Best memory card for XTi? other accessory advice?

So after much research (thanks to Photo.net experts for your feedback!), I'm

going to buy my first SLR and lens tomorrow: Rebel XTi, Sigma 30/1.4 lens, and

possibly a cheaper more general lens as a backup.

 

Does anyone have advice about what kind of memory cards to get? Also any other

accessories I'll need? (please keep in mind that I'm an SLR newbie) Money is

obviously an issue, but I figure it would be good to have a shopping list for

future reference as well.

 

I am SO excited! I've been using a Canon point-and-shoot for many years.

 

Thanks again,

 

Debbie

Any big name brand Sandisk, Kigston etc will do, stay away from cheap ebay deals - they are probably fake and won't work too well.

 

faster cards are only really a benefit if you use a high speed card reader to download your pics to a PC.

 

look to get at least 2Gb to begin with.

 

As for other accessories the list could be endless!

 

bag, tripod, remote release, filters, lens hoods....

Hmm...I've got the Sandisk Xtreme III. As far as size goes, maybe aim for two 1GB cards instead of 1 2GB (for instance)? This way you have a spare in case one fails, will only lose half your photos in the case of a failure, and photos are easier to navigate on-camera (plus having less space generally forces you to take better photographs).

 

The cheapest and most important accessory you'll need is a UV filter for your lens - it's just a little screw-on piece of glass that protects your lens from damage and dirt.

maybe a battery grip. i love mine! allows for twice as long shooting time. balances the camera well. looks more professional. allows great grip for vertical shots as well. and of course with this you will want an extra battery since it holds two. who wouldn't want an extra battery anyway?

I use only the cheapest CF cards -- no problems so far. They are probably made all in the same factory anyway.

 

The most often overlooked accessory is an external Speedlite with bounce capabilities. It's the only way to get decent light indoors when the ambient light results in too-slow shutter speeds. Since all compatible Canon EX flashes feature high-speed sync, this is also a necessary feature for fill flash in daylight. You will know what I mean when you see it. Not inexpensive, but extremely important for many photographic applications. Good flash technique is often the key to great pictures.

 

For cheap thrills get various adapters (e.g., Nikon-EOS, M42-EOS etc) and some inexpensive manual focus lenses for special applications (like superfast primes, high-end macro lenses, cheap 300mm telephotos, Soviet shift/tilt lenses and so on).

First, with the acknowledgment that this is something of a holy war:

 

*DON'T* get the UV filter. The cheap ones will degrade the quality of the images that your

lens takes. The ones that won't degrade the image quality will cost about as much as the

lens.

 

Just use the hood that comes with the lens. It'll provide as much protection against real-

world dangers as any filter could, and it will actually *improve* image quality, not degrade

it.

 

``Protective'' UV filters are as much a scam as anything else, perpetuated by ignorant and

/ or dishonest salesthings upon an unknowledgeable public.

 

The only filter you should seriously consider is a circular polarizer, which will let you do

lots of things that're impossible even in Photoshop -- such as reducing or enhancing

reflections off windows, water, dew-covered grass, etc. There are some other filters which

can be useful in certain circumstances, but you'll know when and if you ever need them.

 

A tripod is mandatory, and get the sturdiest you can afford. If you can afford any of the

sturdy ones, get the lightest sturdy one you can afford -- but that'll cost more than the

lens, so just worry about sturdiness.

 

The Canon cable release will probably cost $10 more than any generics the store might

have. If you're pinching pennies, go with the generic, but it's probably not worth sweating

$10 considering how much you'll be spending on everything else.

 

The suggestion to go with more smaller cards instead of a single big one is good. In fact,

I'd recommend no more than 2-3 cards, each of which can hold about 100 RAW pictures.

If you'll be shooting more than 200-300 images before returning to the computer, then

get a photo wallet. When a card fills up, swap out with the spare and dump the contents of

the full card onto the wallet. As that copy is going on, you can start shooting again. Long

before you'll fill up the spare card, the first will have finished copying to the photo wallet;

swap again, format the card, keep shooting, and repeat as necessary. Of course, you'll

have to be extra careful to not format the worng card, and to make sure that there weren't

any (obvious) errors in copying it to the photo wallet.

 

If you're doing especially critical work, then do the same, but bring enough spares that

you won't have to format any of them. That way, you've already got your first backup, plus

you've got enough extra storage to take pictures of Elvis's Triumphal Return, should that

just happen to take place in front of you.

