Noob needs help please!

Hey folks,

I love photography and I'm about to go buy a Canon Rebel XTi after much long research.

Can anyone give me tips and advice? I've never tried using a Camera like this and I'm really excited. What should I know?

Also, what kind of Lens should I start out with for clear crisp pictures that are wide(maybe a pan feature?) and with a decent zoom?

THANKS ALOT!

EDIT:

I also need to take pictures of sports for my school like football and baseball and what not. Any recommendations on lens?

Also, the darker the night gets the higher the ISO? Do i need a flash?

Welcome to the forum. The Rebel XTi is an excellent starter camera, but the best advice I can give you write now is get a good basic book on photography, such as Bryan Petersen's Understanding Exposure, and read it thoroughly. Also, when you get your camera, read the manual from cover to cover, then read it again. Practice with your camera, and then come back here with your questions as they arise,

For lenses, I'd start with the kit lens that comes with your camera until you get a feel for what you need. It's hard to recommend anything else until you give us an idea of what your budget might be.

Mark

The XTi would be a great camera to start with, but I might even look into getting a 20D, which is a couple years old but is faster and has a better feel than an XTi in my opinion. One can be had for about $600-700 on the forum or eBay.
.. Just an idea

Mark_Cohran wrote in post #3941857
Welcome to the forum. The Rebel XTi is an excellent starter camera, but the best advice I can give you write now is get a good basic book on photography, such as Bryan Petersen's Understanding Exposure, and read it thoroughly. Also, when you get your camera, read the manual from cover to cover, then read it again. Practice with your camera, and then come back here with your questions as they arise,

For lenses, I'd start with the kit lens that comes with your camera until you get a feel for what you need. It's hard to recommend anything else until you give us an idea of what your budget might be.

Mark

Perfect advice!

Mark_Cohran wrote in post #3941857
Welcome to the forum. The Rebel XTi is an excellent starter camera, but the best advice I can give you write now is get a good basic book on photography, such as Bryan Petersen's Understanding Exposure, and read it thoroughly. Also, when you get your camera, read the manual from cover to cover, then read it again. Practice with your camera, and then come back here with your questions as they arise,

For lenses, I'd start with the kit lens that comes with your camera until you get a feel for what you need. It's hard to recommend anything else until you give us an idea of what your budget might be.

Mark

Thanks alot! I was planning to read the manual cover to cover. My photography class teacher told me that a year ago when i started looking into cameras.

My budget for lens' would be about $150. Is there any good starter lens for that price that I can play with and learn from?

ejlkicks wrote in post #3941948
Thanks alot! I was planning to read the manual cover to cover. My photography class teacher told me that a year ago when i started looking into cameras.

My budget for lens' would be about $150. Is there any good starter lens for that price that I can play with and learn from?

The best lenses are much more expensive than that (this is not an inexpensive hobby) - however, the 18-55 EF-S kit lens is about $100 (not the best lens in the world, but sufficient to learn on and quite capable of some excellent images) and you can pick up a 50mm f/1.8 EF for around $80 or so - that would be a good low-light lens.

Mark

Mark_Cohran wrote in post #3942113
The best lenses are much more expensive than that (this is not an inexpensive hobby) - however, the 18-55 EF-S kit lens is about $100 (not the best lens in the world, but sufficient to learn on and quite capable of some excellent images) and you can pick up a 50mm f/1.8 EF for around $80 or so - that would be a good low-light lens.

Mark

Thanks for all the help mark. I really appreciate it.

One more question though, what would be a good lens for sports pictures? I want to take pictures for my schools football team and baseball and what not

I would recommend going to a store where you can handle the XTi and the 30D to see which one feels better. Why the 30D, because it's the same size as a 20D and you'll not likely find one of those in a store. You could even handle a 40D if they have one. It's not much bigger than the 20D. You can get refurbished 20Ds for around $600.

I'm not necessarily trying to persuade you to get a 20D but just informing you as many people and the digital camera industry want people to think the latest camera with the most megapixels is the best. Not true. The 20D has less megapixels than the XTi but it has a bigger viewfinder, higher ISO capability, shoots faster fps, has a better feel due to its larger size and control layout. The large lcd and dust removal system on the XTi will not help you take better pictures. Keep that in mind.

