Digital SLRs / Photography

royal

Anybody share interest in photography?

Just ordered the following -

Canon EOS 40d:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000V5QV4S/ref=s9k2a_c1_at1-rfc_g1-3237_p?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=0QMS06HCCV3EF1J7YDPQ&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=463383351&pf_rd_i=507846

Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 Lens:
http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/B0002Y5WXO/191-4948585-8534444?SubscriptionId=02ZH6J1W0649DTNS6002

And some other accessories...

Here's an image with the camera with the lens:
http://a.img-dpreview.com/lensreviews/canon_17-85_4-5p6_is_usm_c16/Images/onbody2.jpg

Now I have another thing to read more about instead of computer books! Now it really never ends...

What do you guys have?

dynamik

I have a D70 and a D80.

Here are a few (unedited) pics from my trip to Belize last May:













The wife and I took a few thousand pictures. I haven't had a chance to sort through them and edit any though

Is this your first dSLR? I found dSLRs for Dummies to be a great way to get started. I'd love to get a D300, but I'm forcing myself to put some more time into mastering the fundamentals before I spend that kind of money.

royal

Yep, first DSLR. I was originally going to go with a D80 but decided to go Canon as well since my 2 buddies that are into SLRs have Canons.

I plan on getting the following 3 books in the following order after I go through the manual and play around with the camera a bit.

http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-Photographs-Digital-Updated/dp/0817463003/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228241393&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Shutter-Speed-Low-Light-Photography/dp/0817463011/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228241393&sr=8-2

And maybe:
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-EOS-Guide-Digital-Photography/dp/1598635107/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228618582&sr=8-4

Bokeh

Any of the Magic Lantern series are good books regardless of brand of camera you have. I was thinking about upgrading my camera this year (Rebel XT) but needed new laptop instead. Perhaps in the spring or summer.

RussS

I run a D50. I find it great for motocross and mountainbike pics and have a preference for having the lens motor drive in the body and not the lense like the Canon or the newer Nikon. That gives me a whole lot more scope when sourcing lenses and keeps the costs down appreciably.

phantasm

I'm a Nikon fanboy, have been for many years. I won't use anything else. For medium format I use Mamiya but thats about it.

I'm planning on moving to a D200 here soon enough.

I took this about 4yrs ago with my old N80.

wd40

I have the same lens + Rebel XTI (400D) ..

if you have extra 85 $ get this
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-50mm-1-8-Camera-Lens/dp/B00007E7JU/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1228663346&sr=8-1

you will not regret it ..

sample ..
http://www.titansea.com/images/IMG_2452.jpg

royal

I have actually been looking to buy that lens due to the how fast it is with its large aperture (low fstop) being able to take in more light for low light shooting. Only thing I wish is that it had a zoom. But if I want a zoom, I thiink I need one of those telephoto lens with a slightly higher fstop or an L series lens... but those things are $1,000+.

wd40

I like it for the bokhe (spell?) .. Your lens has IS, which means practically you can shoot at 1/20 and the picture will be just fine.

+ You are right, the 50 mm is limited in what you can do with it, I have it as an extra just in case if I need to shoot in a real dark situation.

Bokeh

I love the nifty fifty, the plastic fantastic 50mm lens from Canon. It is hardly off my camera.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2285/2220486577_efe9e853b8.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3109/2598949067_e899e3e1e3_b.jpg

royal

Well I splurged and spent an extra $500 on a 50D instead of the 40D and some accessories. Sigh... Time to act like I'm homeless in regards to money for the next few months.

Mmartin_47

Bought a Canon Rebel XS not too long ago

HeroPsycho

After reading this thread, I feel like a photography retard.

Please continue though...

wd40

royal wrote:

Well I splurged and spent an extra $500 on a 50D instead of the 40D and some accessories. Sigh... Time to act like I'm homeless in regards to money for the next few months.

If I had the money, I would have bought a 40D + a macro lens
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-EF-100mm-USM-Cameras/dp/B00004XOM3/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1228821353&sr=8-1

or a 40D + a flash "You will really wish that you have a flash if you tray to take night photos"
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Speedlite-580EX-Digital-Cameras/dp/B000NP3DJW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1228821451&sr=1-1

royal

I plan on getting that stuff eventually, but not a macro lens. Flash is last on my list. If I were to have gotten a more expensive lens, it would have been the 24-105 lens. And the next type of lens I'd want after that would be an Ultra Wide Zoom lens.

I did really want the 50d though for the better micro AF, contrast AF, and face detection AF, as well as the better LCD screen. Also, it has creative auto which I wanted for when I'm lazy. So I'm still happy I spent the extra money.

I go the 17-85 for the low $300s brand new which was really good. So I plan on spending the next year learning more about photography and post processing in Photoshop (I used to be very good in Photoshop and used to do all kinds of digital photography) and then seeing what my style of shooting is before spending more $$$.

dynamik

One other thing you might want to get immediately is a filter to protect your lens.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photographic_filter
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/camera-lens-filters.htm

You might want to consider going with a UV filter over a clear filter for protection. The quality of these can vary quite a bit, so you're going to want to do a little research. The ND filters are great for long exposures.

