By now, I think the fact that I got myself a second-hand DSLR should not be a secret to most already.
Having lemming for it since a long time ago, I finally got down to buying a second-hand one in Clubsnap forum. On the night when I first laid my hands on it, surprisingly, it was not a feeling of happiness or excitement. All I could feel was the overwhelming sense of buyer's remorse. Was I too impulsive? Did I thought carefully before spending this lump sum of my savings? All I knew was, what's done has been done. The only thing I could do was to master the art of DSLR photography, and make my hard-earned money worth it.
Initially, I was very reluctant to use the "auto" mode on my DSLR, I mean, why should I pay so much to get the results that a normal digital camera can get? No using of "auto" mode, I told myself! I browsed through photography books, scroll through so many threads on forums, just to get a clearer idea of "aperture", "shutter speed" and the other photography-related terms. I skipped through "aperture-priority mode" and "shutter-priority mode", and straightaway jumpstart onto the "manual" mode! It's really not easy, out of 30 shots, probably only 1 will make it onto my list of "not-too-bad" photos.
Then, soon after, I got really tired of getting photos that are either too overexposed, or too underexposed. I became more receptive to using the "auto" mode in my camera. I begin to use this mode for every single photo. If you had read through my posts on my recent stayover in Malaysia, almost all of them were taken using the dummy mode.
Despite this reliance of mine on the "auto" mode, I know that, the photos that come out, can never be on par with photos taken using the "manual" mode. There's just this huge difference I see when I compare between the photos taken these two types of mode.
However, the thing is, you can take good photos using "manual" mode, only if you do trial and errors for a relatively long period of time. But there is a need to know, many situations forbid you to take your own sweet time to adjust the settings. For instance, if you were to take a group photo for your friends, it sure won't be nice if you were to ask them to pose over and over again, for you to get your desired shot. When you are travelling with your friends, I don't think they will have the patience to wait half-an-hour for you to capture your desired landscape shot.
In addition, getting a DSLR is not just getting the camera itself, but also getting the additional lens (to fit your photography needs), a good tripod, a good and sturdy camera bag, a dry cabinet to prevent fungus-growing..the list goes on. For now, I definitely do not have the financial capability to acquire all those that I've mentioned, so I'll just have to make do with my basic equipments for now.
These are the kind of results I would like to see for every photo of mine, it's sure gonna be as hard as hell, but I'll try my best!
So, now, what I probably am going to do, is to practise using the "manual" mode as much as I can, and to allow myself to fall in love with my camera, so that I will be able to take good photos when I go to Taiwan and Hong Kong in April ^^
Having written such story, I am not too sure what I want people around me to get out of it, perhaps to think and consider carefully before acquiring expensive things such as a camera? Get only what you need, not what you want, because as time passes by, your desire of things that you want will naturally wear off (irregardless of by how much), but your needs will still be present.
If you ask me whether I regretted getting a DSLR, my answer will be "Yes". Given a choice, I will just stick to my small, sturdy and trusty Samsung EX1! Having said that, a DSLR definitely has its own advantages too, but I shall leave it to another day. :)
Having lemming for it since a long time ago, I finally got down to buying a second-hand one in Clubsnap forum. On the night when I first laid my hands on it, surprisingly, it was not a feeling of happiness or excitement. All I could feel was the overwhelming sense of buyer's remorse. Was I too impulsive? Did I thought carefully before spending this lump sum of my savings? All I knew was, what's done has been done. The only thing I could do was to master the art of DSLR photography, and make my hard-earned money worth it.
Initially, I was very reluctant to use the "auto" mode on my DSLR, I mean, why should I pay so much to get the results that a normal digital camera can get? No using of "auto" mode, I told myself! I browsed through photography books, scroll through so many threads on forums, just to get a clearer idea of "aperture", "shutter speed" and the other photography-related terms. I skipped through "aperture-priority mode" and "shutter-priority mode", and straightaway jumpstart onto the "manual" mode! It's really not easy, out of 30 shots, probably only 1 will make it onto my list of "not-too-bad" photos.
Then, soon after, I got really tired of getting photos that are either too overexposed, or too underexposed. I became more receptive to using the "auto" mode in my camera. I begin to use this mode for every single photo. If you had read through my posts on my recent stayover in Malaysia, almost all of them were taken using the dummy mode.
Despite this reliance of mine on the "auto" mode, I know that, the photos that come out, can never be on par with photos taken using the "manual" mode. There's just this huge difference I see when I compare between the photos taken these two types of mode.
However, the thing is, you can take good photos using "manual" mode, only if you do trial and errors for a relatively long period of time. But there is a need to know, many situations forbid you to take your own sweet time to adjust the settings. For instance, if you were to take a group photo for your friends, it sure won't be nice if you were to ask them to pose over and over again, for you to get your desired shot. When you are travelling with your friends, I don't think they will have the patience to wait half-an-hour for you to capture your desired landscape shot.
In addition, getting a DSLR is not just getting the camera itself, but also getting the additional lens (to fit your photography needs), a good tripod, a good and sturdy camera bag, a dry cabinet to prevent fungus-growing..the list goes on. For now, I definitely do not have the financial capability to acquire all those that I've mentioned, so I'll just have to make do with my basic equipments for now.
I took around 15 minutes, squatting on the floor, adjusting my position and the camera settings...just to get this self-proclaimed artistic photo.
So, now, what I probably am going to do, is to practise using the "manual" mode as much as I can, and to allow myself to fall in love with my camera, so that I will be able to take good photos when I go to Taiwan and Hong Kong in April ^^
Having written such story, I am not too sure what I want people around me to get out of it, perhaps to think and consider carefully before acquiring expensive things such as a camera? Get only what you need, not what you want, because as time passes by, your desire of things that you want will naturally wear off (irregardless of by how much), but your needs will still be present.
If you ask me whether I regretted getting a DSLR, my answer will be "Yes". Given a choice, I will just stick to my small, sturdy and trusty Samsung EX1! Having said that, a DSLR definitely has its own advantages too, but I shall leave it to another day. :)
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