Newbie saying hello

[JF1980]

Hi there, I have been reading these forums quite a lot in the last few days so though it's about time I said hello and got involved.

My history in photography is non-existant, I have owned various point and shoot cameras, I actually brought myself a Canon EOS300 back in 1998 for a trip to Egypt. I had some nice photo's from that trip, but I only ever used the fully automatic mode, I didn't carry on taking photos with it as the whole film development process was slow and expensive (I didn't have space to do my own development), going through all of that just to see where you messed up seems like a slow learning process.

I started a new job about 12 months ago and have ended up sitting next to our companies designer, he is a semi-pro photographer outside of his day job and has really gotten me interested in photography again. For the past 3 months I had been trying to justify buying either a 350D or D70s (our designer is a N*kon fan). The recent promotions of £100 cashback plus a free 256MB CF card gave me the excuse to go ahead and buy a 350D, the fact I also had two lenses which will fit the 350D helped me to convince myself, although I'm now convinced I need at least one good quality lens.

My current setup is 350D, 18-55mm Kit lens, 28-90mm Kit lens from the EOS300 (probably trash although I have used it for a few pics on the 350D), Sigma 100-300mm which I brought with the EOS300 in '98 (seems the largest ap I can get on it is 4.5). I'm guessing that I won't get any nice images with the two old lenses, but lenses are dam expensive so I can't buy another right now. I really want a Sigma 105mm/2.8 Macro lens, macro photography is somethign which interests me as I can still play around when it's grey and wet outside. I'm thinking of buying some extensions (Jessops do them for canon af at £80) so that I could take some macro shots with the 100-300, any opinions?

Here's a reduced size copy of my most recent photo, I really like night shots, there's something magical and quite abstract about them. Sorry for attaching the image, I will create a gallery soon so that I can post links instead.

It would be great to hear anyones comments, advice on getting started and maybe even info on any photography classes or courses which I could follow in the London area during my spare time.

Thanks,

Justin.

[am_pitbull_terrier]

Welcome to POTN :) Thats a nice shot. I like the night shots myself. I dont think it's a real big deal about posting the image instead of a link, you'll see a lot of people attach the image. Just dont make it too large for the 56k users.

[JF1980]

I think the 56K users need a bit of pain in their lives, it might give them the incentive to upgrade ;)

[Jon]

Welcome to POTN! No problem with attachments - all my pics on here are attachments.

Tubes will be fine for starting with macro, but you may find f/4 a tad slow as a starting point. You may want to keep an eye peeled for a used Sigma 105 or Tamron 90 macro. They'll run about half the price of new. They're also substantially faster. Also check out the "Top Ten Lenses" sticky for ideas.

[am_pitbull_terrier]

I think the 56K users need a bit of pain in their lives, it might give them the incentive to upgrade ;)

:lol: Yeah it's hard to believe it even exists anymore. I've had broadband for about 7 years now and would probably take the bridge if I have to go back to dial up...... But still, we have to be nice to the 56Kers (POTN rules not mine)

[JF1980]

Well that would be great, the 105 is £250 from the best priced retailers, If I could pick a used one up for £150 then I would be very happy, that would be a better buy than the extensions. I have put a request in the sales forum. Thanks for the advice.

[shimano]

Welcome to the forum,i too am a newbie but with the help and guidance from the more knowledgable members here i have made real improvments in my photography

[EOSAddict]

Welcome JF!

Nice pic, nice kit you have to start out. I had a Sigma 75-300 for many years on my EOS 100 and loved it, don't junk it too quickly! Spend too much time here and you will be on the road to financial ruin!!

[JF1980]

Financial ruin, lol, I think I'm already there. Seriously though the only way I would start to spend major amounts of money on photography would be to have photography pay for itself. Probably unrealistic, although we are surrounded by photographs, and somebody pays for them all. Maybe I'll just have to go in to porn, there seems to be pleanty of demand, lol.

On a more constructive note, what do you guys snap at this time of year? It's dark, cold and damp outside :( Add to that the fact that it's really dark when I go to work, and even darker by the time I leave work, there isn't much to do apart from M25 shots :/

[EOSAddict]

The inside of my house!

Seriously, I'm having real problems getting out with the camera between family at Xmas, demands of a full time college course etc. Good job the weather has not been great otherwise I would have been chewing the door frame to get out and try my new lenses if it had been clear and blue!

[Jon]

I think the 56K users need a bit of pain in their lives, it might give them the incentive to upgrade ;)
Believe it or not, broadband isn't universally available. And even where it is widespread, it's not always affordable.