I got the D7000 for Christmas came with a 18-105mm lens, vr lens, a 55-300mm lens, a SB-400 flash, and a tripod. I only used point and shoot cameras. I am so scared with all these camera features. I am in the U.S Army. I said I should pick a hobby maybe photography did not know I would get all this.. I played with it once so far and only took auto pictures. Any pointers on how or what I could take pictures of as a very beginner. Everyone with DSLR,s at work are jealous. What camera program does good editing? I use Mac that's not expensive. I am getting calls to borrow camera or come take pictures I don't know how to use this thing I bought the book David Busch,s Nikon D7000 it's thick . My niece bought me a camera bag and 2 spare battery's for it they are not nikon battery's will it hurt the camera? Any advice or help for this very beginner photographer. Oh I thought it was neat with the remote control taking pictures of myself on the tripod. THANKS

Welcome to Nikonians and to photography. You have been given a very nice camera that is suitable for a wide range of specialty interests for photos. A very good place to start is starting David's book. Have the camera by your side and try experiments as features or principles are described. There are many features which might seem overwhelming at first but luckily you do not have to use any of them for high quality images since it has a very smart Auto Mode that is quite useful even after you are an expert.
There are two things to learn about, the camera itself and general photographic principles. The fundamentals of light, optics, and color as they pertain to photographic principles are the same for any camera. Investing little time learning about those subjects will pay off by allowing you quickly to adapt to your new camera or any camera you pickup. An excellent non-technical book, and videos, is Bryon Peterson's "Understanting Exposure". It was written for film cameras years ago but is still a great beginning book that explains it in easy to grasp writing style.
Reading that book, at least the frist few chapters and then start David's book will give you a big head start to understanding the terms and features described in David Busch's book on the D7000.
Digital is so fast to learn because you get immediate feedback by looking at the results of an experiment instantly. A feature you are reading about can be tried out and it costs nothing to shoot lots of frames experimenting. Another advantage of digital is built-in automation that can be a good learning tool. Setting non-automatic mode parameters might give unexpected result until you learn about the relationships between light, time and human perception. You can switch it to auto mode, take the same scene photo and compare what you were telling the camera to do, in a manual mode, and what the camera calculated what the parameters should have been for proper exposure.
Another valuable resource is Nikonians. The community has a lot of accumulated expertise in all Nikon's and photography in general. Ask any question and you will get responses that are polite and informative.
One resourse that a lot of people overlook comes packed in the box; that owner's manual. Reading it not only discusses specific features but some general use and why. It is not as comprehensive as the book you already have but it is small, fits in your camera case and has a great deal of information in about all the features. One major advantage in having the manual close by is when asking a question on the forum, every person who has the same camera has the same manual so can refer you to specific pages for an explanation.
Good luck and have fun with your new exciting hobby!
Stan
St Petersburg Russia

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Thanks Stan

I will use your advise I been using stuff and using my point and shoot, then take the same picture with the D7000 it is a big difference on detail love the outcome so far.

You asked about a program that does good editing and said you have a Mac. I would recommend you start with iPhoto, which came with your Mac. It does all the basics very well, is easy to use, and you already have it.

Once you have gotten past the basics, if you want to do more on the computer, go to our Forum titled "Digital Post-Processing & Workflow". Depending on what you want to do, you can get into specific dialogues as to whether your next piece of software should be Aperture, Lightroom, Photoshop, or something else.

But don't sell iPhoto short, it should be able to handle your needs quite nicely while you focus on learning to take advantage of your new D7000.

Mike

Thanks I took a few practice shots it is pretty user friendly. I love the crop feature.

Hello Stan,
You are a truly helpful person. It's good to read a response from someone who is very knowledgeable and expresses himself respectfully.
Take care,
Pierre

Pierre E. Faubert

Bryan Peterson's book is a very good starting point and only one of many books, articles and videos about the D7000. This is a very popular camera. Also, see if there is a camera club where you're stationed. That's another great source of learning photography, but the best teacher is going out every day and taking photos. Don't be discouraged if they don't turn out perfectly. Each of those photos are valuable learning tools to help you improve. Why did it turn out dark? Why did it turn out too light? Each photo has EXIF data that tells you about how the photo was taken.

