[hart]

So I'm interviewing for a job and claimed to know how to operate a DSLR when in reality I've always worked with a pro-sumer level point and shoot and used manual controls when I wanted to up the ante. This is NOT a photography job but photographing the product line for the designer's records is a part of the job. I figure once I get the job I can mess around the camera and have it down in no time. BUT . . . meanwhile there's the interview.

What differences am I going to encounter when I have one in my hand as I'm probably not going to get a chance to get to Best Buy and look at any actual cameras.

What controls am I going to encounter that are not on a point-and-shoot? What's the best way I can work around all this if I have to look knowledgeable and I'm backed into a corner at the interview?

All hints and tips appreciated.

[Big Mac]

Why don't you watch some review videos of popular SLR models on youtube? I imagine they show you the various controls.

I don't have SLR experience either, but I think it's largely just many more options. You can still use an SLR in auto mode - Howard Stern was saying that paparazzi photographers do that.

[chabig]

Go to your library for a few hours and browse some photography "How-to" books.

[cgc]

The biggest two differences between the "prosumer" cameras and a DSLR is that the DSLR has interchangeable lenses and the DSLR typically has a larger sensor which means it has better low-light and long-exposure performance.

[Big Mac]

cgc, hart was asking what the biggest differences were between the user interfaces of SLRs and point and shoots, not what the technical differences were.

[Wiskedjak]

Designers can be insanely particular about the photography of their products. If this designer is anything like the industrial designers I know, they're going to want a wide range of typical shots and with tightly controlled lighting. If that's what they're expecting, it's not something that you'll be able to "have down in no time" just by messing around with a DSLR. If this is the case and the first time you hold an SLR is in the interview, your lie is going to be pretty obvious almost immediately.

In any case, I'd recommend doing some research in product photography:
product photography tutorial - Google Search

[subego]

First off, people are either Canon or Nikon. If you find out they're going to give you a Nikon, say you're a Canon guy and vice-versa. You'll get cut a whole lot more slack when you fumble with the controls. They're not that different, so don't do it for too long.

As a Canon guy, here's the rundown:

Canons have three main controls.

1) Exposure Dial. On the top left. This is where you switch between fully automatic, scene modes, priority modes, and fully manual.

You never want fully automatic. I'm not being a snob. It can take a perfectly good picture, but it's JPEG only. The same with the scene modes. They're JPEG only. All the other modes can shoot RAW, which means you're getting a bit for bit copy straight off the sensor.

2) Main Dial. On the top right, just behind the shutter button. It's also about the width of the shutter button. It has gear like teeth on it so you get some grip when you spin it with your fingertip. Same fingertip you work the shutter with.

3) Secondary Dial. Big honkin' ribbed dial on the back (it also has a button in the center which is used for confirming things in menus).


What the Main and Secondary wheels do is dependent on which shooting mode you pick with 1.

For the priority modes, the Main Dial works whatever your priority is (i.e. if you are set to Shutter Priority, it works shutter time, if it's Aperture priority, it works aperture). The other half is set automatically. The camera does a decent job of this. I usually shoot Aperture Priority.

In the priority modes, the Secondary Dial gives you spot exposure compensation for when you know the camera won't do a decent job. You get up to two stops in either direction. The amount you've dialed in shows up in the viewfinder. This resets if you stop shooting.

For fully manual, the Main dial works your shutter time, and the Secondary Dial works your aperture. The readout in the viewfinder for your exposure compensation now becomes your light meter.


One last wrinkle. The power switch (under the Secondary Dial) has three settings. "Off", "On", and "line pointing to Secondary Dial". "On" locks the Secondary Dial. If you want to use the dial, which you likely will, you have to flip the switch to that third "line" position.

[P]

The control scheme on Nikon's for comparison. NOTE: I'm not a photographer, I'm just listing what I remember from my experience with a D5100:

The power switch is a wheel with two positions, on and off. The button in the center is the shutter for stills. The recording button is a different button.

The main control wheel is on top. There is one full auto auto mode, but it is not locked to JPEG like subego describes. There is one for just disabling the flash and a number of automatic presets for particular situations directly on the wheel. One option sends you to a deeper menu of more presets, which you control with the secondary wheel. There are 3 semi-automatic modes (what subego calls priority modes): Automatic shutter speed (set the aperture with the secondary wheel), automatic aperture (set shutter speed with secondary wheel) and programming (select between pre-programmed combinations, I think. I honestly don't quite remember). Finally there is one fully manual mode, where you set each characteristic in turn with the secondary wheel and push a button to switch.

There is a menu for setting other details. Here is where you set things like RAW or JPEG, resolution, and about a million other things. There is also a D-pad that lets you control where the autofocus...focuses, I guess. In addition, there are a few dedicated buttons for manual focus, manually activating the flash, etc.

In all honesty, I leave it on full auto (or just disable flash) most of the time and select one of the presets on the main wheel on occasion. The ones on the secondary wheel are less useful.

[hart]

chabig: That's my problem, lack of a few hours. If I had them I'd go to a store and handle some actual cameras. :/

Wiskedjak: As I said this isn't a photography job per se. It's being able to photograph the product to communicate with factories and such, record the objects for the files, that kind of thing. Product photography as in for ads and things is outside the realm of this job.


subego: Oh, yeah, that Nikon/Canon thing is an excellent idea. And so true. All my cameras have been Canons and the Nikon icons all look wierd. So I'll just hint that I'm familiar with whatever brand the camera isn't.

