What accessories should I buy ??

[mpwvp]

I'm picking up my 10D this week and I'm really excited about entering the digital world. I have been shooting with a Elan for the past few years and have aquired a few len's over the years so I'm sticking to Canons Awasome optic's.

I was just wonder what kind of accessories I should buy when I pick up my camera, What kind of flash card, card reader,software?

Any insights to what is a must have would be greatly appriceated (spelling tips too)

Thanks for all you help !!!

Aloha,

-MW

[CyberDyneSystems]

Lens is the obvious first neccesity if you do not allready have any.

A 512MB Card is good one to start,.. They can be had for about $90.00 on the internet. If you can spring for it,. by all means go for a 1 gig or a pair of 512MB

Definatley get a Card reader,.. much more convenient than plugging in the camera. A USB 2 or firewire one will help as they are faster,. however I get by o-kay with a USB 1.0,. they only cost about $20.00 as opposed to $40.00-50.00 for USB2.0 or firwire.

Good prices on both can be found at;

www.newegg.com

At least one more battery,.. buy generic. They last longer and are a lot cheaper. These work great;

http://www.thomasdistributing.com/maha_lithium_rechargeable.htm

they also carry the Lenmar Mach one speed charger which is a faster and more affordable alternative to the Canon battery chargers,. if you think you may go through a lot of batteries. (but the 10D batteries last AMAZINGLY long)

Batteries are even less here if you bid;

http://www.stores.ebay.com/id=15053251

(but I have not personally tried this brand)


If you have any of Canons IS lenses with that gyro eating at your batery you may want to consider the BG ED3 battery grip. It is also helpfull if you like to shoot in portraight format.

Don't forget a bag or case to carry it all around in. :D

[martcol]

E V E R Y T H I N G! :D

[Mr.Jalapeno]

I recommend 2 AC511 batteries (1500 mAh Canon clones) from this place (free shipping):
http://www.batterybarn.com/dbp511.htm
and 2- 512 MB Transcend CF cards from www.newegg.com
Don't put all of your 'eggs' in one basket with just 1- 1 GB card.

A comfortable OpTech strap:
http://www.optechusa.com/profess.htm#PRO%20STRAPS
..and a neoprene case:
http://www.optechusa.com/digital.htm#dseries
make excellent additions without costing too much money.

[dwdmguy]

A flash bracket. Even more so if you are using the built in pop up.
ENJOY and welcome.
Tom

[CyberDyneSystems]

??? I thought A flash bracket was to hold an external flash?

:D was that a joke???

[D60DIETER]

Hi,

if you look for a very good external card reader, I highly recommend the "LEXAR CF CARDREADER FOR FIREWIRE". This one is really fast (about for times faster than the ones for USB 1.1). And it is afordable (about 39.- US$).

Dieter

[mpwvp]

Thank you everybody for all the helpful comments, I'm getting more pumped up about picking up my camera this thursday.

I just have a quick question, How many pictures can fit on a 256k disk at the highest Res ?

I'm debating on what size disk I should buy.

Once again thank you for all your helpful tips and insights. I can't wait to start taking some pic's.

Aloha,

-MW

[Jeppe]

On a typical 256 MB CF-card in large/fine jpeg there is room for about 84 pictures @ iso 100

But what you really want to shoot is RAW. 36 of these files will fit on a 256MB.

With RAW, you will have the oppertunity to choose whitebalance, exp.komp. and much more in the computer, after exposure..

I have three Transcend 256MB 30x.. I would however recommend 512's if you are gonna shoot RAW

[Robert]

Best of luck with your new camera. I currently own a 1Ds and previously owned a D60. The magnification factor of 1.6x was favorable when working with telephoto lenses but was not when working with wide angle lenses. A 20mm lens on the 10D becomes 32mm which wasn't wide enough for me. I would suggest that you look at the new Canon 17-40mm lens. It is my understanding that you get a true 17-40mm coverage on the 10D using this lens. It is fairly priced as well.

Please keep in mind as megapixels increase with technology so do the demands on the size of compact flash cards. As you learn the 10D you will find that RAW and 16 bit provides the highest quality images and also require, not only more storage space in your camera, but in your computer as well. As large as a 512mb cards seems today it might not make sense with your next digital camera. Around 80 - 16 bit images from my 1Ds are all that will fit on a 1 gb card. If I shoot RAW plus JPEG only 59 will fit. I suggest that you get the largest cards that you can afford.

Enjoy your new camera!

[Longwatcher]

mpwvp wrote:
I just have a quick question, How many pictures can fit on a 256k disk at the highest Res ?

Aloha,

-MW

My experience using 256meg cards (my favorite is the lexar x12 speed) is 32 to 40 images per card in RAW mode (average is about 36).

