Greetings from Helmetta, NJ

<p>Hi All,</p>

<p>When I graduated from college in 1996, I bought myself a Canon Rebel XS, and loved it, even though I didn't really understand how to use it effectively. The expense of film and processing (as a low-paid recent grad) quickly overcame my desire to learn by trial and error, and the camera sat in its bag in the closet.</p>

<p>I've been using point and shoot digital cameras for a while, and liked the ability to take many pictures, review them instantly, and try something different if the shot didn't turn out well. But I remembered the versatility of my SLR, and definitely missed it. A couple months ago, I took the plunge and upgraded to the Rebel T1i/500D, since I didn't want to pass up the opportunity to reuse the lens on my old camera. What a difference! I am so happy with this camera, it's everything I wanted in my film SLR but couldn't afford to do.</p>

<p>I've been reading extensively in the learning section here, and have bought or ordered several recommended books. I also picked up David Busch's book on my camera specifically, because having guidance regarding the features that my camera has and how to find them is more useful to me at this point.</p>

<p>One thing that I really had wanted to get into was macro photography, so I am looking forward to getting into that, as well. I'll be posting shortly in the Beginner Forums with my current equipment looking for other suggestions to round out my collection, so to speak.</p>

<p>Thanks for the great forum and website, it's very educational and seems to be a friendly, supportive group!</p>

<p>Welcome, Jay! I am a relative beginner and newcomer as well and have learned a lot in a very short time on this site. The experience level here is very impressive. I also started taking pictures during the film days and my new transition to digital has turned on the passion again. One very useful thing I discovered early on was to do a search on the site before asking a question--I was totally amazed at what has already been answered. I would highly recommend trying that with whatever question pops into your mind--I usually have a couple of issues a day I put into that search box and I usually have things quickly cleared up by an old thread from the archives. Oh, and one more very useful area: check out the learning tab. Even though I thought I knew a lot of the basic stuff, I went back and reread most of those articles anyway and it sure helped fill in those knowledge gaps. Good luck!</p>

<p>Hello and welcome, Jay, from a former NJ guy, until work forced a move to the west coast. Enjoy your time here.</p>

<p>The beginner forum is a great place to start. But don't forget to search the old forum threads for questions, particularly on topics like macro that tend to not be as affected by "what's hot/new" as far as equipment.</p>

<p>Welcome to photo.net!</p>

<p>Hi Jay.... a big welcome from "Down Under". PN is a great site.... enjoy.</p>