 

Other accessories? A grey card, a blower bulb, a lens pen (to be used only in the case of

smudges on the lens that are actually visible on a print), a hotshoe spirit level, and, if

you've got any other cameras, quick release plates for the tripod to put on the other

cameras. Those're all in the $10 range.

 

Bags are a personal choice that depends on the equipment. Personally, I like to avoid

camera bags; they scream, ``Expensive equipment inside just waiting to be stolen!'' Take

your gear to your local college bookstore and see if you can't find something there that'll

work.

 

If the store has a neck strap that you find comfortable that doesn't have ``Canon EOS

Digital'' blazoned across it, get that too for the same reason.

 

Finally...get the Canon 50mm f/1.8 II lens. It's only $80, and you really, truly won't regret

it.

 

Good luck, and enjoy!

 

Cheers,

 

b&

[rant]

 

Would you like to see the 2300$ lens saved by my 90$ BW UV filter?

 

You know the Canon 600 (I think it's the 600) comes from THE FACTORY with a plain piece of glass over the front (built in protective filter, i.e. it does no optical corrections).

 

I'm with you that the 22$ crap they sell at Ritz for your 69$ Quantaray is a scam, but your blanket statement is wrong.

 

I was shooting stills for a vintage automobile documentary film when it happened-- I was shooting out a car window for almost 7,000 road miles (among other stuff). How would a hood have protected the front element form 60mph debris impact?

 

Wouldn't a polarizer with 2 glass elements degrade an image more than a filter with only 1? That's not my argument, but it is your contradiction.

 

There's zero to pixel peep at with my L + B&W combo. There's just no difference. I used to only put it on for scenarios like described above, but there's no difference, and I do have a chipped filter to further help my decision, so...

 

Sh*t, I was pissed enough at the 90& B&W, if I had chipped the front element, I would have gone postal on myself.

 

[/rant]

p.s., I'll take a caase full of solid state 25$ 1GB card over a magnetic storeage portable HDD option EVERY TIME. That's a poor gamble.

I'd just like to add my 2 cents worth regarding buying flash cards off eBay ...

 

... be VERY careful. In my estimation probably over 90% are fakes - but you won't know for sure until it fails and the "manufacturer" refuses any warranty because it wasn't made by them.

 

I'd STRONGLY recommend purchasing from only reputable merchants (B & H etc).

 

Cheers,

 

Colin

I check the best buy paper every Sunday. When they have Sandisk CF Cards on sale I buy a couple of them and toss them in the bag. I have had no problems with Sandisk cards.

I wouldn't worry too much about getting cards from just the "big" brand names. CF and

other memory cards have pretty much become commodity items now and many of the

different brands are actually from the same factories.

 

I've used a whole bunch of different brands, including Sandisk and Transcend without

problems.

 

Look around for a good price from a reliable seller and you should be fine. No need to buy

the very "fastest" card since it won't make your camera any faster.

 

Dan

The battery extention grip is a must. And I would get at least one 2GB card (two preferably). I liked the camera (XTi) when I got it but fell in love with it completely after getting the battery grip.

<p>One other thing... instead of getting all the "other accessories" you'll need right now,

why not shoot for awhile and find out which extras _you_ actually need? Not everyone

finds they need the same stuff - despite the strong opinions you'll sometimes read

around here. ("...battery extention is a must" for example :-)

 

<p>There probably are a few basics that are fairly noncontroversial:

 

<ul>

<li>Memory cards - with the current low prices there is little reason to get less than 2 gigs

<li>Something to carry the camera and related gear.

<li>

</ul>

 

Other things to start to think about for the near or more distant future might include:

 

<ul>

<li>Tripod and head

<li>Remote release

<li>Filters

<li>Additional lenses (as you discover the need for specific types)

<li>and so forth...

</ul>

 

<p>Enjoy that new camera!

I have the XTi and the Sigma 30mm lens. It is a great setup for low light. I would highly recommend, however, that you ALSO get the 18-55mm Canon kit lens. For the extra $100, it is almost criminal not to have it for outside shots anyway. The sharpness is indistinguishable from my Sigma F1.4, but it is significantly slower. That just doesn't matter when shooting daylight (or flash).

 

For what it's worth, I got a store "kit" from B&H that included a 2 GB card and a Lowepro case, both of which are excellent.

 

Jake

Thanks so much for all this advice!