I use three 256meg CF cards and a 30gig Picture Pad when traveling. I highly recommend using several smaller cards over one large one. If you have an error with one, you have others and if you are travelling and have some rare pictures, you can keep the images on one of the smaller cards as a backup to primary storage.
Although, I have had no problems with my picture pad (other then battery life); I felt a lot better knowing that a batch of the best pictures I took were also on my third card at least until I had gotten home and copied to CD archive.

on other accesories: I highly recommend getting an external flash (the onboard flash is too weak). The BG-3D battery grip and the RS-80N3 remote switch are also very useful.

If you plan on doing portraits frequently I have found that the Angle Finder C, Eyepiece extender and a internal CF card reader for my computer to be also handy.

If you travel I recommend getting a pair of 550EX flashes, a Picture Pad*, and a nice travel case that will fit in the overhead bins of an airliner.

Just my opinions,
Have Fun

*=A laptop will work, but you can keep the picture pad in your bag, so it is less likely to be stolen. The catch is with a laptop you could edit the images on the way home.

[aravet]

Don't forget an external hard drive, to download your pictures, once your CF is full.

Example : X-S drive
http://www.xs-drive.com/

[aravet]

aravet wrote:
Don't forget an external hard drive, to download your pictures, once your CF is full.

.. and make sure it has a fast (USB 2, or FireWire) link to the PC, and not USB 1

[mpwvp]

Thank you everybody for all the help. This has been the most helpful message board I've been to.

Thanks for taking the time to reply to my questions.

I live in Hawaii and plan on taking some scenic pictures with my 10D, by any chance can you buy a panoramic lens that works with the 10D ? "I think this my be a not so smart question"

I currently have a cannon 20-35mm lens and have been pretty happy with the results, but I would like to go wider without being to fish eyeish.

Thanks again guys

Aloha,

Marshall

[justme_dc]

I would say the best accesory for the 10D is the BG-ED3 grip. Even if you never take portrait style vertical images it really gives you more to hold onto. I think it balances the camera really well.

as to the wide angle question.... The 14mm is really the only wide lens that is well corrected but it is only a 22.4mm with the crop. It's also like a bizzilion dollars. You might want to check out the 17-40 f4L it distorts a bit but not as bad as a fisheye

[CyberDyneSystems]

That Canon 20-35 will be a benifit over the usual 28-xxx lenses. For wider you could look at the Canon lenses listed above or the Sigma 17-40 (40mm??) or (14-35mm)

I do not think there is a "panorama lens" made for 35mm format SLRs as panorama would be more a function of the film/digital CCD than the lens itself.

[aravet]

mpwvp wrote:
I live in Hawaii and plan on taking some scenic pictures with my 10D, by any chance can you buy a panoramic lens that works with the 10D ?

For wide panorama, you should also consider shooting multiple pictures and stitching them. Using a tripod is recommended.

[mpwvp]

Thanks for the info..

i could not wait to the end of the week to pick up my camera so I found one at Circut City tonight and I love it once I get a hang of it I'll post some pic's up

Thanks again for all your input.

Aloha,

-MW

[wrxxx]

I live in Hawaii and plan on taking some scenic pictures with my 10D, by any chance can you buy a panoramic lens that works with the 10D ? "I think this my be a not so smart question"

Marshall -

Good questions & great answers.

I'm taking my D60 to Hawaii in September.
Off topic, we're visiting friends on Oahu and can't decide
whether to spend the remaining 7 - 10 days on the Big Island or Maui.

We're mostly into nature, birding, that sort of stuff.

Where do you live and what do you think are the pros & cons of the two islands?

[jazt]

aravet wrote:
aravet wrote:
Don't forget an external hard drive, to download your pictures, once your CF is full.

.. and make sure it has a fast (USB 2, or FireWire) link to the PC, and not USB 1


Make sure it says USB 2.0 HIGH SPEED. Some products say 2.0 compatable, but it is not HIGH SPEED.

[mpwvp]

I live in Honolulu, and as you know the majority of the population resides in Honolulu approx 800 thousand while the outer Islands consist of about 200 thousand.

Both Isalnds have a lot to offer as far as taking pictures. Honolulu has some really nice beaches and beautiful sunsets and sun rise's also has some Awsome hiking trails you can take to the top of the mountain range which has a incredible view of 3/4 of the Island. you ca see Honolulu to Kailua,The name of the trail is called stairway to heaven. (this is a must for you if you plan on taking some scenic shots..


Big Island (Hilo), depending on where you stay the weather has two extreams Hilo is very wet with lots of flowers and a few birds not a hole heck of a lot, but they do have the Volcano which you may really enjoy.

Big Island (Kona) is very hot and sunny with very little vegetation you would have to drive into the mountains to find some hiking trails there are lots of Lava fields. the Ocean is Awsome.

You may want to consider going to Kauai instead, Kauai has a lot to offer. has its own Grand Canyon and water falls lots of vegitation tons of birds too.

I hope this Helps

Aloha,

-MW