[KarilMcLennan]

Recently I saw the Pentax K50 on QVC. Since my old 4 megapixel Kodac point/shoot camera was worn out I decided to explore the K 50. I ordered it and so far have used it twice..It seems so complicated. SO...to the internet I have turned, thus this forum, with the hopes and desire my fear will be set aside and I participate in a hobby I have thought about for many years. YouTube, and two online camera businesses have been very helpful. I am learning about ISO, aperture, etc.. I think once I learn the language my fears will dissipate greatly.

[panoguy]

Welcome to the forum! There are lots of friendly, helpful people here, along with loads of encouragement. Check out the Troubleshooting and Beginner Help section to see what others have stumbled upon, and then be sure to Post Your Photos, or just browse that section for inspiration and ideas.

The K-50 is a wonderful camera, and yes, complex. Keep it in Green Mode for now and enjoy the view through that real glass pentaprism and click, click, click. "Film" is cheap in these things!

[jatrax]

There is a lot of information on this forum and other places on the internet. But a good place to start is a basic book that explains the fundamentals. Try "Understanding Exposure" by Brian Peterson. Available at most libraries and used book stores as well as new.

[Rondec]

Welcome. The forum is a fun and mostly friendly place. I would recommend using P mode and posting plenty of questions as they come up. In a few months you'll be shooting like an old hand.

[jawsy]

I learned a lot when I started by sitting in my lounge room practising on various objects near and far while watching TV or reading info from this forum. Set to Av, shoot, view and delete. I found it was also a good way to become familiar with the controls.

Just remember to pack it up in P mode so you're ready to go for the keepers!

[Roob-N-Boots]

Make sure to pick up the book Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. It's the book that helped me learn about exposure, without it I would have taken a lot longer to learn how to shoot using manual mode http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-3rd-Photographs-Camera/dp/08174...nding+exposure

[ZoeB]

Welcome, welcome. I second the advice given by those above, and also recommend posting some photos in the Photo Critique section on the forums-- you'll get a lot of advice and good constructive criticism there other than that, enjoy, you've got a good little camera!

[Kerrowdown]

Welcome to the forum, enjoy both it and you new camera in equal amounts and remember we're here to help.

[Aaron28]

welcome aboard! indeed the vocab will really help and not so overwhelming..........i'm constantly learning from mistakes (most are repetitive) and have forgotten more than I know but always looking to improve......have at it and happy shooting!

[anujmishra]

I am planning my trip to west coast and later to Alaska this year and was looking over good DSLR for some time.
I have been using point and shoot for many years and i decided to switch now. Not sure how much got i am on photography but the idea was to have few shots which could be later termed or framed in memories. I read a lot over beginner ones and it looked Nikon has best support on that point.
but the moment i saw Pentax K-50's comparison over few other beginners like Nikon 3300, Nikon 5300 and Canon T5i's , I was taken over by its capability.
Though unsure of my capabilities of handling ISO's and frame rates, I went with K-50 with 18-135mm WR bundle at Adorama recently.
I am hoping Pentax is gonna be my long term partner. I have used Nikon's before and most of my friends are on Canon's high end series. so this is going to be first Pentax in our group. Lets see how it goes over time
any beginner tips will be appreciated. Thank you all !