bmxdad said:
OK like I mentioned above, reading a manual will most likely not really make you good at taking great pictures.

Pete,

You are, of course, correct. But there is an important difference between learning to take great pictures and learning about your camera.

I've been taking pictures for over 40 years and am still learning - and I still haven't achieved greatness. But the controls on my new camera are laid out somewhat differently from my last camera and I do need to master them.

A very simple camera can indeed take great photos. But having a sophisticated camera (and knowing how to use it) helps considerably - you can concentrate on what really matters for a particular shot, and leave the camera to sort out the rest.

Anaxagoras said:
I find trial and error, with just a little guidance from the manual, is the best way to learn (not just cameras but all sorts of gadgets and gizmos).

LOL, usually when I'm reading up about something new I read the first couple steps to doing it, and then guess my way through the rest. Usually I'm lucky, but sometimes things go terribly wrong! :^D

bmxdad said:
OK like I mentioned above, reading a manual will most likely not really make you good at taking great pictures. Yes you should become familiar with controls and settings, but now comes your real challenge to use that knowledge to take great pictures. So learn when and why you would use a certain setting, there are some many photographic elements that has nothing to do with your camera manual

Sorry Pete for "rebelling" against your idea, you are totally right. Reading the manual will only bring more complicated features of your camera into your life!

OK like I mentioned above, reading a manual will most likely not really make you good at taking great pictures. Yes you should become familiar with controls and settings, but now comes your real challenge to use that knowledge to take great pictures. So learn when and why you would use a certain setting, there are some many photographic elements that has nothing to do with your camera manual

So get out and take picture, learn to take great pics, trust me it will take time

Pete

alphanikonrex said:

I'm a religious manual-reader too! I read the manual to the D300 months before I got it! ;^)

Me too!

I find trial and error, with just a little guidance from the manual, is the best way to learn (not just cameras but all sorts of gadgets and gizmos). But I always read the manual cover-to-cover over a few weeks - because it is VERY likely that there are features that you simply would not discover by trial and error.

I also download manuals before buying. This is partly impatience to learn, but largely to check "the small print" of what the camera (gadget/gizmo) really CAN do before deciding which to buy.

What does annoy me, though, is when manuals tell you the blindingly obvious - e.g. "Press OK to confirm or Cancel to cancel". A total waste of two seconds of my life!

""set the Fn button (custom setting f3) to 'Access top item in MY MENU.'"" sounds like an excellent idea too.

Which reminds me, I ought to do a settings back up...

LOL, I read the manual ages before the stuff comes. I read the manuals to stuff I may never even touch in my life!

alphanikonrex said:
I'm a religious manual-reader too! I read the manual to the D300 months before I got it! I'm all read up about the Hasselblads too, in case I ever happen to come across one ;^)

Nice to know I'm not the only one, alpha. I usually download the manual as a pdf and start reading it on my laptop right when I order some new equipment.

BTW, I do have Battery info on mine, but I should probably put World time up, too. Done.

Here comes Jonny with another one of his great guides!

Your My Menu looks very similar to my own, except I also have Clean Image Sensor, and a few other things (like Battery Info and World Time).

I'm a religious manual-reader too! I read the manual to the D300 months before I got it! I'm all read up about the Hasselblads too, in case I ever happen to come across one ;^)

I've got a couple of recommendations. Pete's right about the manual—it's for rare occasions when you really want to learn exactly how some feature works. (I admit I have read it, but I'm a religious instruction manual reader).

In my opinion, the help files on the camera usually tell you enough. To see those, while you're on a menu setting, you hold the [?/lock] button (third from the bottom on the left on the D90) and it will bring up a description of what that setting does or when you might use it. And on the 920k-dot screens it looks like it's printed on paper.

One suggestion I have for the D90 is to turn off image review (it's the 5th setting in the Playback Menu—the one with the 'play' symbol). My reasons for suggesting this:
-if you ever want to review a shot you can still easily press the play button.
-having the image up after a shot causes all kinds of problems, for example you can't change the focus spot or change the ISO because those buttons are used for photo navigation while an image is up
-It saves on battery life. I don't have hard numbers, but it's something in the neighborhood of half again as many shots that you can get if you don't always have the LCD turning on to display the image.

Another suggestion I have is to set the Fn button (custom setting f3) to 'Access top item in MY MENU.' My Menu is such a handy feature because you put just the menu items you use most in it so you don't have to dig through all the menus finding them. I set my top menu item to change what the built-in flash does for creative lighting (the wireless flash control). This also lets me get into My Menu in two buttons one handed (R-middle finger press Fn, R-thumb press left on the directional pad).

If you're looking for a starting point, here is what's in my 'My Menu' (in this order):
e2 Flash cntrl for built-in flash
c3 Self-timer
d10 Exposure delay mode
a1 AF-area mode
Movie settings
Battery info
ISO sensitivity auto control
a7 Live view autofocus
f2 OK button (shooting mode)

One of my biggest gripes about the D100 was having to press so many buttons to get to the self-timer settings. Happy shooting, Nick and Anaxagoras!

A note for you beginners:

I would not read the manual to much, I read mine if something is not working out, otherwise I live and learn.

Don't forget great pictures are not taken by fancy settings:

They are in focus and focused in the right area

They are metered correctly

They are framed correctly, remember the "photographic rule of thirds"

So get out there and take some pictures, and learn and before you know it the settings on your new camera start to make sense.

Pete

BTW I take most my pictures on the A setting I like to control my aperture on most pictures even shooting BMX: for me controlling DOF (depth of field) is the most important thing in taking great pictures

Me too. Bought the D90 last week. Forty years of photography, so I know that every new camera brings more functionality and thus more to learn. But the D90 did make my jaw drop. The good manual helps.

Really looking forward to learning about it.

More than a bit ****** off by the rumour of an imminent replacement, though!

keep practice, as we can't wait to see Your pictures in the PAD thread

Glad your having fun niky! It just takes a little time, but you'll soon get the hang of it :^)

I have been playing/working with my new D90 and man, there really is a lot to learn from my previous "premium" Canon P&S. And way different menu logic. I do like the Nikon D90 logic but there is just so much to learn with all the different buttons and menus. I study the manual, and my new Darrell Young Mastering the D90 Guide book, and both have been helpful. However, I go "out" to shoot. And I find I have forgotten what does what and where things are.

I know, I know... I just need to keep practicing. I do love it. Mmmmm, I also admit, that I have been looking at all the different lenses that are available... uh-oh.
Got lots of photos of: dog, wife, kid, my foot, table, bed, walls, graffitti on walls outside----Duck, just avoided a drive-by. But no picture worth anything so far. Not even to post. I won't post junk.
Nick V