Just bought a t2i

and it arrived today. Never really owned a camera before, let alone a DSLR. Any recommended settings?

Should I take all my photos as RAW?

Read as much as you can.

Learn to shoot in AV or TV mode or manual, but never use Green mode. :P

There are no specific settings for each shot, you just need to learn the basics and apply it.

However, as for camera settings, I turned off the Auto Lighting Optimizer as it constantly over exposed my shots on my 550D (t2i). Your results may vary.

Pick up "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. It's a good book to start with and teaches all the basics of exposure.

As for shooting in RAW, it depends. I shoot in RAW because it's less of a hassle to fix in post. I shoot in RAW + jpg when I need to give a photo to someone without processing.

Congrats and welcome!

I would suggest taking a photography class first, that helped me a lot. Then get to know your camera by getting a book like "T2i For Dummies" which has a more user friendly explanation of the settings and what they do than the manual that comes with the camera.

As noted the key to photography is composition and light, the more you learn about this the better you will become. Don't get hung up in the "I need more gear" mode, we all have been there but you are on the bottom of the learning curve now and the equipment at this point is not holding you back.

Shotng in RAW is more of an issue for post processing, if you just want to get shots printed quickly to check them out then shoot JPEG, you can move to RAW later. As for shooting modes, try them all but it's easier to stick with TV if shooting subjects that have motion, or AV for greater depth of field like portraits and landscape.

Good luck and share your results in the T2i forum.

Thank you both and I'm currently a college student so taking a photography class is in the picture *pun intended*

People learn in different ways but everyone needs to understand concepts as well as procedures. Understanding Exposure is a great introduction to digital photography and T2i for Dummies (or David Busch's T2i guide) will show you which buttons to push.

I waited way to long to buy Understanding Exposure - thought if I read the manual cover to cover that I would know everything.

I'll be sure to pick it up next time I'm at Barns & Nobles. t2i for Dummies that is.

The best advice I can give you is to have a conversation with yourself about going down this road without understanding what you are getting into. Photography can get very addicting very fast, and you will find yourself in the endless pursuit of better gear. I got a T2i in Oct as my first camera not knowing much at all, and after a month I had the bug something bad. Do yourself a favor and do not point your camera at a bird or you will end up like me and many others spending thousands on better glass and bodies.lol

As far as learning goes the T2i is pretty simple to understand after you spend a little time with it. Go to youtube and search for "snapfactory" he works with Adorama to produce informational videos on many areas of photography. That is what I did at first. Helped a lot. I hate reading how to do things in a book. I am a visual person which is why I got into photography.lol Go figure!

Get the hundred dollar 50mm f1.8 prime lens. It'll make your photos look stunning. So cheap but so great. Open it up (i.e. set to 1.8 or 2.0) and shoot all your friends.

Congrats on the purchase. Its a great camera. Welcome to the world of "I can't believe I've spent THIS much money on all this gear!"
Enjoy!

facedodge wrote in post #14047296
Get the hundred dollar 50mm f1.8 prime lens. It'll make your photos look stunning. So cheap but so great. Open it up (i.e. set to 1.8 or 2.0) and shoot all your friends.

I have that lens and I've tried a few shots around there. Once my sd cards come in I'll post some pictures testing out some things I've learned from reading around here and watching youtube videos from snapfactory (thank you)

ampeed wrote in post #14047549
I have that lens and I've tried a few shots around there. Once my sd cards come in I'll post some pictures testing out some things I've learned from reading around here and watching youtube videos from snapfactory (thank you)

also, I've tried a few shots at ~9-11 around 3200 ISO (or is it 3600?) and it seemed all good.

Congrats! The T2i is a great camera to start off with and even keep for long term use.

- I got my T2i about a few weeks ago and I can't say anything but good things about it. I also purchased the 75-300mm zoom lens (in sig) when I bought the T2i & kit lens.

- Happy shooting! And share your photos!

cacawcacaw wrote in post #14047082
People learn in different ways but everyone needs to understand concepts as well as procedures. Understanding Exposure is a great introduction to digital photography and T2i for Dummies (or David Busch's T2i guide) will show you which buttons to push.

I waited way to long to buy Understanding Exposure - thought if I read the manual cover to cover that I would know everything.

I am new as well to "real" photography, but got this book, and by page 30 of this very easy and very informative read... I was like "ohhhhhh.". Dont know how good it is for pros, but I go to it alot.

Also got "The Digital Photography Book" series of 3 books by scott kelby, they are basically informational chapters on how to do everything, shoot landscapes, babies, how to use flash, what lens to buy etc. I am keeping these in my camera bag lol.

Welcome and Congrats on getting your first Canon. Read the entire manual and also when I first started I had a site besides POTN to guide me through. http://michaelthemento​r.com

Enjoy your T2i and I'm sure you will get a lot of complains from Nikon users on Facebook and elsewhere about how Nikon is better, but really there is no "better" is how the user shoots! See you around