>Decide to leave from point and shoot >Barely have a dime

How about you read the camera manual first?

You could actually take some interesting pics with every camera on this planet

There is a youtube series how famouse photographer take pics with 1$ cameras

>>2907100
From a guy whos on the internet a lot the last thing i would do is read the manual, but if this is a true suggestion then hell i'll do it. I've watched tutorials on what dial does what and how to change the f stop and shutter speed. It's more like i feel like im taking just plain pictures nothing spectacular if you can get what im saying haha

>>2907105
Your pic is pretty obviously overexposed

How about you try to shoot from a different spot?

Without fucking background light. (like the sky)

Have you checked the shutter count before buying?
That camera looks like it has at least 200k miles on it. The shutter timing feels a little off. Thats why some parts of the image are too bright.

The shutter will need its timing belt replaced soon.
If it breaks the shutter blades and the mirror will slam into each other and kill the camera for good.
You should have got a Canon. They make cameras with non interference shutter mechanisms so if the belt breaks, no damage will be caused.
But then again, the gaskets Canon uses for their mirrors often fails and the mirror has a habit of flying off completely without warning

Leica are the best. They have double row shutter timing chains that are good for almost one million clicks, and no mirrors to break off.

>>2907108
Thanks for that, ya i can see that theres a lot of light there. It was pretty bright outside, i guess its one of those things where i dont know if im fucking up or like you said just need to move and try a better area

>>2907109
I have not, how can i check that? I didnt think it would be such a factor in a low budget camera. I've been going back and forth on which to get everything kept coming back as the Nikon D40 was the best competitor compared to Cannons, is there specific line i should look for i know i saw all the different kind of Rebels and my mind was spinning

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bumping with more shitty photos

>>2907097
>Go to more interesting places than a fucking zoo
>get more interesting pictures

You could take a disposable kodak camera to D-Day and get some amazing shots, or take a D5s to a Chuck E Cheese and get some awful shit.

>>2907148
I figure it would be a good way to get practice and i came home the results. Also is what >>2907109
saying a factor as well?

>>2907151
With Nikons, the metering circuits depend on a steady supply of viewfinder fluid to keep the refractive properties in spec. With the D40 being as old as it is, your metering might be out of spec.

You'll need to send it to an authorized repair place to get it fixed.

>>2907157
Well that brings me to my dilemma, do i just resell and try again? I've been going back and forth between Nikon and Cannon and as im new to this i dont have friends who i could ask for opinions to so i just decided based on my own research that the Nikon D40 was the absolute best choice for me, but obviously i may be wrong

I think you should learn about composition, framing and lighting. See how movies or photographers frame the characters, where the light hits the characters, how low or high is the camera, the main colors of a scene, etc
Those are some things I think about when I'm shooting/photographing and editing.

>>2907097
if that picture was taken with a hasselblad x1dildo with a $40 000 lens it would still be a bad one. you need to become a good photographer to get good photos

>>2907169
Also try to shoot with rule of thirds on the lcd if the camera allows it, and also study photos with the rule of thirds on top of it so you can understand the composition

>>2907097
>>2907132
>>2907164
a good start would be by not overexposing your pictures. There's no exif on there but what mode were these shot in? Try reading "Understanding exposure" by Bryan Peterson to get an idea how the exposure triangle works (>inb4 hurr durr diffraction autist comes in again)

>>2907109
>The shutter will need its timing belt replaced soon.
Also don't forget to change oil every 20.000 shutter actuations.

>>2907170
Got it thank you haha
>>2907171
Gonna look that up and see what i can find thanks for that
>>2907173
ya i had to convert it from NEF file but it was shot in M as i was trying to play around with the settings. It just stresses me out but if it was easy im sure everyone would be doing. I just need the right tools i suppose

>>2907176
How would i tell the shutter count, a big next move after hearing all this feedback im wondering if i didnt do enough research into which camera was the best for me

There is never a reason not to shoot in auto

>>2907180
But i thought the purpose was to get out of that mode?

