Excellent post, Frank! chris
On Sat, 3 Jan 2004, frank theriault wrote: > Hi, Jasmine, > > Welcome to the list. To re-inforce what Fred said, don't be scared off by > thinking yourself a "newbie". We're all learning new things all the time, > and I think you'll find us a very patient bunch. One thing I've found about > photography is that those who've been at it for a long time love to share > what they've learned to those just getting into it. Photography used to be > one of the most popular hobbies out there - over the past number of decades > it's popularity has fallen, most likely due to the tremendous number of > other pursuits available to hobby-seekers. It's always great to try to keep > the numbers of amateur photographers as high as possible. > > Funny, but after having been away from photography for well over a decade > (other than family snaps, and such), I got back into it more or less > seriously when my late father picked up some stuff for me at a yard sale, > real cheap: a Spotmatic (different model than yours) a Takumar 2.0 55mm, > and a Takumar 200mm (in my case, an f3.5 pre-set). Odd co-incidence, eh? > > Now, when you say you're "new" to this, it's hard to know where to start, > because one doesn't know how "new", and what other equipment you've used > before (disposables, point and shoots, automatic/autofocus SLR's?). I think > that for starters, it would be good to get a beginners book on photography > (not on Pentax or Spotmatics, but photographic fundamentals). Make sure it > goes into the basics of exposure, shutter speed, aperture, all that stuff, > especially since what you have is a completely manual camera with a built in > light meter. You've got to know that stuff does to properly use your > camera! In the alternative, maybe take a beginners course at a community > college or through a local photography store or club. Make sure that it > starts from the beginning with the aforementioned fundamentals, and you'll > be just fine. > > Now, you probably would like to use your camera right away (who wouldn't?). > A real quick primer (this might take a while, sorry). Assume you know how > to load the film - if not let us know. Make sure that the ISO speed of the > film is set on the shutter speed dial (black dial on the top plate, to the > right of the prism bulge - has numbers from B to 1000 on it). Set the > shutter speed to somewhere between 60 and 250. Go outside. Set the > aperture ring of your 55mm lens to, say 8 or 11 (the aperture ring is the > one that has numbers from 2.0 to 16 or 22 - can't remember now). Look > through the viewfinder. On the right you'll see a needle and an "O". To > the left of the lens, on the body of the camera, you'll see a squarish black > switch that says ON (unless it's rubbed off). Push that up. You should see > the needle move. Move the aperture ring back and forth while you look > through the viewfinder at something relatively bright. The needle should > move up and down. > > If it doesn't, either the meter doesn't work, or you need a battery. > > If it does, all you have to do is match the needle at the O, and you've got > things (more or less) properly exposed. You'll see the needle move up and > down as you change the shutter speed, too. > > So, keep the shutter speed above 30 (it's really 1/30th of a second), match > the needle to the O, point at something you want to take a photo of, focus > using the outer ring of the lens, and shoot. > > Simple, eh? Well, no, it's not that simple, really. But, that'll get you > shooting. By seeing the results, and asking questions, you can improve, > learn how to manipulate things for various situations and for "looks" that > you want. But, this will get you started. If you know any of this, my > apologies, I hope I wasn't talking down to you. > > A few final thoughts: The Spotmatics and those Takumar lenses (which was > Pentax' brand of lenses back then) are amazing machines - the photos they're > capable of taking can be second to none. Takumar lenses are among the best > ever made - period. By learning photography on that camera, you'll be > forced to learn the fundamentals of photography, so that if you ever move on > to an auto-exposure auto-focus camera YOU'LL KNOW WHAT THE CAMERA IS DOING, > and you can use it properly, over-riding the auto settings when needed, and > relying on them when possible. You will be a better photographer for > starting out the way you are, I guarantee it. > > And, whatever else you do (courses, other sites, books), stick with this > list. You'll learn much about your cameras, and photography in general > here. No one will ever put you down for asking what you may feel is a > "stupid" question. We really are a community here, more than any other list > I've ever seen. > > cheers, > frank > > "The optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist > fears it is true." -J. Robert Oppenheimer > > > > > >From: Jasmine <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >Subject: New to list > >Date: Sat, 03 Jan 2004 08:58:24 -0800 > > > >Hello! > > > >I am new to this list and new to photography. I have a feeling this is not > >the list for me - from the messages I've been reading you all seem very > >experienced. Maybe I need to find a list for beginners? > > > >Well, first, let me introduce myself - my name is Jasmine and I live in > >Portland, OR. I recently inherited a Spotmatic II, a Takumar 55m lens, a > >Takumar 200m lens, a Soligor zoom macro 28-80mm lens, and a vivitar > >skylight 49mm filter. I have ALWAYS wanted a camera like this - I've > >always been interested in photography - but I don't know how to use the > >darn thing! Most of the manuals and websites I've looked at are as > >confusing as figuring it out myself. > > > >(I may be wording the terms and equipment wrong - forgive me - like I said > >I'm new at this) > > > >Can anyone suggest anything for beginners? Pentax for Dummies? > > > >I have a lot of questions, some of them probably stupid (yes, I know, > >there's no such thing as a stupid question) and I don't want to take up > >space and time with you if I should be on another list. > > > >Thanks so much, > >jasmine > > > > > > _________________________________________________________________ > The new MSN 8: advanced junk mail protection and 2 months FREE* > http://join.msn.com/?page=dept/bcomm&pgmarket=en-ca&RU=http%3a%2f%2fjoin.msn.com%2f%3fpage%3dmisc%2fspecialoffers%26pgmarket%3den-ca >
