New to Canon

[Cindel]

A couple days ago, I bought myself the Powershort S5 IS. I haven't had alot of time to play around with it. So far...so good. I've had Nikon's prior so I'm hoping that I had a good choice. :confused:

It was recommended to me that I get a polarized filter. Any idea where I could get one? How do I know if I need 52mm or 58mm or does it matter which size? I'm a newbie to all this so please bare with me.

The Power adapters...is that a good idea? I was thinking that while I'm learning about the camera, it might be better to have a power adapter than to run down the batteries. Will having the rechargeable batteries in the camera, and a power adapter on, cause any problems? Will this recharge the batteries?

Thanks for any advice you can provide. Any please feel free to let me know anything else that I need to about this camera.

Cindel

[shannyD]

b&h photo sells everything youll ever need.. and welcome to POTN.. youll hate this place.. in a good way ;)

shannon

[Jon]

Polarizing filters are nice for reducing glare and making colours more saturated in some situations, but if you're really just getting started you may not want to get involved in them. You won't be able to mount one directly to the camera; you'll need to get a lens adapter which fits around the outside of the lens assembly; the filter attaches to that. Canon makes one, as does a company called Lensmate (http://www.lensmateonline.com). Canon's adapter takes 58 mm filters; Lensmate has, IIRC, versions for both 52 mm and 58 mm. Personally, I'd get the 58 mm version as there's less chance the filter edges will get into your picture ("vignetting").

I wouldn't bother with an external power adapter. Just get a couple of sets of rechargeable batteries and a charger; you'll have to use the camera a lot to run down a good set of AA NiMH. It would be worth getting a card reader (SD-HC), since those tend to transfer files faster than direct camera connections will.