T3i

I bought the whole shebang at Costco with 18-55 and 55-250 glass, bag and blah blah blah several weeks ago. yesterday bought the Targus 35.00 tripod at Target and now going to work on stabilizing shots. I am new and love pointers.

Start by reading the manual page by page with the camera in hand.

take it of the green box, go out and shoot

Spend a bit of time shooting in Manual mode. When you understand what the different settings do, and why you would want to do that, you will know how to use your camera. Then you can start taking advantage of some of the 'convenience' features like Av mode or Custom White balance. Those fake ICON modes are for people who can't be bothered to actually know how to operate the equipment they just bought. I have been taking photos since about 1965. I learn something new, frequently. My goal is to get good at this before I die.

Welcome to the most expensive hobby you'll ever love.

Here's some great reading material to get you started. The digital versions will be cheaper than the physical book.

David Busch's Canon EOS Rebel T3i/600D Guide to Digital SLR Photography

The Busch guide is great because it takes your manual and puts it into context while still teaching you about your specific camera.

Scott Kelby's Digital Photography Boxed Set, Parts 1, 2, 3, and 4

The Kelby Books are great because they take specific types of photography and show you EXACTLY how to do it. No muss, no fuss. Some might say this kind of book takes the fun out of the discovery but I disagree.

X2 on those books.

Because there is a lot of functional similarity with the 60D I would suggest you check out Canon's online tutorials for the 60D. They are at http://www.learn.usa.c​anon.com …s/eos_60d_tutor​ials.shtml.

Just keep in mind that if something doesn't work quite the way the tutorial outlines, it may be due to the camera being a T3i.