My first dSLR!

[Rigby470]

Hello all! I am new here and I recently purchased my first dSLR, a Canon Rebel XT. So far, I love it! I haven't had a chance to really try it out yet, but hopefully this weekend the weather will be accomodating.

I am so green when it comes to photography, so I will be using the full auto mode for some time, but hopefully I will learn all the buttons soon.

I bought the camera with the standard lense. What would be a good second lense to buy? I will mainly be photographing people, but would like to be able to bring someone up close if I need to. I'm not talking from a mile away or anything, just short to medium distances. What would you recommend?

[sid]

The Canon 50mm f/1.8 will fit your need nicely. At $79 it's a great deal.

[pcasciola]

Impossible to say without knowing how much you want to spend. If you are looking for a little bit of range to go with your kit lens, the Canon 70-200 f/4L (about $575) is a great lens.

Check out this thread:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=56752

Oh yeah, and welcome to the forum. :)

[CGrindahl]

The first lens I added after purchasing the first Digital Rebel was a Canon EF 28-135 image stabilized lens. It is a fine walk around lens because of its range. It has reasonable sharpness though I eventually moved up to the 70-200 f/4L and the 17-40 f/4L professional lenses. There is no doubt investing in quality lenses will give the best images, but whether it is worth the investment is really a question of what kind of shooting you wish to do. If I were to start again, the first lens I would buy is the Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 which you can pick up for around $300 after the current $40 rebate. This is one fine lens.

I'd also recommend the Fred Miranda website which has an outstanding section with reviews of lenses, as well as cameras. Doing your homework now will give you the best bang for the buck. Here is a link to the FM reviews. Good luck!

http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/

[eosster]

Hello all! I am new here and I recently purchased my first dSLR, a Canon Rebel XT. So far, I love it! I haven't had a chance to really try it out yet, but hopefully this weekend the weather will be accomodating.

I am so green when it comes to photography, so I will be using the full auto mode for some time, but hopefully I will learn all the buttons soon.

I bought the camera with the standard lense. What would be a good second lense to buy? I will mainly be photographing people, but would like to be able to bring someone up close if I need to. I'm not talking from a mile away or anything, just short to medium distances. What would you recommend?

Kit lens? If not get a EF 50mm F/1.8, it's one sharp lens with excellent price. You will never regret it, as you can see everyone have this jewel.

[smittymike19]

check out the lens section of this forum. in particular this 5 page thread. good luck!!
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=55134

[micklemuk]

i also just bought the 350D, and also got the tamron 28-300mm macro-love this lens and sigma 105mm macro,the sigma is nice but very slow on auto focusing,waiting for my local store to get the tamron 90mm in....

[picture-this]

I just got my first SLR too. Play with it a bunch taking silly shots at home, get used to the buttons and checking that the iso hasn't been left on a high setting from the day before.

[photopaque]

I just got my first SLR too. Play with it a bunch taking silly shots at home, get used to the buttons and checking that the iso hasn't been left on a high setting from the day before.
Excellent point there mate............i shot all day yesterday not realising i was on iso1600..........
:o

[picture-this]

Ah you havn't figured out the custom functions yet, I had to leave it on ISO H 3200(CF#8/1) for a night to realise that mistake. Since I have done it again just once. I get my self in a rutine of checking everything now when I head out in the morning. Dont forget your memory card and format it in camera. I leave the camera in raw so I dont check reselution and whitebalance gets set on auto most of the time. If I was shooting landscape or slow shutter the day before I make sure the mirror lock up was disabled (cf#12/0. Then your usual ISO, metering mode, Auto focus mode. I make sure the camera is back using all focus points (grid button beside the star button) or I choose another single one manually (cf#13/1 enables direct control with the joystick). I then focus using the the star button (cf#4/1 wich is really handy cept you might forget to focus at all), adjust shutter+appeture and maybe a fine tuning of the focus and Iso and yes were finally there it's time to release that shutter. Haha now I look at my thread and it looks like this is a huge ordeal but it's not. These area couple other custom funtions I set to make things quicker or more functional. CF#1/4 and CF# 11/1 Also in menu adjust the camera to perameters 1 instead of defult 2 if your shooting jpeg as otherwise you will have to do post prossesing to every shot to make them look right. Finally I would say set return to previous for the menu button instead of having to scroll through all the options each time. That's pretty much it, you now have everything working at optimal performance or just think what the hell is this guy going off about.... Cheers have fun.

[Dante King]

I love my 85mm 1.8. What a hunk o' Glass that is! Great for people too. And at the 1.6 crop it is 136mm. Think that covers your medium distance. Did i mention that it is USM? While framing subjects is easier on a zoom, Looking for the right angle is fun. Sharpness and low light ability are a plus.

[mrclark321]

O.K.

I took the night off work because I got a cold or something! I've had a whack of cough medicine and now I'm drinking something a little more relaxing!( not a good combo )
I have been on calumetphoto.com a few times tonight and have almost ordered the
Canon 50mm f/1.8. The price is $92 US total but I am not sure how much the customs will be. In Canada the lense is $131 plus taxes.
Can someone twist my arm into ordering this......is it whorth while?

Thanks Dan

[Maureen Souza]

O.K.
Can someone twist my arm into ordering this......is it whorth while?
Thanks Dan

Anyone who has it will gloat endlessly over it's fine performance for such little money. I actually got the 50/1.4 ($310) because I do wedding photography and I wanted quality assurance but my hubby got the 1.8 and it is great bang for your buck!

[wolf]

Dan there is no customs duty charged on camera equipment when bought from the US and shipped to Canada. I buy from B&H (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=12142&is=USA) in New York all the time and never pay duty, just GST.

[CRE@TE]

There is no real savings after the exchange. I'd buy locally if all possible. I seen it locally for $105 pus taxes CDN @ Leo's camera in Vancouver. Too bad I had already bought one a month earlier for $130 plus taxes.

[byso]

I got the 55-200 usm II it was great for sports, a doubler and the ef50 1.8.

I've had it for 3 weeks and it's a top camera the auofocus for sports are great. In good light so far.