[mikesbike]

For general people shots of friends and family outdoors at closer distance, even though there is plenty of light, it is often a good idea to pop up the flash anyway. Maybe even increase output some by using the flash exposure comp control. The flash can reduce facial shadows imposed by downward lighting, compensate for backlighting of a brighter background, and put some catchlight in the eyes.

[normhead]

Welcome aboard! That combo should be plenty to get you started, since you have your wide-to-normal lens (the 18-50mm) and your telephoto (the 50-200mm). The latter is what I would use for sports.

Take them for a spin first to see if they get the job done, and we can take it from there. There are of course lots of better lenses, but if you're just starting out then the focus should be on technique. If you ever get stuck, don't hesitate to post!

Since you are just starting, under scenes (SCN on your dial, there's a sports or fast moving objects settings. Use that until you are comfortable creating your own manual settings. It should get you some useful shots in the meantime.

These two summarize what I would say.

Day one in my classes started with learning the camera. I didn't let students out with the camera for more than a week. But, a getting quick results is great motivation.

[Munsen70]

Well that was a blast. Definitely got to feel out the zoom limits of the telephoto lens as there is a ton of scenery out here. I used the "P" mode and made adjustments with the front and rear wheels, but I'll try some of the scene settings today maybe. All in all even the first day out, the difference between the photos from this camera and the point and shoot I was using before are very substantial. Not sure how to put photos in, but here are a couple links. If anyone can offer any advice on what I could have done differently it would be very appreciated.

Dropbox - IMGP0006.JPG

Dropbox - IMGP0049.JPG

[aslyfox]

here are the instructions for adding photos ( attachments )

PentaxForums.com - FAQ: Reading and Posting Messages

if you have trouble with following them just ask for help

I am not good at explaining but some one else will help I am sure

[Munsen70]

Awesome, thank you. Here they are.

[ChristianRock]

Awesome, thank you. Here they are.

There you go. It looks like you are doing it right. Good to see you are getting good results, and now playing around with the settings and learning new tricks can come when you have time