Hi all

[neilgriffs]

Hi all, have it got my first DSLR a 2nd hand Pentax k-r with Pentax 18-55 and tamron 70-300 lenses, am enjoying playing about taking snaps on the auto setting, but can anyone recommend a good book to get me off auto and make the most of my camera, thanks in advance Neil

[Smeggypants]

Welcome to the forum Neil

can't personally help you with a book, but I'm sure someone will be along soon with a good recommendation

[LennyBloke]

Welcome aboard Neil - sorry I don't know of a good book recommendation, personally I do most of my reading on the Web for this type of thing - if you've got specific questions you'll usually find an answer by asking on here

[petrochemist]

I have an excessive collection of photography books but I can't think of any in particular to recommend.
Like Lenny I find the web the best for getting basic info. www.cambridgeincolour.com is an excellent starting point IMO.

[richandfleur]

Welcome on board

[neilgriffs]

Thanks for the welcome and pointers gents, will carry on playing about with my camera and reading up online, dare say I will keep popping up with various questions

[MattEmmett]

Best thing is to stick it on manual and play around with the aperture and exposure settings. Shoot the same scene and take note of what settings were used for each shot. As you open up or close down the aperture, the exposure will need to change to compensate for the increased / decreased light that passes through it. As you take these test shots, take a look at what happens within the depth (closest point to furthest point) in each shot. Using a wide open or wider aperture lets lots more light in (requiring shorter exposures) but also has a dramatic affect on the sharpness of the image from front to back. Wide open will give you a nice sharp focus on you focal point but a background that fades into soft focus (blurry). This is known as depth of field (DOF). A small aperture gives a much deeper DOF but will require a longer exposure. If there isn't enough light you may then need to put the camera on a tripod to make sure it stays still during the exposure toi avoid shake.
Seriously set it up on a tripod, using the cameras timer to trigger the shutter and just play with the settings, methodically doing this will have you figuring it out in no time.