As for a lens. I think your best options are the kit, if you get the XTi, and a $75 EF 50 f/1.8. This is the cheapest lenses they sell yet it still ranks up there with the best Canon makes in terms if image quality (it is not built that well). You have to realize that quality prime lenses are in the $350-$900 range and quality zooms are in the $600-$1600 range.

The best suggestion I would have is practice a ton. One of the great advantages of digital is instant feedback. With storage so cheap, you can take tons of pictures and learn from your results. This forum is great place to get advice, post pictures and get feedback.

The XTi is a great camera and will give you all you need for quite some time.

ejlkicks wrote in post #3941948
Thanks alot! I was planning to read the manual cover to cover. My photography class teacher told me that a year ago when i started looking into cameras.

My budget for lens' would be about $150. Is there any good starter lens for that price that I can play with and learn from?

I see you've heard, "Read the Manual". Here's Fundabug's Four Rules of Reading Your Manual:
Rule #1: Read your manual
Rule #2: Read your manual again
Rule #3: See Rule #2
Rule #4: Keep your manual within a few feet of your camera NO MATTER where you go. It's just good reference material!

Shoot as many shots as you can, but keep notes of camera settings, EXIF data, lighting, etc. etc. etc.... So that when you have that first REAL shot , you can go back and see how you did it. I'm still a bit of a noob and I carry a waterproof notebook with me whenever I'm out shooting. Good luck!

Take a look at this site, it’s a nice starting point:

http://web.canon.jp/im​aging/enjoydslr/

Thanks fellas!

Think about a refurbished 30D...

IMO, the 30D (for several reasons including, but not limited to more manageable [for me] physical size and the 5fps capability) is a better camera choice than the XTi despite the fact that the XTi has more pixels.

I have purchased a refurbished 30D about six months ago and have been extremely happy with the purchase.

I have previously bought a new 10D and a new 350D (I have kept and still use these two cameras along with my new 30D so I am not a butterfly flittering from new camera bloom to new camera bloom).

I had to bring both the 10D (it stopped working for no known reason) and the 350D (it had focus problems) into Canon Service center, Irvine, CA for repair within the first 90 days of purchasing them. Therefore, in reality, both of these cameras are refurbished models. I just paid the full price for them! I have had absolutely no problems with either camera since they were returned from the Service center. I have had the 10D for several years and the 350D for about two years or so.

Since I have more confidence in the Q.A. of the Canon Service Center than in Q.A. from the Canon production line; I decided to skip steps one and two in my next camera purchase. Steps one and two were purchasing new and sending in for repair.

I needed a third body because I replaced my 70-200mm f/4L non-IS lens with the IS model and began using that lens 3-4x more often than I used my non-IS model. I decided I wanted to allocate a body specifically for this lens rather than to share my 12-24mm Tokina, my 24-70 f/2.8L and my 70-200mm f/4L IS lenses between two bodies. I would rather carry the extra load than change lenses in the field.

I got a 90 day warranty with my refurb 30D and it qualified for a Mack extended warranty - if I so desired. I have been very pleased with all aspects of this camera and I paid a bit less for the refurb 30D than I would have paid for a new XTi. I have had no problems with this camera and attribute that to the Q.A. of the repair center.

In fact, I may just sell both the 10D and 350D and replace these with refurbished 30D cameras.

ejlkicks wrote in post #3942260
Thanks for all the help mark. I really appreciate it.

One more question though, what would be a good lens for sports pictures? I want to take pictures for my schools football team and baseball and what not

Once again, what budget? I can suggest lenses that cost $1600, but that's not going to do any good if you can't spend that much. For those sports, the best lens is a long, fast lens which is very pricey. A compromise, would be a long, slow zoom - not as expensive and you'll have to use higher ISO's to compensate for the smaller maximum aperture.

Mark

get the 50 or better yet, get a parttime job/get your newspaper or yearbook to subsidize your purchases (then for a tight budget in mind, 35 1.8 and 85 1.8). kit lens will be your friend for a bit, but you need faster lenses for everything you mentioned (since basketball is indoors and football often at night)