Well guys, and gals..I DID IT!

[3p0rtlnd12]

I bought the 300D, well for mom did for my birthday! I'm so excited but now its just the wait.... :cry: Its killing me.

This is my first SLR, I dont know ANYTHING. So you'll have to excuse me for asking silly newbie questions. I can't wait to get it and play w/ it, I love gadgets.

Does anyone have any tips in learning how to use it or anything that i should just know about my camera? Thanks!!

cheers,

Amber

[Spargo]

Take a picture. Then take another. Then change a setting and do it again. Learn. Hi, I'm a n00b too. :)

[tommykjensen]

Congratulations. You will be happy with it.

As Spargo says the best way to learn is to just try and keep trying. And sometimes read just a page or two in the manual :wink: And then come back here, look at photos, read articles, tips & tricks, search, post Your own photos and ask all the questions You have. (Not necesarily in that particular order :lol: )

[Big_B]

Congratulations! I'm sure you'll have loads of fun :)

What advice can I give? Take loads of pictures. Everything that tommy said + read the manual + read the manual again etc. + read this website lots.

Good luck!

[Andy_T]

.... sit down on your a** and read every damn post in this great forum here 8)

No kidding, it's a great pool of knowledge. When I got my G2 some 2 years ago, I would spend a weekend to go through every thread that seemed interesting to me and really learned a lot.

Downside is ... you'll be lusting for all kinds of expensive stuff then... but isn't that some of the fun of it?

Best regards,
Andy

PS: Welcome to the forum. It's a great place to check out.

[3p0rtlnd12]

Thanks to everyone that replied! I am definitely a picture freak. Most my friends don't understand it, going on photoshoot of the city, etc at night. I hope I can pick up on the basics quickly because I'm going on a trip to the OUtback/Great Ocean road (12 apostles) 3 days after I get my camera. Wish me luck guys!

Cheers,
Amber

.... sit down on your a** and read every damn post in this great forum here 8)

No kidding, it's a great pool of knowledge. When I got my G2 some 2 years ago, I would spend a weekend to go through every thread that seemed interesting to me and really learned a lot.

Downside is ... you'll be lusting for all kinds of expensive stuff then... but isn't that some of the fun of it?

Best regards,
Andy

PS: Welcome to the forum. It's a great place to check out.

Hey Andy, Yeah, this is definitely where I will be spending manya nights on my butt. Trust me, I know about spending a lot of time on forums, and all that expensive stuff? I know about it too (I mod my car, see the hyperlink in sig if you wanna see what was my first obsession)

I'm definitely looking forward to getting to know everyone here. I've barely spent time so far, and it seems like everyone is very knowledgable. I just dont know where to start because everyone already knows so much about cameras.

[rpmx]

for every post you read on here about learning to take good pictures, you must go to a money saving forum and learn just as much about that, because you are going to need to be able to save money up for the ever increasing amount of upgraded gear you will need in the near future, My suggestion to start with is this: whenever you delete a bad picture, put 26 cents into a jar, and continue to do this, This will not completely cover the upcoming expenses, but it certainly will help.

(Just kidding if not noticeable)

Good luck!

Read, point and click, repeat the above at least 3000 times a year, and you will get there.

[Cadenza]

Congratulations! Now, don't forget to clean your sensor every week

[DReb-MO]

Read the manual, that's a given. But the manual does do much more then explain things like how to change the ISO, not why you would and how to tell if it's high enough. I bought a book called Short Course for the Digital Rebel at the site below. 100 Pages of how to and whys with a bit of theory included. I read this book three times cover to cover and other sections more then that. Good stuff. After that I discovered this forum and never looked back. Good luck.

http://www.shortcourses.com/bookstore/canon/book_canonrebel.htm

[MrEWorm]

Buy a book about Photoshop, buy Photoshop, rip the book up, buy another book about photoshop, read every post about photoshop, buy another book....repeat until next camera purchase

[ChrisN]

Shoot, Shoot, Shoot. and at the end of the day, kill off the battery by... you guessed it. shooting some more.

I just got the Rebel as well and am struggling quite a bit with it as I have spent the last 7 months with a P&S S50. This too is my first SLR so I am finding many fundamental differences between the 2 (and rightly so)

Anyhow, I have been going through this link and have found it quite educational
http://www.photoworkshop.com/canon/lessons_1-5.html

[ejwebb]

Buy a book about Photoshop, buy Photoshop, rip the book up, buy another book about photoshop, read every post about photoshop, buy another book....repeat until next camera purchase

Unless you have money to burn, don't think you have to go spend $300 to upgrade to Photoshop right off the bat, if ever. Learn Elements first since it came with your camera and spend your money on the other camera equipment you will need - bag, tripod, 50mm 1.8 lens, flash, filters, memory cards, etc.

Elements can do everything you will need to to learn digital image processing for now - curves and a few other functions can be added by purchasing Richard Lynch's book for $30. If you decide you want to shoot RAW or need additional functions offered by Photoshop you can always add it later.

You might also want to eventually investigate the "Hack" firmware once you get comfortable with the camera - it adds other functions like the ability to select "one-shot" focus, flash exposure compensation and mirror lock-up. All things you will be interested in once you advance your knowledge and understand how the camera works.

Congratulations on the camera purchase - you'll love it!!

[roanjohn]

ENJOY IT!!!

Ro1

[aam1234]

If you are new to photography in general and want some concepts & principles, I highly recommend this link. It did wonders for me:

http://www.shortcourses.com/using/index.htm

[cmM]

congrats on your purchase!

Newbie questions?? Bring 'em on :!: :wink: I love newbie questions...I can actually answer some of them. :P

[SENster7]

Congrats and welcome to this great forum. I've had my DRebel for almost 6 months now, and the advice I can give to you is read through this forum, and experiment with all the modes of the DRebel. I learn through doing, and some reading, but everyone is different. I know that at first I was extremely frustrated with my DRebel with regards to all the underexposed pictures I was taking, but I learned that by adding either adding + 1/3 or +2/3 of EV it seemed to help. I also learned that adjusting Levels in PS is key as well. Another frustration I had was feeling that the colors seemed to be flat, but again playing with PS resolved that problem. You can also experiment with shooting RAW eventually as it is key when shooting mixed lightning. Also be prepared to want to buy every lens that Canon makes! Well I think I babbled enough, just ENJOY!

[mttmrphy]

You think the camera cost a lot? Wait untill you start your lens collection. Then wait untill you start your L lens collection.