I'm probably the only person on here not using a dSLR.

But then again, I'm also a 15 year old with a $5 a week allowance. I've been into Photography for a few years, but I just realized a couple of months ago that I could actually take professional pictures if I wanted to.

So I got some cash, and spent over $500 on a Canon Powershot a650 IS with a SanDisk UltraII 4GB SD card, and a two-year replacment warranty. The camera has a vari-angle screen and almost as many customizable settings as an dSLR (ISO, Aperature, Shutter Speed, all of that good stuff).

I'm learning with it. Too fast of a shutter speed and not enough light gets in... too high of an ISO and it gets noisy... stuff like that. Do you have any tips for me that I can use for an amateur photographer?

Also, out of all the pictures that I have uploaded so far, the only one taken by this new camera is the one called "Blue Skied Palm Trees".

Thanks for all of your help. :]

for $500 you would've been better off with a lower end DSLR with a kit lens, and far more control over your images. Time, however, is on your side...by the truckload.

In any event,congrats on the new cam, and no, you wouldn't be (by far) the only one not using a DSLR. When I first started posting here, I used a little Fuji point and shoot, that had all of 4MP.


Feel free to ask anyone on here (including yours truly) for tips, pointers, etc as you become more entrenched in your craft.

I was thinking about getting a lower end dSLR, but I thought I'd just get one of the higher end Point&Shoot, and that's what this one is.

Did I mention that it has 12.1 MP too? It really comes in handy when I crop and edit during Photoshop CS2.

hmmm

well, if you're happy with it, then that's a good thing.

You won't go wrong with that little powershot when you're just starting. It is important that you look into references and start to build your knowledge about how the camera works. That camera does have some custom features and I would highly suggest you learn to use those. But for starting out and learning stuff like composition and such, you should be quite successful with your canon. My back-up shooter to my Rebel XTi is an SD600!

Yep. I took my Backyard Sky picture with it, and it somehow scored an 82 in the Voting Booth, so I must be doing something right. :]