hey

[newbietom]

i am new to this site i just stumbled onto it ,i see i have a lot of reading ahead of me .
not sure if this is in the right subject area ,im located in Toronto ,ontario, i have a rebel xs camera eos that i got for x mas , i have not used this camera to its max in my opinion , i have a hard time using it expecially with the stock lens that it came with it just seems its not enough for when i am trying to get just a little bit closer , am i missing something is there a rec starter lens that i can get , or any info anyone can give me would be great , my daughter has an interest as well so i am looking at buying another lens for her to take close ups of her animals and nature as she is a true bunny hugger and loves taking photos , again any insight would be great ,like i siad i will be reading but would like to get a lens and go from there
thanks again
tom

[wayne.robbins]

Tom.
Slow down. Break your thoughts out into more than two sentences. Yes- Everything from Not sure if this- till the end- one sentence.. That makes it harder to read. Also avoid shortening words into abbreviated form- because not everyone out there will recognize "rec stock lens" and figure out that you are asking for a lens recommendation for a kit lens. That being said- welcome.
I assume that you have an 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 IS kit lens and it's mate is the 55-250 F/4-5.6 IS kit lens. I am assuming that you are looking for decent- but relatively cheap.. If you can afford more than a few hundred dollars for a lens- you might want to provide what your budget is so that a better lens recommendation can follow.
The downside of going with a kit lens is that they are variable aperture ( like "F/4-5.6 ) and kind of slow. If you are looking at any kind of darker environment- you will want to consider a "faster" lens- something with say f/2.8 for the max aperture. The great equalizer- and something that will improve your photography much more, in my opinion, is an external flash like a 430 EX II or 580 EX II. If you are taking pictures of stationary animals- the slower kit lenses might be ok. However, most smaller animals- rarely sit still- hence- faster glass or better yet- flash. Indoors, however, you might be better off with a prime lens- such as a 50mm f/1.8 or f/1.4- if you are trying to avoid the flash.

[newbietom]

hey there and thank you , sorry i was just rambling on ,since i found this site .
yes i have the stock lens that you mention .i am not looking to spend huge money on a lens as this is just an introductory for me and my daughter .but probly around 200-300 dollars for a lens is a good budget lens for me .id like to figure out how to use it and go from there just surfing thru this site everything seems chinese to me ,pardon the pun.
but i am a good learner and take constructive critisism well. is there a place on this site site for begineers where i can practice using my camera to try out the differnt modes
or possibly somewhere else that you guys know of .
cheers
tom

[nathancarter]

Before you spend any money on additional gear, do some reading and experimenting, and make sure you're pushing the gear you have to its limits.

Start with Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson.