Topic: Interested in Photography...with pictures!

[The Mighty Duck]

Canon 18-55mm kit lens has very limited usage, in my opinion it's better to by only camera body because when you will get another lens, you probably will never use kit 18-55mm lens again

Eh?  The kit lens on my D40 is 18-55mm, and I've found it a very good compromise on wide angle and portrait-zoom.  Mine got broken and I haven't found much else that comes close to the flexibility and portability of this lens without spending about $800.

About the only thing I miss is a longer telephoto...  have been thinking about an 18-200mm, but they don't come cheap and add weight.  Decisions, decisions. 

[Triple Bob]

Canon 18-55mm kit lens has very limited usage, in my opinion it's better to by only camera body because when you will get another lens, you probably will never use kit 18-55mm lens again

Eh?  The kit lens on my D40 is 18-55mm, and I've found it a very good compromise on wide angle and portrait-zoom.  Mine got broken and I haven't found much else that comes close to the flexibility and portability of this lens without spending about $800.

About the only thing I miss is a longer telephoto...  have been thinking about an 18-200mm, but they don't come cheap and add weight.  Decisions, decisions. 

How did you break it?  I dropped my 18-200mm about 3ft and it was OK, broke the filter though.

[The Mighty Duck]

How did you break it?  I dropped my 18-200mm about 3ft and it was OK, broke the filter though.

I've no idea!     A friend was shooting with it and when I returned to it the lens no longer mounted on the camera properly - a couple of the clips broke.  It still works, but I get "lens not attached" errors constantly because it doesn't sit properly.

[dr_spock]

The kit lens is cheap enough to get.  It doesn't add much to the base price of the camera.   It is a good starting point if you have no idea what kind of photography you want to do or what focal lengths you typically shoot at.  Once you've outgrown it, you can keep it as a spare backup or sell it. 

[dr_spock]

Live View may be handy for macro photography or shooting from weird angles-like below or above your eye level.  It is nice when you have lots of time to compose the shot.   For action photography you'd probably want to use the optical viewfinder.   

I dunno, my new tripod can get pretty low!

 

That's pretty low and stable.   I have low but not too stable if I used too long a lens on my little 1960s Vivitar tripod. 



Instead of Live View one could use one of these for waist level or low level or macro work:

[2JDM]

Thanks a lot everyone for the help.

After some research and the information given by others, I purchased the Canon XS w/ the kit lens. Its on sale at Future Shop...$549 plus a free bag worth about $60. Should be here in a couple of days.

ABout the live view: I WON'T be RELYING on it, but I think it is nice to have. The competitor cameras didn't have it, but this Canon did, at a decent price. So why not? An extra feature for less money, right?

I now will be doing more research on the modes of the camera, and general photography basics. One of my buddies said to sign up and check out Flickr. I hope to be like many of you one day. 

[MOnk]

Canon 18-55mm kit lens has very limited usage, in my opinion it's better to by only camera body because when you will get another lens, you probably will never use kit 18-55mm lens again

Eh?  The kit lens on my D40 is 18-55mm, and I've found it a very good compromise on wide angle and portrait-zoom.  Mine got broken and I haven't found much else that comes close to the flexibility and portability of this lens without spending about $800.

About the only thing I miss is a longer telephoto...  have been thinking about an 18-200mm, but they don't come cheap and add weight.  Decisions, decisions. 

Try 50mm instead

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/reviews/canon-ef-50mm-f-1.8-ii-lens-review.aspx



I have stock 18-55mm, but in 99.9% cases I shoot with 70-300mm or 50mm

[MOnk]

17-85mm also is great alternative

http://provisualdirect.co.uk/acatalog/Canon_EF-S_17-85mm_f_4-5.6_IS.html?gclid=CJ_sr8bGi5sCFU8TzAodVmcqpg

That is why there are tons of used 18-55mm for sale

[Triple Bob]

Thanks a lot everyone for the help.

After some research and the information given by others, I purchased the Canon XS w/ the kit lens. Its on sale at Future Shop...$549 plus a free bag worth about $60. Should be here in a couple of days.

ABout the live view: I WON'T be RELYING on it, but I think it is nice to have. The competitor cameras didn't have it, but this Canon did, at a decent price. So why not? An extra feature for less money, right?

I now will be doing more research on the modes of the camera, and general photography basics. One of my buddies said to sign up and check out Flickr. I hope to be like many of you one day. 

Good choice!

Although rather than Flickr which is just a big photo album (still useful though), join something that motivates you to take photos like DPC http://www.dpchallenge.com/  the constructive criticism on there is invaluable and will make you a better photographer much quicker.  They will tell you why a photograph isn't as good as it could have been, and how you could have improved it, no constant back slapping on there.
 

[The Mighty Duck]

Try 50mm instead

I've been thinking about it.  Greater aperture flexibility beats zoom control, imo.  You can always move in or out, but you can't change your aperture beyond what the zoom lens supports. 

[tortoise]

I love my 50mm prime.  Not only is it great in low light, it's INCREDIBLY sharp.

