Action shots and Zoom Shots of a Child

Angela1981

I've been taking photos since 2006 with a Kodak EasyShare Z650. It has a 10X optical zoom and takes reasonably decent photos of my family which is all I really want. It has been acting up though and turns itself off and sometimes won't come on at all. My husband bought me a new camera for Christmas. He did not consult me first. So now I have a Nikon D3100 with an AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm 1:35-5.6G lens. I understand he spent a good bit of money on this.

I set it up on Christmas Eve and started taking photos on Christmas morning. I couldn't get the photos I wanted. I'm used to just pushing a button to zoom in and out to get great photos of my grandson, etc. I was not able to get the photos I wanted with this camera. He says I need a different lens and I need to do some research to figure out what I need. I've been reading all day and my head is spinning. I don't know anything about f stops or apertures or anything like that. I'm ready to take this thing back to the store which I don't want to do because it will hurt my husband's feelings. So I'm coming here with hopes that someone can lead me to some simple information without a lot of technical jargon and maybe help me figure out what lens I need that will be a good all-purpose lens that isn't huge and will let me get candid photos of my two year old grandson on the fly. I like to sit back out of the way and zoom in to get candid photos of him playing, etc. I tried to take a photo of a snowman this morning and I had to get practically in touching distance of the snowman to zoom in enough to get the details I wanted.

Is this camera going to meet my needs? At this point I'm feeling pretty discouraged.

Riddelske

Hi Angela,
First, Merry Christmas and a happy new year.
By your post I'm gathering you like the point and shoot cameras? I will be honest so your not gonna be mislead into thinking this camera will be just as good. This camera is a big step from a point and shoot, in comparison it's what the professionals use but not the top of the range if you get my drift. Now for some explanation of the features.

If your wanting things simple and your knowledge of using a DSLR is not that great, then personally I would stick to a point and shoot. If you have a desire to achieve more, then this camera is a good step forward. I'm hoping you found out how to zoom? This is how you use the zoom function on this type of camera. The kit lens which you have is a basic lens. In order to get a longer range you will need to invest. I would start to consider which way you want to go, DSLR or point and shoot.

If you decide to stick with it and want a longer zoom range then I would go for the Nikon AF-S 55-200mm f/4.0-5.6G IF-ED DX VR.

It's the next lens up and is a great all rounder, but for wider angle shots. For landscape I would use the kit lens.

You can buy a third party lens and may cost a lot less but it depends on budget and preference.

Just a note, if your using flash and your subject is more than 8-10ft away it's not that useful. If you're too close it blows the shot out.

If you want more help please don't hesitate.
Regards

Angela1981

Thanks for the advice! At this point, I don't know what to do. I guess I'll just try to read more about how to use it and see if I can figure it out. I'm used to a camera I can shove in my pocket or purse or hang from my shoulder and take quick photos. Not one that has to have a fancy case to tote it around in! This one hung around my neck for a couple of hours yesterday and made my neck hurt! It's so heavy! I've been told I have a great eye for photos and that I should enter some of my photos in the various fairs and competitions, but I just don't know. Any idea of a good general reference manual to get familiar with the jargon?

Angela1981

Another question. My husband has an old 35mm film camera that I bought him in 1985 or so. He has a lot of lenses for it. Is it possible any of those lenses would work for this camera?

Riddelske

This is not a shove in the handbag camera. It sounds as though you need to talk to hubby and tell him you want a camera that is like your old one. Yes you can use old lenses but it all depends on what mounts they are. It's more than likely they won't have auto focus, so that means you will have to do it manually. When buying Nikon lenses you need to look for AF-S this means it has a motor inside the lens, but as you can guess there more expensive. Unfortunately I can't see the lens, so I would goto the camera shop and ask for some info. Don't go to a superstore, you need a nice old independent shop.

I would look at Nikon D3100 for dummies. It's a good little reference book. Do you have an iPhone ? They have good apps on there.

Angela1981

I just bought the Dummies book for Kindle. I have an iPhone so I'll look into that as well. Thanks for all your help.

Digital36

Hi Angela. It takes time to get used to a DSLR. Please don't return it, you'll love your new D3100!
The best thing to do now is to set the round dial, on the top right of your camera to the green camera; that's the automatic setting . Rotate the lens with your left hand in and out for zooming. When you press half way on the shutter button you will see focus indicators that will hit subjects in the viewing area. Pressing all the way will take the picture. Just fire away and have fun, you'll be amazed at the quality!

Learner

Hi Riddelske, could you write here what those iPhone apps are? Thank you!

Riddelske

A great little app is called Nikon D3100 toolkit for dummies. It has a good exposure calculator and also a brief instruction manual. Please note that this app is not the same as the online book Angela has bought. It depends what you want it for; there are so many.
Regards