Just got a NikonD50

My sister in bought the D90 and had a D50, so she's giving me a D50! Now, I've always loved to take pictures so on and so forth, but I've only had point and click cameras. Now, with this bad beast (a little aged I know) but still a decent camera, I could expand my photography skills some more.

Now, for you photoheads in here, where would be a nice place to go to learn about my camera or could you give me any tips?

Also, I have something that attatches to my lens sort of like this image:


What does that do? Block out the sun?

Any helpfull tips would be appreciated! You'll be seeing my work soon enough!

Thanks in Advance.

www.nikonians.org (organization of Nikon owners)
www.fredmiranda.com (forum)
www.bythom.com (A pro-photographer who uses Nikon and writes stuff about them)

I also really like the book Understanding Exposure by Brian Peterson.

Also, that thing on your lens is a lens hood. It's supposed to block out light and reduce glare. On some lenses, like wide angles, the lens hood can actually produce vignetting (shadows on the edges of images).

Get used to shooting with the trinity - Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Program Mode. Learn the controls, experiment with them, I think you'll find that the SLR is much easier to use than the normal digicams. They also get awesome battery life.

yeah, just found this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lens_hood

Sweet! DSLR's rock

enjoy!

I would of ask my sister if I could keep the D90, but free is free....

Well you can download the manual at Nikons site if you dont have one. I sold my D50 to my cousin and, I still kind of miss it. What is on the end of the lens is a hood and, it protects the lens to some extent as well as, blocking the sun. Learn to shoot out of the Preset Modes. You will find Manual and, Aperture Priority to be your friends. They will give you more control over the images you get.

I agree with Joves.
When I first got my DSLR I started shooting in manual mode and have basically kept it there ever since.
Once you've mastered manual you've mastered all the other program modes as well lol.

I'm sorry I didn't upload all the pictures, but.. here's my first trip with the camera.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22686949@N05/3012446265/