There are a lot of features and settings for the D7000, but you can go slow in learning them. If you forget what you've set, there is an easy reset procedure to get you back to default settings. I don't believe there is a combination of setting that can actually hurt the camera. At worst, you'll get a bad photo.

I would stick with the Nikon camera battery for now to keep everything simple. You can probably take 1,000 digital photos per charge, but I would recharge at the end of a shoot so you have a full battery the next day.

Good luck with your new D7000.

Larry

"Red is gray and yellow white, but we decide which is right
....and which is an illusion"

Moody Blues - Nights in White Satin

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About the third party batteries, I've used a LOT of third party batteries over the years. Some of them would last longer than the OEM batteries, some not so much. I would treat them the same as the Nikon batteries.

You always want to have a spare battery with you when you shoot.

Mike

Thanks just ordered 2 backups.

The only thing I will be afraid of on this camera is it will be out dated in a couple years like iPhones and iPads they are always releasing a successor. I hope this is something I could hold on too for a while. I been researching this Nikon seems to have way better value and don't depreciate like Canons. I have a friend who is envy of me he has a Canon T3 not within a year they had a T3I now a T4I. So I am happy was at the mall and the D90 still holds a stable price. I just touchy on electronics .

>The only thing I will be afraid of on this camera is it will
>be out dated in a couple years like iPhones and iPads they are
>always releasing a successor. I hope this is something I could
>hold on too for a while. I been researching this Nikon seems
>to have way better value and don't depreciate like Canons. I
>have a friend who is envy of me he has a Canon T3 not within a
>year they had a T3I now a T4I. So I am happy was at the mall
>and the D90 still holds a stable price. I just touchy on
>electronics .

I have a new D7000 and am not worried about this at all with it.

I have read a lot of posts on various forums about this recently. Stuff like people worried about buying a D7000 because they are afraid a D7100 is right around the corner. Our cameras will still work the same as they did the day before a new camera comes out. If you try to keep up with the latest and greatest, you will be out a lot of money and at a beginner/novice level your images will probably look the same. That money would be better spent on lenses, classes, and gas to go shoot more photos!

There is no magic camera coming out that will make you a better photographer, is there? What you put in to the shot with regards to composition, lighting, and settings is a lot more important.

-James

>The only thing I will be afraid of on this camera is it will
>be out dated in a couple years like iPhones and iPads they are
>always releasing a successor. I hope this is something I could
>hold on too for a while. I been researching this Nikon seems
>to have way better value and don't depreciate like Canons. I
>have a friend who is envy of me he has a Canon T3 not within a
>year they had a T3I now a T4I. So I am happy was at the mall
>and the D90 still holds a stable price. I just touchy on
>electronics .

While being afraid of this? Don't you think it is normal to invent something new, better, prettier or so. As long as your camera works fine, you'll have not only decent, but very good or excellent photos (this will come with experience, of course). If you iPhone works fine and you can listen to the music, will you replace it only to have newer version that is probably not significantly better and the music is the same? If your camera gives you satisfactory photos, will you replace it just because there is a new model around the corner? No way!!!

>I got the D7000 for Christmas came with a 18-105mm lens, vr
>lens, a 55-300mm lens, a SB-400 flash, and a tripod.

Nice kit!

>I am so scared with all these
>camera features.

I recommend you give your self plenty of time to get used to the equipment. What I mean by plenty of time is a good year or two! It will take a while before all of the controls become instinctive and you automatically know what settings to adjust for the various shooting conditions you find yourself in and image outcomes you are seeking.

At the same time, shoot many, many images and experiment a lot. The real time feedback teaches plenty.

Cheers,
Peter

I don't borrow mine out but do go to more doos, is that even a word, because of that camera. I tell people who ask about weddings that I am just a guy with a camera not a professional. The camera doesn't disappoint. Some pros even have the same camera. It's all about the right place at the right time.
Jim
D7K

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Nice gift.

I picked up a D5100 back in July and am just learning how to use it, and I take lots of pictures. Depending on how much time you spend with your camera you should expect it to take a while just to get past the basics of "auto-everything".

