My first camera

[Acip]

Hello,

I'm about to purchase my first dSLR and was wondering if you guys had any suggestions for me. I want to take shots of nature including animals, leaves, trees, lightning, and some landscapes. Of course I will be taking shots of people sometimes as well.

This will be my first camera and I'm ready and willing to learn =)

I am currently looking at the Rebel XTi.

Thanks in advance for suggestions!

[elysium]

First thing first is yes any digital SLR is going to work but it will be down to your lens choices really which will help to get you the best pictures possible.

The 400D is a great camera to start off with and learn and is pretty straight forward. Your best bet would be to post up pictures that you have taken and await feedback and critism from other members.

When you get the camera, you can learn to understand DOF, ISO, shutterspeed, aperture etc.

[BillsBayou]

What you need is an EOS 1Ds Mark III, a 16-35mm lens, a 35mm f/1.4, 50mm f/1.2, 85mm f/1.2, a prime or two in the 100mm range, a 400mm f/2.8, some ring flashes, portable strobes, 580EX flashes, batteries....

Oh, well, hell, just gimme your credit card info and I'll buy all that for you.

Just kidding. Welcome to the forum. If you're looking at the XTi, get the XTi. It'll do you good.

So what's your budget on lenses and such?

[Pete]

XTi and the kit lens will be a good jumping off point. From there you can learn more about "proper" photography (it's something that needs to be learnt to get the best out of it, as opposed to Point & Shoot that you might have done before).

From there, you can see if you like it or not. If you like it, you can use what you've learnt to buy more kit and go in directions that you want to take.

Start small, grow in the areas you want to follow.

[Ukuleleman]

I second Elysium's suggestion, I have the 400D and I have grown to love it, although at first I was a bit overawed by it, it is a good piece of kit, I also would suggest that you read up on this forum on what lens to purchase, the camera often (but not always) comes as a 'kit', which just means that somebody else has made the lens choice for you and it may not be the lens you need or like.

Take your time and choose the right lens for you, they are expensive and need thought before you spend a lot of money.

It's a great pastime and I know you will enjoy it.

Good luck

[elysium]

I second Elysium's suggestion, I have the 400D and I have grown to love it, although at first
I think it has been the greatest impulse buy I have ever made. I do love mine to bits. I would prefer a full frame but there is still much to learn before I decide to house a second body.

[Acip]

Wow, thanks for all the fast replies. I think I will enjoy this forum site!

My budget is around $600, but of course in the future months I can purchase some new lenses.

I was looking at the Nikon D40X and the Rebel XTi. Just did some research and found out the XTi is also named 400D. I didn't mention the Nikon because this is a canon forum ;)

So, yeah, to start off I'm probably going to get the 400D kit that comes with the 18-55mm lens. I'll post my pictures here and start learning. Thanks again.

[elysium]

With your budget, I would recommend the kit lens. It can product some good results and it is not as bad as people may make it out to be.

In the UK, the cam is about £400/£450 with the kit lens and is what I went for so I say go for it and then save up for additional lenses after.

I tried my friends Nikon D50 and IMO was not as user friendly as the Canon range. But then again, I <3 Canon

[Acip]

Time to read the stickies

[Laramie]

Sounds like the XTi kit would work great for you. if you can swing it, also pick up the 50mm f1.8. You can find it used for around 65-70 bucks and it will really compliment the kit lens. That way you can do all your landscape photos plus nice portaits or nature stuff.

Good luck! If you can wait at all, I'm sure the XTi will be on sale on black friday.

[Big WIll]

Have a search of the forum, for things like "First Camera", "Camera Advice" This is a common question posted on the forum