Camera Labs

Hi,

I just wanted to add my two cents worth and say "thanks" to you guys at Camera Labs. I've just stepped into the world of SLR photography (in preparation for some world travelling my wife and I are planning in 2008) and your reviews/comparisons for the D80 & 400D were invaluable in helping me choose what to go for.

I went with the Nikon D80 plus the Nikon AF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G IF ED lens and have been gorging myself on the world of manual options…

Anyway, thanks and keep up the great work!

Ben

P.S. I’m aware the world of photography is very much a mix of the creative eye with science. If anyone has any recommendations for books/websites that might help me learn a few techniques with the science part, this SLR newbie would be very grateful!

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My Flickr

Hi Ben, welcome to the Cameralabs forums, and Im glad youve found our reviews useful! The D80 is a great choice and Im sure youll have a lot of fun with it...

As youve no doubt already discovered, there are many many books, magazines and websites devoted to the art of photography. They often target different photographers in different ways though, so as a first step, Id recommend heading to a bookstore or magazine shop and having a browse first to see the sort of publication and style which most appeals to you.

If you have any specific technique questions though, fire away!

Gordon

Starting out, I guess I'm not really sure what I want to take pictures of yet (how helpful! ^-^). I’m going travelling in about 15 months time and I want to get myself to a level where I can make the most of being in the places we’ll be visiting. I imagine a lot of the images I’ll be taking will be landscapes, people, nature etc – a pretty wide range.

I guess I just need to start taking photos and see what happens. If I run into any specific problems I’ll be sure to post it up here.

Thanks!
Ben

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Hi TelexStar,

congrats for your D80 - perfect choice!
Try for example www.luminous-landscape.com, the articles by Galen Rowell at www.mountainlight.com or the refresher courses at www.shutterbug.com, the how-to's on www.kenrockwell.com, the "learn technique" section of http://www.ephotozine.com/learn/.
You'll find some hint's and tipps plus some inspiration.

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

Hi Tom,

Thanks for the links! I'll add them to my reading list.

Cheers.

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Hi,

If you want to learn about digital photography this may be something for you. I don't have it myself but based on the free downloadable demo alone it seems really impressive. On top of that Phil Askey, Editor/Owner of dpreview.com says "123di is hugely comprehensive and covers almost every detail of digital camera's and digital imaging. I wholeheartedly recommend it."

basically 123di splits topics about photography in 3 different levels, beginner, essential and advanced making it easy for you to get the basics and of photography and building on top of that with the essential and the advanced part of the book.

just my 2 cents.

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Greetings, Mark.