Q about 'macro' camera settings

[Olle]

Originally Posted by sheepherder

It's a condition that worsens with age, and I'm sad to admit that I have more than my share of it.

Hemorrhoids?

Originally Posted by sheepherder

I found a 24 page review of the G3 at Digital Photography Review and am trying to wade through it. Hard going for me. I know nothing about photography.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canong3

I will take your word that the G3 is a "first good camera". It sold for $699 new, so $40 for one now is indeed a good deal.

I will be looking for an affordable G3 with charger, battery, and manuals in the near future.

Thank you for your help, Olle!

There will be a learning curve, for sure. Just figuring out the nomenclature was one hurdle, so it's a good start to learn that and how all those fancy words translate to more practical terms.

However, the good thing about digital cameras is that it doesn't cost anything to take pictures. I hate reading manuals so I learned how to do it by taking 10-20 pictures with different settings, taking notes about which settings I changed, then pull them up on the computer and see how they turned out. Lots of trial and error, and the whole learning process to me was very much like trying to make a smooth cut on a lathe or tuning a carburetor. You just need to get a feel for it, learn the features, which knobs to turn and how much etc, but once you get it you'll find that it's easy.

I was where you are now about 10 years ago, and it took a year or so before I really felt confident that I could pick up the camera and take a picture that really looked like what I wanted without spending a whole day on it. I'm not an expert, but I'll be more than happy to share the little I know. And I know you don't want to hear this, but the G11 is one hell of a camera, there's one for sale right now for $50 and that's the one I would pick. Better ISO, shutter and aperture range will make up for a lot of shortcomings in the "studio" as it makes the lighting less crucial, so you may save a lot of money right there.

Then again, the G3 will be a significant step up from what you have now, and once you feel you want something better you can get your money back by reselling it on eBay.

BTW: Here's some very good reading about the G3: http://www.photographyblog.com/revie...t_g3_x_review/ . The G3 came in a few different versions, and this is obviously the "G3 X", whatever that entails. The main features should hopefully be the same though.