I just bought the Canon XTi and a 2gig card

For technical info, you should really learn about shutter speed, aperture (f-stops), and ISO. White balance and exposure are also very important.

For aesthetics, you should consider learning the basics about lighting.

Anudder ting or two...

In David D, Busch's Digital Photography for Dummies 2004(I think), he remembered how plesaed he was when he hooked up a second monitor for more effective editing. Is this still a good idea? i have a flat screen that came with my Dell, which I've never used. I could easily attach it, but as this goes to press, I don't see an advantage. I enjoyed the book which I recently started reading.

BTW is this a good book?- the 2006 version (which I recently ordered, that is)? Like its predecessor it's an all-in-one book.

welcome !

dave kadolph wrote in post #4285511
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.

Thank you for the excellent advice (which I'll follow) and the welcome.

DonQuixote wrote in post #4285409
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!!

Oh boy.. Good luck!! And post a picture of the dog house.

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

This is a wonderful site.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

I can't wait until Monday!!!!!!!!!!

How do you photography experts keep track of your clicks? I see mention of 15,000 clicks or so here, so I can't help but wonder if these are WAGs, or
on the money figures.

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?

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

if you get elements 5.0 or better.. get a book to go a long with that ( can be found in the digital photography isle at any books store.) i have elements 5.0 and a book by scott kelby and it has taken me a lot further than any other program that i had tried in the past.

welcome. this site will end up breaking in your wallet pretty fast.. so get ready for all of the things you all of a sudden want.

this site is also a great learning tool, and you will meet so many people here, and learn so much just by reading ( and you can do that for days)

have a great night.

shannon

DonQuixote wrote in post #4287587
How do you photography experts keep track of your clicks? I see mention of 15,000 clicks or so here, so I can't help but wonder if these are WAGs, or
on the money figures.

It is impossible to tell on anything but a series 1 but you can approximate. If you have been the only owner and you have never reset the picture numbering you can calculate based on the folder number and picture number.

For instance, the first time you plug in your CF card a directory structure is created with the fist folder being called 100CANON. Inside that directory you'll see your pictures starting with IMG_0001. As the pic count increases you can pretty much assume that each number is one click.

When the picture count increases to IMG_9999 a new director is created and the numbering starts all over again. Knowing this you can interpolate the number of clicks you have.

dave kadolph wrote in post #4285511
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.

Pretty well put. I would say, and im surprised nobody else did, get a decent bag to protect your investment and any future additions to your photo family. I started out with the XTi kit, a 4GB ULTRA II card [I'm a shoot first, ask questions later kinda guy], a bag, and a tripod. All that was recommended by my buddy, who is an avid photographer. Now, i just get things as the need arises. Touching again on dave's message, as you learn more about what you're doing, you will learn what new equipment you need to take the types of photos you want. Other than that, good luck w/ breaking the news and happy shooting!!

DonQuixote wrote in post #4285915
Anudder ting or two...

In David D, Busch's Digital Photography for Dummies 2004(I think), he remembered how plesaed he was when he hooked up a second monitor for more effective editing. Is this still a good idea? i have a flat screen that came with my Dell, which I've never used. I could easily attach it, but as this goes to press, I don't see an advantage. I enjoyed the book which I recently started reading.

BTW is this a good book?- the 2006 version (which I recently ordered, that is)? Like its predecessor it's an all-in-one book.

I do minor post processing-relatively speaking-and do just fine with a single 17" LCD panel. That is, I never once wished that I had a second screen. When I travel, I tinker around on my laptop's 14" screen and that's fine, too. When I'm editing, I'm not doing anything else so that image and surrounding tools is all I need.

In general, the bigger the screen the better but certainly not a necessity. A widescreen would be even better, IMO, since the tools can be pushed out to the sides with an uncluttered image in the middle. Again, just a luxury. It's surprising how little you actually need beyond your camera and free software to have great images.

Stick your toe in the good lens pond and things get expensive in a hurry.

Pick up Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson. After reading it, you'll understand a whole lot more about everything photography related.