Equipment Getting rid of my DSLR.

I have sadly come to the decision to sell my DSLR as I feel I am never going to get past auto mode. My ability to absorb new information is becoming increasingly difficult and after a year on and still not fully up on what each button, dial ETC does on the 1100D then it is time to admit defeat.
But I do not want to go back to the crap images of point and click so is there anything else I might look at that gives me similar quality of the DSLR but with less complexity (for me anyway)?

 

Might as well just use it in full auto? Selling and buying (aka swapping) is a very painful experience, especially financially. So if you can leave with the DSLR it's best to keep it.

I'm also getting rid of my DSLR but for different reasons: the weight and size. I'm downsizing to a Fuji X system, but after the sale and cashback, I'll be back with a very very similar setup. (with MOAR dials )

 

If you want something with a fixed lens then the bigger sensor compacts should produce decent results:

Lumix LX100
Sony RX100
Canon G1X MKII
Canon G7X
Canon G3X
Fujifilm X30

You can also get high quality compacts with fixed focal lengths but obviously you lose the versatility of having zoom:

Ricoh GRII Digital
Sigma DP2 Merrill
Sigma DP2 Quattro
Fujifilm X100T
Nikon Coolpix A

I'm a big fan of the LX100 at the moment. It's not pocketable like the Sony RX100 and Canon G7X but I could live with that.

 

There's nothing wrong with using the DSLR in auto mode. It's the picture that matters, not the camera or the lens or the settings.

Kronos, a short while ago you mentioned doing an evening course in photography. Have you started?

If you decide on a smaller camera then I can vouch for the Fuji X series. I have a X10 (the older brother to the X20 & X30) and it's great.

 

Yes and know to the course question. I was speaking recently to a guy who runs one of these courses and he was telling me that he would expect people to have a rudimentary knowledge of their camera. Well there is rudimentary and there is me, as I said earlier I cannot remember what most of the buttons dials do which is ridiculous when you consider the length of time I have gphad the camera. But if I cannot remember what I have gone into the kitchen for on occasion then it gives you idea of my dwindling mental faculties. Though I am not a gibbering wreck just yet.

I may well just keep the thing as wuyanxu suggests as A)most of the time I am happy with the results and B) I am not quite ready to give up just yet.

 

Fair enough. Is there a camera/photography club nearby? I'm sure they'd be very willing to help out if at any point you decide you want to learn more.

 

Keep it in auto and enjoy, then start playing. Best way to learn is to take loads of photos with different settings, you'll soon get to grips with it. You could shoot in AV mode and work your way up from there.

 

OK I have heard this many times but surely until you have downloaded the pictures to have a look how is it possible to know what the setting are when the picture was taken sometime previous.

At the moment I take a few pictures then have a look on the PC if I am not happy I try again but it is not really teaching anything of the settings or am I missing a trick here?

 

If you look at the image properties it should list the f-stop (aperture), exposure (shutter speed), and iso speed. Which as mentioned in other posts/threads are the key settings...

 

Cheers for that, I am sure I have been told of this before but will make a note this time.

 

If you want to check the settings immediately after taking the picture, press the "Play" button to look at the picture, then press the "Disp" button. The "Disp" button will display various information about the image, including the shot settings and the histogram.

This is going to sound like a cheeky question, but I mean it honestly - have you read through the user manual that comes with the camera? The manual runs through the basic functions and describes that all the buttons do. I understand that you have trouble absorbing information, but you might find that it helps to read through the manual a couple of times. Even if you don't plan to ever use the manual functions of the camera, just being more familiar with it might help you use it better in the future.

 

Don't give up, Just keep playing. As others have said, You can keep it in auto and get some good looking images. You may know I'm a Canon user myself, but recently I bought a Sony. Switching to the Sony is almost like picking up the Canon for the very first time, And currently, I'm living in Auto mode and i'm getting some very very impressive photos, And i'll probably live in Auto mode while i'm holiday. Ultimately, keep playing!! Keep posting photo's on-line, something like Flickr so you can share on here.

Sam

 

I found the manual far to much so bought a 'Dummies' book and I have read bits of it. Which leads me to another issue. I went from a prolific reader to someone who now can only read in small doses usually whilst in the library, AKA the toilet following throat cancer treatment some 5 years ago, which is not helpful now when trying to learn a new skill. I am not making excuses just telling it as it is.

But I quite like the idea of looking at the settings after a image has been taken, will start doing that.

 

hi i have the 1200d im a noob too but im messing with the settings all the time you can always play with the photo on a pc/mac try to take pics in raw so you can mess without losing to much detail also take as many as possible to see which is best

 

Thanks but I would rather get the overall pictures taken right before I delve into the dark arts of editing.

 

Me to i dont really edit but the option is there

 

i would like to think i am not longer beginner, and a little past that by now
how i started off was to understand 2 things, iso and how that work and about aperture..
so i stuck my dslr on the av option played around with aperture (f 1.8 to f 22.. i brought i a 50mm f1.8 to learn about this) and also played around with the iso to see how that affected shutter speed and how my pictures come out...
once i understood that a bit better i started playing with the next buttons, or mucking around with exposure etc etc
hope this helps a bit
i am like you, i would like to do as little as possible to a photo with editing..

 

I would say a great way of learning what your camera does is by picking a setting and just sticking with it until it becomes muscle memory. My personal favourite for general photography is Aperture priority (A on the dial). This keeps the aperture at a fixed level and makes the other parts automatic. That way all you need to learn is how the aperture works, it's one setting so much easier to manage. You'll take a load of weird pictures at first, but to get around that just take loads at times where it doesn't matter. Pop into the garden, take some photos around the house/on the street etc. You don't have to save any of them, it'll just help you get a feel for the mode so that when a more important moment like a birthday, friends meet, celebration etc. comes around you won't be worried about taking naff pics.

 

Thanks guys for all your advice and help. I am going to stick with the camera as even with my limited skills I can still appreciate the difference in quality compared to my former point and click. I will probably for the most part stay with auto as I may well never get to grips with most of the menus or setting.
And it seems I have a reasonable excuse as I have just been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia which among it's symptoms lists trouble remembering and learning new things. Not sure if I should be relieved or disappointed. Relieved that there is a real reason for my inability to learn new things and disappointed that I am having this trouble.

But I will keep plugging away with the camera as as I have said it does take, for the most part, superb photos.

 

maybe this will help a bit?

[/URL][/IMG]