If you're shooting on a crop sensor though I'd suggest the 35mm prime.  I find the 50 mm a little too long some times.  Of course a 35 mm will be more pricey, so I'm happy to deal with the limitations of the 50 mm.

[2JDM]

Thanks a lot everyone for the help.

After some research and the information given by others, I purchased the Canon XS w/ the kit lens. Its on sale at Future Shop...$549 plus a free bag worth about $60. Should be here in a couple of days.

ABout the live view: I WON'T be RELYING on it, but I think it is nice to have. The competitor cameras didn't have it, but this Canon did, at a decent price. So why not? An extra feature for less money, right?

I now will be doing more research on the modes of the camera, and general photography basics. One of my buddies said to sign up and check out Flickr. I hope to be like many of you one day. 

Good choice!

Although rather than Flickr which is just a big photo album (still useful though), join something that motivates you to take photos like DPC http://www.dpchallenge.com/  the constructive criticism on there is invaluable and will make you a better photographer much quicker.  They will tell you why a photograph isn't as good as it could have been, and how you could have improved it, no constant back slapping on there.
 

Thank you! I will definitely check it out.

Now I gotta find a cheap SD card...or SDHC?  I am thinking 4 GB is enough. And a camera bag. ebay seems pretty cheap for those things...

[huota]

Now I gotta find a cheap SD card...or SDHC?  I am thinking 4 GB is enough. And a camera bag. ebay seems pretty cheap for those things...

That'd be SDHC then, as SD cards are (usually) 2GB or less.

I just bought an 8GB SDHC card for £12.99 GBP (delivered) from mymemory.co.uk. SD/SDHC cards are cheap nowadays.

[tpl]

Tiger Direct is cheap

[The Mighty Duck]

I love my 50mm prime.  Not only is it great in low light, it's INCREDIBLY sharp.

If you're shooting on a crop sensor though I'd suggest the 35mm prime.  I find the 50 mm a little too long some times.  Of course a 35 mm will be more pricey, so I'm happy to deal with the limitations of the 50 mm.

Yeah - I think the price differential means the 50mm is a lot more logical.  FWIW, I find myself using the longer end of my telephoto when taking portraits anyway, so I'd probably be happy with that focal length.

Now I gotta find a cheap SD card...or SDHC?  I am thinking 4 GB is enough. And a camera bag. ebay seems pretty cheap for those things...

Are you planning on shooting in RAW or JPEG?  Highest-quality JPEGs on my camera are about 3.5MB - RAW would be about twice that.  For me that means my 1GB card holds ~280 JPEGs or ~140 RAWs.

In any event, 4GB should be plenty. 

One thing to keep in mind with bags is whether you plan on acquiring more lenses later on.  A small bag is handy, but can only hold one lens in many cases.  OTOH, carrying a big bag with only one lens is a bit of a waste.  Something to think about, though.

[dr_spock]

Thanks a lot everyone for the help.

After some research and the information given by others, I purchased the Canon XS w/ the kit lens. Its on sale at Future Shop...$549 plus a free bag worth about $60. Should be here in a couple of days.

Hey, good buy.  It's amazing how much prices have dropped in the last 4 years.  You'll probably want to get a good fast SDHC card if you plan on doing a lot of continuous shooting like in sports mode. 

Here is a online tutorial on the older Canon Rebel XT.   Most of the theory and techniques are still applicable.  I found it helpful when I bought my XT a few years ago.

http://www.usa.canon.com/dlc/controller?act=GetArticleAct&articleID=279

[2JDM]

Thank you everyone.

I have been reading the manual and trying some shots. Boy, do I have ALOT to learn. 

I ended up buying a 8GB Patriot class 6 SDHC card, for $23, at Canada Computers. I am not sure of the speed though.

[The Mighty Duck]

I ended up buying a 8GB Patriot class 6 SDHC card, for $23, at Canada Computers. I am not sure of the speed though.

That's quite the deal.  I remember when SD cars were many, many times that expensive.

Class 6 is the fastest SD card in production right now.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Digital_card#SD_Speed_Class_Ratings

As to learning...  just play with it.  I learned a lot that reading guides never really explained intuitively just by taking shots and playing with the dials.  Find a subject - doesn't even have to be a nice one - and just play.  Nice thing about digital is you get instant feedback to learn what's happening in the camera.

[2JDM]

I have been playing with my camera lately...here are my first shots!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bly25/

 

ANY comments and criticisms are appreciated.

[Triple Bob]

I ended up buying a 8GB Patriot class 6 SDHC card, for $23, at Canada Computers. I am not sure of the speed though.

That's quite the deal.  I remember when SD cars were many, many times that expensive.

Class 6 is the fastest SD card in production right now.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Digital_card#SD_Speed_Class_Ratings

Class 6 seems to cover a wide range of speeds, I use CF Cards with a 40MB/s transfer rate.  Don't buy cheap cards from dodgy websites, they will most likely be counterfeit.

Some nice shots on Flickr, looks like you're experimenting nicely, good composition too!  I've added you as a contact.