Help a Noob

[MONMIX]

Hi, Believe it or not I have searched,and found more then a few answers.
Imagine that a noob who serches. WOW.

Any way what is DSLR ?

I am looking for a higher end camera and I have been looking at the Rebel XL and from what I gather it is a good choice.

Upon purchase is there any thing beyond camera and case I should get ?

Thanks.

[MTalley]

Sometimes, the most obvious questions aren't found in a search.

The D in DSLR stands for Digital. The SLR part stands for "Single Lens Reflex", which refers to the specific mechanism utilized in this type of camera. With an SLR camera, the viewfinder looks directly through the lens. No LCD previews here. Also, no movie modes. Just pure still photographic enjoyment.

As far as what you'll need, be sure that you purchase at least one lens. This may seem obvious, but many DSLRs are sold as "body only", meaning that you get a camera without a lens. Either look for the term "kit" when you are purchasing, meaning that it will come with a standard lens (usually an 18-55mm lens), or if purchasing a "body only" unit, you'll have to also ante up for a separate lens.

The XT is a good choice, indeed.

[MONMIX]

Thank you very indeed.

[MONMIX]

another question, I see the term " noise "
I actually thought it was any sound the camera made
( leave it to 15 years in live audio )
As I reading more, I am unsure what " noise " refers to,,,

[Maureen Souza]

Originally Posted by MONMIX

another question, I see the term " noise "
I actually thought it was any sound the camera made
( leave it to 15 years in live audio )
As I reading more, I am unsure what " noise " refers to,,,

Noise is the amount of grain in a photo..looks kind of like those older TV's with a semi-lousy picture. Increasing the film speed is one thing that can cause noise in a picture as well as many others.
Keep reading the threads here at the forum and ask as many questions as you need...there is lot's of help here.

[robertwgross]

To clarify the meaning, it is best to use the term "color noise" for a digital shot, and "grain" for a film shot. They give a similar appearance, but they come from completely different sources.

---Bob Gross---

[MTalley]

Here's an example of digital noise in a photo. This is a 100% crop of a picture I took early evening at ISO 1600. The noise is most evident at the bottom, right-hand corner of the frame. The green and red speckles are "noise".

[Jon, The Elder]

MTalley - Excellent example, consider building a sticky. This comes up so often it might help a lot of new folks.

[MTalley]

We should have an illustrated glossary to point folks to for things like this. Since I work in documentation and have to created illustrated technical manuals all the time, might be a decent project for me.

I'm also about halfway through a student photography book that I'm writing for a high school level class I'm teaching. I could probably incorporate some of that information, too, though it tends to be less technical in nature, it does cover the basics of exposure, etc.