OK, thanks guys for these rough descriptions. I think I'll pair them up with some of the very detailed photos of cameras over at Steve's Digicams and try to remember as much as possible.

[hart]

Jokes on me a bit. Turns out she wants what amounts to freelance tech support instead of full time tech designer. I love Craig's List ads :/

Well at least I may get some freelance out of this. Thanks for your help guys.

[cgc]

Funny if she was mumbling the same thing (e.g. "..those damn Craigslist job applicants...") as you obviously knew nothing about a DSLR

[reader50]

I've used compacts for years, and my first problem upon getting a DSLR wasn't anything listed above. I couldn't zoom the lens. The camera would not respond to the shoulder zoom buttons.

I played with the mode dial (maybe full auto disables manual zoom?) then read chapters in the manual. Eventually I found the answer - you zoom the lens by hand-turning a ring on the lens. My DSLR costs 3-6x the price of a compact, and loses a function. To fully operate it, you MUST hold it with both hands.

I found this completely unintuitive, and if it had happened in an interview ... well, the employer might have been in a good humor afterwards at my expense. But my chances of getting the job would go way down.

[Wiskedjak]

Originally Posted by reader50 

I've used compacts for years, and my first problem upon getting a DSLR wasn't anything listed above. I couldn't zoom the lens. The camera would not respond to the shoulder zoom buttons.

I played with the mode dial (maybe full auto disables manual zoom?) then read chapters in the manual. Eventually I found the answer - you zoom the lens by hand-turning a ring on the lens. My DSLR costs 3-6x the price of a compact, and loses a function. To fully operate it, you MUST hold it with both hands.

I'd argue that's a feature. It gives you much finer and faster zoom control than offered by a compact.

[P]

You have to hold it by two hands anyway, because of the weight. By putting the left hand on the lens, you're actually holding the camera in a very good way to minimize vibration. I agree that it was annoying the first time, though.

[hart]

Originally Posted by cgc 

Funny if she was mumbling the same thing (e.g. "..those damn Craigslist job applicants...") as you obviously knew nothing about a DSLR

Actually the topic never came up.

You know, it's funny, looking for a job people are always telling me, say you know how to do it and learn later. Yet you guys have been quite discouraging. Not to have a bit of a pout but job ads these days are like "know Office like an expert, know Adobe apps at expert level, make coffee, make our web site from scratch including e-commerce, fix the copy machine, build the prototypes by hand, take care of my baby and my difficult dog, polish my car, make me a 3D model of my office in autocad and redecorate it." Applying for jobs in which you don't know every single thing they list is inevitable.

And did I mention that it is not a photography job? Oh, yeah, I did.

/rant

[subego]

I think there may be some unconscious protectionism going on.

How dare you learn in three minutes what took me years!


Edit: to be clear, I'm not immune to it either, it just didn't hit me in this thread for whatever reason.

[Wiskedjak]

The bigger concern for me would being caught in a lie. Yes, it may not be a photography job, but getting caught in a lie in an interview is a sure way to guarantee not getting the job.

[subego]

It's a crap shoot. Not having the qualifications is a pretty sure way too.

If there's enough discussion about it in the interview to get caught in a lie, he really probably needed actual qualification in the first place.

TBH, whether he should have lied or not is dependent on his eye. It's the chef that counts, not the pan, if you know what I mean, and I think you do.


Edits: I thought everybody lied in interviews.

And...

Full disclosure: I don't do [the type of] work where interviews happen. I've likewise never been in a formal interview.

[cgc]

Originally Posted by hart 

Actually the topic never came up.

You know, it's funny, looking for a job people are always telling me, say you know how to do it and learn later. Yet you guys have been quite discouraging. Not to have a bit of a pout but job ads these days are like "know Office like an expert, know Adobe apps at expert level, make coffee, make our web site from scratch including e-commerce, fix the copy machine, build the prototypes by hand, take care of my baby and my difficult dog, polish my car, make me a 3D model of my office in autocad and redecorate it." Applying for jobs in which you don't know every single thing they list is inevitable.

And did I mention that it is not a photography job? Oh, yeah, I did.

/rant

But you still essentially lied about your qualifications which shouldn't be condoned... The fact it's not a photography job should mean you don't need to lie about that fact, it'd be better to bring up your qualifications on other types of cameras instead.

[subego]

I don't think it's that simple.

Sure, lying shouldn't be condoned, but doing whatever it takes in the face of everybody saying it's impossible should be.

Fast learning should be too, but that's not something which sells during a negotiation.

[cgc]

Originally Posted by subego 

I don't think it's that simple.

Sure, lying shouldn't be condoned, but doing whatever it takes in the face of everybody saying it's impossible should be.

Fast learning should be too, but that's not something which sells during a negotiation.

Nobody said learning the differences between a DSLR and a P&S was "impossible".

[subego]

I'd say it was implied it couldn't be done in the time allotted.

[cgc]

Originally Posted by subego 

I'd say it was implied it couldn't be done in the time allotted.

Then why ask in the first place...more likely, it was inferred by a few here. Oh well, I think the horse has gotten a good beating, time to move on to another one

[subego]

I'm all good with moving on , but I totally didn't understand your closing statement.