package" that includes not only the basic lens, but at least the 55-200 VR lens as well. I'm a zoom girl, so I want to get my hands on whatever additional lenses I can (like the 70-300 VR). It appears to be the kind of camera where I can just keep adding accessories to it. I want to explore the wonderful world of filters and hoods and wide angle & fisheye lenses as well...

I was just curious as to what cameras other fellow Subbers use. Thanks for the input!

[mindflipper]

I use Canon - both DSLR, SLR, and DVD camcorder.

[Sleepy90]

Joe has a Canon DSLR, he just got a new lens so we will see how that works out.

[Mousekedude]

Ok...I'm gonna say it...holy crap on a stick!!!!! I'm sure if I had gone back to old posts I would have found that tidbit of info Mousekedude, but thanks for letting me in on it. We've already been looking so much so that we have decided to try and get a "package" that includes not only the basic lens, but at least the 55-200 VR lens as well. I'm a zoom girl, so I want to get my hands on whatever additional lenses I can (like the 70-300 VR). It appears to be the kind of camera where I can just keep adding accessories to it. I want to explore the wonderful world of filters and hoods and wide angle & fisheye lenses as well...

I was just curious as to what cameras other fellow Subbers use. Thanks for the input!

Oh, yeah... you definitely need to get the 55-200 VR! That's my favorite out of all the lenses! Of course it limits you on close-ups and low-light conditions (lowest F-stop capability on that one is only 4.5), but I'm a "zoom-guy" too, so I like what it does when pulling in medium-to-long-range subjects. Naturally we got shrouds and filters, and tripods, and remote "clicker" and stuff too, but there are so many other cool accessories I'd like to get some day when I can afford them (I soooooo want the 70-300 VR, but I'm not about to rob a bank to get it... ).

Canon's are great cameras too... there's always been a rivalry between Nikon and Canon, but the truth is they're both about equal, and they're both the best in the biz.

[mindflipper]

Hmmmmmm, maybe I should get Mousekedude to show me how to use my camera. I basically leave it on auto most of the time...

[MmeLeota]

After the dust settles around here, we want to buckle down and seriously look at it. (if we have to put it on a payment plan, then so be it) We wanted to get it before the expo next month, but that will be impossible to do as there are too many things happening right now. So hopefully when we return, we will be able to truly shop for our camera.
Plus, I want to have it in my grubby little hands so I can start learning all the nuances of "real" photography...I hope to take at least one photography class.

[Amy]

After the dust settles around here, we want to buckle down and seriously look at it. (if we have to put it on a payment plan, then so be it) We wanted to get it before the expo next month, but that will be impossible to do as there are too many things happening right now. So hopefully when we return, we will be able to truly shop for our camera.
Plus, I want to have it in my grubby little hands so I can start learning all the nuances of "real" photography...I hope to take at least one photography class.

A photography class is good, but the best thing is to experiment and take lots and lots of pictures

[mindflipper]

...or do a pre-meet-up with M-dude one weekend before the subsonic meet-up. How far away is LV from Houston?