Just got myself a 350D, some advice needed.

Hey there gentleman, I am new to this forum and just recently moved to the world of dSLR (rebel xt). At any rate, I am looking for suggestions on what equipment I should purchase in addition to the camera. I have done my homework well, in addition I am taking a 16 week photography course at my college. I will be doing mostly landscape, zoom and macro shots. I have little interest in portraits and the like. I would like to gather a starter kit of my own, that would preferably cost under 1200 dollars USD. Would any of you be so kind as to recommend me a couple good lenses to start out with? I would also like some filter recommendations (I have a UV, of course); I have been looking into ND filters gradated and not as well as circular polarizer filters. I also would like a decent tripod and any other neccesities that would give me a solid foundation. I am not sure this can be achieved for less than 1200, but I thought I might find some solid advice here. Thanks in advance, and I look forward to becoming a part of the community here.

cheers

erk

Welcome to POTN

Landscape and macro I know, but what's a zoom shot?

For lenses check this thread. You'll want a macro lens (eg Canon 100mm F2.8 macro, great lens, very sharp) and a wide lens (eg Canon 10-22, Sigma 10-20, Tokina 12-24), and I use my standard zoom a lot (Tamron 28-75 F2.8, or Sigma 24-70 F2.8). I wouldn't bother with ND filters straight off myself, but a polarizer is pretty handy.

For tripods Manfrotto (aka Bogen) are good value, B&H have good kits, choose whichever one you like. Don't buy a cheap no-brand tripod, I did that and then had to spend more money on a decent one.

Don't forget memory cards, a shutter release cable (I got a generic brand off ebay), batteries (sterlingtek.com), and a flash. For macro a ring flash would be good, or a standard speedlite would be good too. With macro you want all the light you can get, so you can have narrow apertures and a bigger depth of field.

Have fun!

I suspect he means a long telephoto shot.

Lots of people seem to mix together those two meanings.

---Bob Gross---

Erk, I don't know exactly what course you are taking. There are some around here, mostly at the community colleges. You might want to check with somebody at the college who teaches the class, because they might have some specific ideas about what you should or should not have for the class.

I've talked to people whose teacher demanded a camera with only manual controls. Other people could have a more modern camera, but they could use only manual controls for class projects. Others could use whatever they wanted.

Talk to somebody who lived through the course last quarter.

---Bob Gross---

I myself have 2 lesnese that I actually had with my normal Canon Eos1 non digital which work very well. I'm no expert on the technology involved but I think they cover me for a few different types of zoom shooting etc.. The lenses I have are listed below and you can probably pick them up fairly cheap.

Hmm...1200, quite a lot really.
If it were mine and i was starting again with just the body:
1) 2x 1GB Cards (May i suggest Kingston)
2) Lowepro Bag
3) 24-70mm Sigma f2.8 macro
4)70-200mm Sigma f2.8
5) 18-55mm kit lens
6) reversing adaptor( you can get AMAZING macro with the kit lens in reverse)
7) Nice tripod, i.e. gitzo, manfrotto, etc($$, but will last you a life time)
8)If enough cash left....Speedlight 580EX
This should keep you busy for a while, and HOPEFULLY not kill the budget, but maybe i killed it!
Let us know what you go for!
K

Kalmo's list doesn't have a good wide lens for landscapes, which would cost around $500 for the Tokina I have, or the Sigma 10-20.

Welcome "erk", and you'll do well from the advice here, and if you keep up the enthusiasm you'll be just like us - very happy but broke!

Oh? he listed "5) 18-55mm kit lens" which is not bad above f/8 & has the advantage of fitting in his budget!
What's the point of saying you need a 28-70 f/2.8?

The 18-55 is a good value lens, not a good lens, IMHO. It flares horribly, and 18mm isn't wide enough for me a lot of the time. The 24-70 range is what many people use most, but if you only want to do landscape, long range, and macro, it won't help much, but none of those lenses will be ideal for taking photos of people.

Here, check this out

http://www.bobatkins.c​om …igital/10d300dl​enses.html

Wow thanks for all the great replies! I can already tell that I'll really like this forum. To clear things up, yes I did confuse zoom with telephoto; I already have the kit lens; and I am taking the course at the private college that I have been going to for 3 years. My professor allows digital cameras as long as they are SLR.

Wow this is all so overwhelming, but I'll sort through it and try to make a good decision based on all your great replies and some more research. Thanks so much guys!

Landscapes, hum!
I would recommend the Sigma 24-70 EX DG Macro. Although 24 is not wide enough for some wide angle landscapes, the kit lens can fill in ( I assume you get that). This single lens purchase may cover most of what you want. Start there, then add after you have an understanding of what it can do for you.