I just bought the Canon XTi and a 2gig card

What else do I need just about immediately, please.
For someone like me having such a camera is roughly equivalent to a Dull Normal taking courses in quantum mechanics. I know nothing about photography.

For openers, Ill be taking photos of my 2 year old grandkids.

DonQuixote wrote in post #4285115
What else do I need just about immediately, please.
For someone like me having such a camera is roughly equivalent to a Dull Normal taking courses in quantum mechanics. I know nothing about photography.

For openers, Ill be taking photos of my 2 year old grandkids.

First off, you need a lens... do you have one of those?

(I'm being totally serious, by the way. You listed a camera body and a memory card.)

I am assuming that you have the kit lens along with the camera so all you need to do is plug in the battery, put it into full auto mode, the green box, and start taking pictures. One other thing, do you have a memory card? The camera has no memory built in. Also, here is a great little site that walks you though the features of your camera. When you start shooting, look over a section, then go out and try it out. Within a very short time you will be shooting like a pro.

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

Oh, and welcome to the forum. Stick around, lots of good stuff here.

gjl711 wrote in post #4285146
I am assuming that you have the kit lens along with the camera so all you need to do is plug in the battery, put it into full auto mode, the green box, and start taking pictures. One other thing, do you have a memory card? The camera has no memory built in. Also, here is a great little site that walks you though the features of your camera. When you start shooting, look over a section, then go out and try it out. Within a very short time you will be shooting like a pro.

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

I bought it with the kit lens and a 2gig card.
I saw that Canon includes in software but it's all Greek to me at the moment.
What about PhotoShop Elements? Do I need that now?

Thanks very much for the link!!! It will be invaluable to me.

You need a 70-200 2.8L IS! Oh no, wait, that's me. And I swear, I do need it... really.

Welcome. Hope you don't have an addictive personality!

DonQuixote wrote in post #4285188
...I saw that Canon includes in software but it's all Greek to me at the moment.
What about PhotoShop Elements? Do I need that now?....

Elements is not a necessity. I would just work with the software that Canon give you to start with. You can always get Elements later and go back to do any editing you want to do with any of the pics you take.

DonQuixote wrote in post #4285188
I bought it with the kit lens and a 2gig card.
I saw that Canon includes in software but it's all Greek to me at the moment.
What about PhotoShop Elements? Do I need that now?.

IMHO, you don't need it now. Possibly, you may not need it at all. Picture taking with an SLR (especially a DSLR) is a good bit to learn. Post processing using something as advanced as PS Elements is a skill onto itself. What you'll need at first is a way to catalog and make basic (and I mean BASIC) adjustments to your shots. Personally, I use Picasa (free from Google), DPP which comes with the camera and Phase One LE (which is free with a high speed SanDisk card). Don't need to spend any money for the basics. If you need something slightly advanced there's Gimp (free), Bibble (~$70) and Paintshop Pro(~$90).

What type of CF card to you have? The camera performs much better with higher speed cards like the SanDisk Ultra or Extreme or the Lexmark Pro series. It'll greatly reduce the time writing to the card and will let you take the next shot quicker.

Good luck with your XTI,
Alex

dubtdi wrote in post #4285243
IMHO, you don't need it now. Possibly, you may not need it at all. Picture taking with an SLR (especially a DSLR) is a good bit to learn. Post processing using something as advanced as PS Elements is a skill onto itself. What you'll need at first is a way to catalog and make basic (and I mean BASIC) adjustments to your shots. Personally, I use Picasa (free from Google), DPP which comes with the camera and Phase One LE (which is free with a high speed SanDisk card). Don't need to spend any money for the basics. If you need something slightly advanced there's Gimp (free), Bibble (~$70) and Paintshop Pro(~$90).

What type of CF card to you have? The camera performs much better with higher speed cards like the SanDisk Ultra or Extreme or the Lexmark Pro series. It'll greatly reduce the time writing to the card and will let you take the next shot quicker.

Good luck with your XTI,
Alex

I bought the SanDisk 2GB ULTRA II CompactFlash Card.

And I'll gladly take all your advice.

gjl711 wrote in post #4285237
Elements is not a necessity. I would just work with the software that Canon give you to start with. You can always get Elements later and go back to do any editing you want to do with any of the pics you take.

Done. Thanks.

gjl711 wrote in post #4285149
Oh, and welcome to the forum. Stick around, lots of good stuff here.

Thanks. I'll probably be living here for some time to come. If I'm not assassinated beforehand.

At the moment my wife and I are visiting her sister in the Baltimore area. I bought the stuff today on the QT, and have yet to tell the wife. (lol)

Camera and card are scheduled to arrive home (in CT) on Monday. And that's when i plan to break the news. Wish me luck!!

A good tripod and a good flash unit will make your camera much more versatile.

The 430EX is a nice flash. Plan on a learning curve when you venture into that world.

Got any shots of Aldonza?

You have everything that you need to get started.

It would be a good idea to get used to your camera before making any major purchases.

When it is no longer capable of producing the type of photo's you want to take---Then it's time to take the next step--and you will know what that step is and why you need to take it.

Welcome to the forum.

The software that comes with my XTi...

Does Canon let me install it on my desktop and notebook?

DonQuixote wrote in post #4285734
The software that comes with my XTi...

Does Canon let me install it on my desktop and notebook?

yup, they even let people without canons download it