Check out Photoshop Lightroom as well: http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshoplightroom/

And if you want a fun little tripod: http://www.thinkgeek.com/electronics/cameras-photography/82db/

I think you made a good choice in avoiding the D80. It overexposes a bit (at least compared to the D70). That's why the photos I posted are slightly underexposed; I sent the exposure down 2/3 steps because I was losing detail. It's always easier to lighten an image; it's much harder, if not impossible, to retrieve detail from overexposed areas.

wd40

+1000 for the filter, a UV filter is a must "a scratched filter can be replaced, a scratched lens is useless"

I saw your deleted reply on the 16-35 for a super wide lens

the 16-35 mm is a suuuuuuuper lens .. but it is not that wide .. it is super wide if you are using a full frame camera like the 5D

on your camera with a 1.6X crop factor it is actually ~25 mm lens ..

if you want a super wide your only canon option is the 10-22 mm
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-EF-S-10-22mm-3-5-4-5-Digital/dp/B0002Y5WXE/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1228674490&sr=8-1

michaelkahl

Congrats on the purchase and the draining of your bank accounts. I'm a photo enthusiast as well, been shooting Nikon for several years now. I like Canon as well, just ended up settling on Nikon in the end.
I currently shoot with a D200 and love it.
That 50D should do well for you, just don't develop lens lust, it will really cost you.

royal

Ya, that's one of the things I am really afraid of: developing a lust for lenses cause I know lenses can be really expensive and there are so many kinds.

I will keep what I gave for now and only thing I will buy in terms of lens is the 50mm 1.8 which is a prime and great for low light photography and portraits due to the depth of field the wide aperture brings.

wd40, it's funny that you mention my deleted reply. I actually saw the 10-22mm which is why I believe I deleted the reply and then figured I wouldn't bother posting since it wouldn't be for a long time I'd even get that since I'd probably upgrade to the 24-105 before that anyways.

michaelkahl

I love my 50 f1.8, it's the best $80 I spent in photography. The next best money I spent was on a WB Grey Card. I say card, but the one I have isn't exactly a card. Looks more like a reflector. Color's are so much more accurate with proper white balance from the original shot. Also look into a cheap inexpensive monitor calibrator.

royal

Well, turns out I have really enjoyed having my camera. So much so I just ordered the following to compliment my 50d:

Canon 430EX II Speedlite:
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Speedlite-II-Digital-Cameras/dp/B001CCAISE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1247199114&sr=8-1

Canon 24-70 f/2.8:
Amazon.com: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM Standard Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras: Camera & Photo

And a B+H Multicoated Filter.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/11994-REG/B_W_66070252_77mm_UV_Haze_010.html

Can't wait till I get it. I'll be going to Phoenix and the Grand Canyons in a couple weeks which is what gave me the urge to finally take the dive and splurge.

royal

To add to that, I was really debating hard for a couple months on whether I wanted the 24-70 vs the 24-105. In the end, since I like shooting at night and indoors, the wider aperture really is much better than the 24-105. It also is better at photography for bokeh due to the wider aperture. Though I'll probably still end up getting a prime for better portrait bokeh/quality.

msteinhilber

I've been meaning to pickup a book on operating a Digital SLR the right way. I picked up a lower end by comparison Canon Rebal XTi a while ago but really have been using it set to auto. Recently picked up the flash you linked since the pop-up flash isn't all that great and that helped out tremendously. My wife and I both feel guilty though for having a lot of capabilities but not really utilizing them.

royal

I pretty much operate in Aperture Priority the majority of the time. I've been playing to play with the Time Priority (shutter priority) mode but haven't had the need for it yet. That mode is better for if you're at a fountain and want to force the shutter speed to be slower so you can get a motion blur effect with the water coming down and that kind of stuff.

The reason why I operate in Aperture Priority is because the widest aperture setting is not as sharp as a narrower aperture. And with a narower aperture, your depth of field is MUCH larger. So when it's light outside, I'll make my aperture a little more narrow (higher fstop and less light coming in) to make images sharper. If i want a much narrower depth of field I'll turn my aperture setting to the widest setting (2.4 which means more light will come in) so I get more bokeh (blurry background). Or if it's indoors and darker, I'll turn my aperture very wide to take in more light).

Also, check out this site. Very good instructional videos for cheap:
Michaels Photography School Home

I bought the 50d series and CD1 was general photography and CD2 was how to operate 50d. Not sure how it is for the Rebel.

wd40

I haven't reached the point of buying L lenses yet.

weeks ago I bought a sony HDR-XR500 HD Camcorder ..

I thought that I can buy a canon 70-200 F2.8 IS USM instead but bought the camcorder anyway because I knew that my wife was going to kill me if I bought the lens

Amazon.com: Sony HDR-XR500V 120GB HDD High Definition Camcorder w/12x Optical Zoom: Electronics

royal

I know what you mean. The 70-200 2.4 is an absolute beauty. Shame it costs $1,600.

RTmarc

Also a Nikon guy. I'm running a Nikon D200.

dynamik

Nice to see this thread back!

I've since upgraded to this (essentially, didn't buy this exact pack; pieced it together much cheaper): Amazon.com: Nikon D300 DX 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR [Vibration Reduction] DX Nikkor Zoom Lens + Nikon MB-D10 Grip Multi Power Battery Pack + Lexar Pro 4GB CF Memory Card + Extra Nikon EN-EL3e Battery + Nikon SLR

tdempsey

Just bought one and absolutely love it. Been mounting old Nikon glass on it too with excellent results. Before that I had a Nikon N80 and it got ripped off out of my car.

wd40

dynamik wrote: »

Nice to see this thread back!

I've since upgraded to this (essentially, didn't buy this exact pack; pieced it together much cheaper): Amazon.com: Nikon D300 DX 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera with 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR [Vibration Reduction] DX Nikkor Zoom Lens + Nikon MB-D10 Grip Multi Power Battery Pack + Lexar Pro 4GB CF Memory Card + Extra Nikon EN-EL3e Battery + Nikon SLR

I have a spare camera battery in my bag, but I never needed to use it, at one event I shot more than 600 pictures with no issues <I use an external flash and IS <canon's VR> disabled, so that made me cancel the idea of getting the Grip.

royal

Ya, I have a spare battery as well but I haven't needed it yet. Only reason I would get a battery grip is to make it easier to hold when taking portrait pictures.