Annoying Newbie

aml254 wrote in post #2183690
Any way... the use of the camera will be recreational. Mostly photos of my kids at their soccer games and close up photos of them just being babies. I travel a little so I would like a decent camera for family vacations. I am getting this camera before attending a family reunion so portrait type photos would be nice. I also don't want too bulky of a lens. I know this is asking a lot, but I am not looking for the best in every area, just something real good.

I would like to keep it under $400 since I plan to get better and purchase more in the future.

Angie,

For $400, I'd get (1) the kit lens ($100), (2) the EF 50mm 1.8 ($80), and (3) Sigma 70-300 ($210). That'll give you a nice travel lens, nice portrait/fast lens and a great soccer lens. My kit lens ('retired') is pretty decent, especially a couple of stops down. I use the 50mm 1.8 for my kids' portraits and as a fast candid lens. I routinely use my 100-300mm with a 1.4x teleconverter (i.e., 140-420mm) for my kid's soccer games. I really think you need that kind of reach. I've never owned a Sigma 70-300, but others on this forum seem to think it's a really good lens for the price. Perhaps some of them will chime in?

I second Tamron 28-75mm for the budget. And with extra $100 get the Canon 50mm f/1.8
Start to save for flash and extra light equipment, if those kids portraits are to be made effective.

aml254 wrote in post #2184009
I am posting a picture taken with my point and shoot. It shows what I hate about the current point and shoot. The flash on the camera makes the foreground so bright and the entire rom pales. Even if it isn't natural light, will the Rebel's standard flash be better?

One of the problems is that a substantial amount of light is reflected from the child in the foreground. This has the effect of "telling" the camera that the flash has been on long enough, thus it is shut down. The trade-off would be a nicer exposure for the background but the child would be washed out. This is most noticable with wide-angled shots. I don't think the Rebel's built-in flash would be any better.

Here are a couple of shots for the range you're looking at. The first is a cropped shot of my girls with the 50mm f/1.8 with fill-flash. The second is a full-frame shot at 230mm to give you an idea of the reach you need for soccer.

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aml254 wrote in post #2184009
I am posting a picture taken with my point and shoot. It shows what I hate about the current point and shoot. The flash on the camera makes the foreground so bright and the entire rom pales. Even if it isn't natural light, will the Rebel's standard flash be better?

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Your Rebel, or any other camera is going to do the same thing depending on how you set your camera. Just remember that flash metering (E-TTL II) is used to get the subject exposure right while the camera's light meter is used for setting the ambient exposure. Think of subject and ambient as two separate exposures.

Because you can increase ISO quite a bit more with the Rebel than with a P&S for the same amount of noise you can balance the flash and ambient exposure a quite a bit better. For the example you provided you would be able to use a much higher ISO and a lower f-stop number (and slower shutter speed) to brighten the background.

I have my book and EF 50mm 1.8 on order. I stuck with the original kit lens for now, but I plan to get a long range lens after Christmas and I will probably upgrade the kit lens soon after. I can't thank you guys enough for all your input. Now all I really need to get is some TALENT!! Thanks again.

The trouble with the on-camera flash is that the power is so little. It's only effective for something like 6'. Grab a speedlite 420 EX. That'll fix all your problems. You can bounce the flash (point it up toward the ceiling) and it will light the entire scene, depending on size. Go up to the 430 and you can swivel it as well. Pointing the light in different directions is crucial to great pictures. Direct flash can kill what would have been a great shot.

aml254 wrote in post #2193215
I have my book and EF 50mm 1.8 on order. I stuck with the original kit lens for now, but I plan to get a long range lens after Christmas and I will probably upgrade the kit lens soon after. I can't thank you guys enough for all your input. Now all I really need to get is some TALENT!! Thanks again.

I bought the 50 1.8 and it's very sharp. If you like it there is a better version for $300. I'm buying a Tamron 17-50 2.8 next week. I want the wide end for landscapes and indoor group shots in low light.

The main thing is to take alot of photos. The more you take the better your chance of getting keepers.

Many friends and family comment on how nice my photographs turn out. What they don't know is the number of shots that were taken to get that shot that nobody will ever see. So take alot of photos and have fun!

sounds like you really need a decent camera, like a rebel, the lens of your choice, for example the tamron is a great lens for the money. My girl got me one for xmass/bday.

And a GOOD flash unit, like a 430ex.

aml254 wrote in post #2183973
Last question. With regard to f/2.8 vs. the standard Canon EF-S 18-55 f/3.5-5.6... What does that mean. I know the lower the f-stop the more the foreground and background will be in focus, but would I do better to get a camera with different f-stops for when I take portraits? Or does this mean that the lower number is the highest capability of that lens and that all the higher numbers are also available? I know this will seem like a stupid question, but I am not a very good student. Angie

Lenses with 2 f stops in their specs are always zoom lenses. In this case, the max aperature at 18mm is 3.5 When you zoom in at some point the max aperature drops to 5.6 When zoomed in and given the same light, you would have to lengthen the exposure to compensate.

Smaller number = larger opening = more light to sensor = faster shutter.

StealthLude wrote in post #2193467
And a GOOD flash unit, like a 430ex.

I'll second that. I don't own a flash, but I am borrowing one from school... Looks like I'll be getting one of my own soon.

The flash unit is much more powerful than the flash on the camera. When you aim it at the roof, the flash gets bounced off the roof, illuminating the entire room. You will be able to avoid what you saw in you the P&S example you gave.

Andrew.

mcminty wrote in post #2193915
.... the flash gets bounced off the roof, illuminating the entire room. You will be able to avoid what you saw in you the P&S example you gave.

Andrew.

Just out of curiosity... do you call the ceiling, "the roof" in AU ? Or from your point of view is that we call the roof the ceiling?

Let us not forget that you also need a decent "lab" (computer). A computer that you are able to store your images on, and post process.