Reading is good. The Internet is full of helpful (and not so helpful) information and how to's.

I decided to focus on one aspect of photography at a time and learn that aspect, e.g. how to use aperture priority setting. Play with it, take lots of pictures. Look at the ones you like, what did you do?

BTW non-Nikon batteries may or may not work in your camera, some do some don't, since yours were gifts you can try them out and if they work, grand. I was flabbergasted when I went to buy a second battery ~ $85 on sale! Ended up buying a bundle with a bag and extra's that was on an open box clearance for $50, it included a $85 battery.

Have fun and keep at it.

FKD
Alberta
CANADA

Nikon D5100
AF-S 35mm DX F/1.8G
AF-S 55-300 DX VR Zoom Lense
AF-S 18-55 DX VR Kit lens
SB 700 flash
Adobe Elements & Premier 10
Wacom Capture Tablet

So far I so protective over it just like my IPad,. I will not loan this out unless the person is with me .

Regarding software, Nikon publishes programs that have some advantages. One of them being free and included in your box. ViewNX2 is compatible with Mac up to Mountain Lion 10.8 I believe. You can also download a 60 day trial version of the more comprehensive Nikon Capture NX2 editing suite. Its main advantage is that it can read more information contained in each image file and allow adjustments that become embedded in the file itself. Other companies do not have the access to this information but they make an educated guess, sometimes very well, other times not.
It is best to forget all about other cameras, particularly new models or the search for newer and newer models before mastering the old one is one of the reason most people do not progress as quickly than if they just stuck with a good competent camera and learned it thoroughly. Creative use of any competent camera produced in recent years is more closely related to high quality and highly compelling images than any features.
The D7000 will never be obsolete and at the current state of the art, is not bettered by any DX camera. If you fail to get your photos on the cover of National Geographic or Vogue, it is not because of lack of new features. Masters who can create those images just happen to have high end gear, but they do not create great work BECAUSE of the high end gear.
Your camera is capable of taking any photo you see on photo-art galleries or winning any photo contest. If you do create some great images, for the first several years it is more likely attributed to luck. That is the case with anyone, if great images were easy, everyone would make them, but they don't.
The common use of any camera is to capture memories of life events and travel which can be done with any camera or cell phone but you have a tool that is capable of much more if you choose to get into it with passion. So, don't envy those with newer camera's, they are just put back further in their learning curve. Envy their talent if they create something really desirable but not their gear.
Stan
St Petersburg Russia

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

One way to learn, is to use the Auto or Scenes, and then look at what the camera decided for taking the shot (Shutter Speed, Aperture, ISO, etc) and just start getting used to it!

Another good resource I like is Scott Kelby's Digital Photography series (4 Volumes right now).

If you like taking one kind of shots (i.e. Portraits, Landscapes, etc), you could look for books on that kind of shot. I have found that bookstores rarely have the books in stock, but can order them in.

Visit my Nikonians gallery.

Welcome aboard and good luck with you new camera. I have a couple of suggestions for you. 1.) Take out the camera and take lots of pictures trying the different modes of the camera (auto,P,S,A save M for later). You can even try the different scene modes. This will help you get a feel for the camera and the images it produces in various situations. 2.) Read, read, read, here at nikonians (if you are interested in a particular type of photography, say landscapes, be sure to go to that forum here and read and ask questions) and the books that have been suggested to you. 3.) Take a class at a local school, adult ed programs often have these for relatively low fees, taught by an "expert/professional". Concentrate on the basics of photography, once you know the fundamentals of exposure for example, the buttons and features almost become self explanatory. Without understanding exposure the manual and much of the information you read about here will all be in a foreign language.

I have found it easiest to try and "master" or at least become somewhat proficient in one area, landscapes, portraits, action, etc. before trying to learn another area.

Give yourself a break, I mean do not be hard on yourself if it takes some serious amount of time, maybe a year and 20 or 30 thousand images before you really start to feel comfortable or reasonably proficient. Maybe you will catch on quickly and will not need nearly that much time but if it does take you that long or longer do not get discouraged.

Good luck.

Marc
There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer.-Ansel Adams

http://500px.com/WhatISaw
http://kuzzy.smugmug.com

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