Jen, Beth? DSLR camera help
So Naaman's early Christmas present to me was a DSLR camera. I am still in shock as we never ever buy gifts this expensive for one another. Nevertheless, I will take it. I have been wanting one for two years because I love photography.
It is a Canon Rebel XSI. I never did research on that brand. I had planned on getting a Nikon D40. Can you tell me anything about this camera? It came with a lens in the package. But there isn't an extra flash or anything.
I planned on taking a class once I got a camera. Would you recommend taking a class? I found a good one at the Kansas City Art Institute. I just don't want it to go to waste and sit in a corner because I don't know how to use it. I have it on the fully automatic setting right now. But I am eager to learn!
Any advice is appreciated.
Re: Jen, Beth? DSLR camera help
First off, yeah for Naaman!!
He did good!
Beth will probably have the most info on the XSI b/c I am pretty sure she just researched it in comparision with the 40D or 50D. Canon is a good brand, but I am a bit partial b/c I have a Canon 30D!
Really, Nikon and Canon are both great. The biggest difference is the lenses?Canon?s are a bit more price friendly when you move up the quality scale.
Is there an on-board flash (I think there is but am not sure)? This will solve your immediate flash needs. I have a shoe mount flash that I use most of the time on my camera (430 EX) that isn?t too expensive. You can angle the flash to ?bounce? the light so that you avoid the harsh shadows and red eye look.
Do you know what lens it came with? It should have some numbers like: 35-135mm 4.5f or 50mm 1.8f. Most liikely, you got the kit lens 18-55m or an upgraded lens around the 35-135mm range. Either of those are good for every day use. The 50mm is a ?fixed? lens in that it doesn?t zoom, which can be great for portraits but hard for chasing around your little man!
I haven?t taken a class but my Dad and Grandpa are photog hobbiests. I did a lot of my technical learning (moving into manual mode, etc) from books and online resources. (2Peas has a photog board and the ?nest? photog board is great). I actually didn?t move off auto until early 2007! I have gone back to generally shooting in auto for snapshots, such as family bday?s, photos of all the baby clothes and photos of the house. I will use manual for nicer shoots, anything paid and anything I want portrait quality.
I hope this helps and feel free to ask more questions!!
FUN!!! He did good!
I had the XT up until a few days ago, which is pretty much the same as the XSI.
To be completely honest, I don't feel like I know a ton of the technical stuff. I just take a crapload of pictures and pick the best ones and definitely make use out of Photoshop. I'm terrible at indoor photos and feel like I definitely take my best pictures in natural light. It's almost like with an SLR, you can't take a bad photo outdoors!
I took a class with Photographx Unlimited this past Fall. I'd suggest it, but I will say that it was almost too much info in too little time. But, that was during the trial, so I'm sure I wasn't completely focused anyway.
You might call them soon and just chat to see what they say. They are all super friendly there. The store is right by the AMC theater off of Barry Road.
I also have the DSLR for Dummies book. It's a good one.
You will have tons of fun practicing with Landon!