Expert: John Oliverio - 10/11/2006

Question
im new to dslr where is the starting point for all thes f numbers and appture,s I know that you can ajust thease numbers but what should the camer be setat two start with..  with a 18/55 mm lens NIKON D50.

Answer
Cave Man,

 There is no "starting point".  If you are shooting in manual... setting shutter speed and aperture yourself, the numbers will vary greatly and depend on the ISO you've chosen, the light available and the effect you want.  If you want to learn how this all works, you should get a book on basic photography.  In the mean time, you can take pictures by setting the camera on one of the automatic modes.  The "green" setting on the mode dial is a good place to start.  It will set everything for you and even pop-up the flash if there in not enough light.  If you are going for a particular effect, you could choose one of the scene modes like "sports" or "portrait".  

John