>>2907178
don't shoot manual unless you either know what you're doing or you have some very difficult light to work with. Stick to either Aperture value or auto at the beginning

>>2907183
Well that sounds like good advice to be haha thank you, do you know how to check my shutter count? I'm not sure whats classified as a lot or not but i'd like to check at least

>>2907181
Only reason not to use auto is if it's broken or you want to over expose an image, Use a longer shutter speed, some "artistic" shit etc, If you want a good picture, auto, learn about composition and change whatever you don't like in photoshop

>>2907187
Maybe if i also get a new lens but i know youre not suppose to talk about "gear" here

>>2907186
I know it's my word against his but hes fucking with you. Don't use auto, not sure how I can convince you he's trolling but yeah.

Also, camera really doesn't make that much of a difference, probably the least important aspect of photography, vs exposure, location, timing etc.
I dropped my Leica for a Canon point and shoot from 2008 for a month, and I took some good pictures with it.

>>2907261
You want any mode that isn't manual but isn't auto so that the camera can do the raw calculations for you. You absolutely never turn off auto ISO unless you are a math nerd.

>>2907180
>There is never a reason not to shoot in auto

Stitched panorama's, to name just one.

>>2907178
>shooting manual before you understand how to expose.
Big mistake desu.
There's no exif so it's hard to tell where exactly it went wrong, but given the amount of CA/softness on the presumably kit lens, you're going to want to stop down a bit.

Try shooting in aperture priority/shutter priority first and look into the exposure triangle before going near manual.
>>2907202
>new lens
The kit lens should be good enough at giving you a wide angle and a reasonable portrait equivalent. Unless you're shooting a lot in low light or want something super wide/super telephoto I'm not sure what benefit it'd give you this early on desu.
>>2909082
>You absolutely never turn off auto ISO unless you are a math nerd.
F-fug you. I'm a math nerd. I just hate exposure compensation. I'd rather blame myself for a fuckup than a lightmeter

>>2907180

rhere is such thing as Form over function

>>2907102
Link please

>>2909082
I have never ever ever in all my years of shooting used auto iso. its fucking horrible.

try iphone 6 the ads look good

>>2909518

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7ECB90D96DF59DE5

remember, it's you who takes a good photo, not the gear

Thing with canikons is that you spend 500th of a second taking a photo and then you spend 3 hours at the computer editing it. That's the reason I switched from canon.

D40 is great camera. I used a D60 for years and it's basically the same camera. The auto function tends to over expose, so control the exposure yourself and you can have excellent quality pictures.

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>>2910403

>>2910433
Thank you so much!

>>2907097
best advice anyone will give you on this board
1. learn to take pictures using exposure triangle and develop composition
2. asses what your photo graphics needs are
3. buy camera that fulfills photographic needs

>>2910433
>https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7ECB90D96DF59DE5
Most of the photos in this video are shit, and only praised by autistic zealots.

>>2907159
He's bullshitting you, viewfinder fluid doesn't exist. Your camera is fine.

>Rent a 100-400 for an air show
>Take it to the zoo after
>Take close ups that don't look like they're in a zoo
>Show the pics off and people think I'm a world traveler

Feels good

>>2912655
now you need a book to sell

>>2910537
True, Nikons DSLRs of that era had funny matrix exposure metering, the D80 gave me the same overexposed results when shooting dark subjects under the sun. They can take decent pictures, but you have to apply -1 or -2 EV exposure compensation occasionally.

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>>2907176
>>2907179


I'M DYING

>>2907097
>>2907132
>>2907164
Basically, your photos are shit not because of overexposure, (which they are don't get me wrong) but because of you composition.

I'd say in most of these you included elements in the frame that really didn't need to be there, Ex. The fence out of focus in #1, Too many flamingos in #2 and in #3 the person in the background and the pole/roof there. So try choosing a subject before you shoot and what information and elements you are going to include in the frame. Fill your frame up. That giraffe feeding picture would look 10x better if you got closer and filled the frame up with JUST the guy and his hand feeding the giraffe.

Basically just practice, its like the first week with the camera right its pretty obvious that you're gonna be shit.

>>2912941
Also, practice on a low f stop, it helps you make pictures based around your subject because everything else if bokeh.