Im new to SLRs! i need help choosing my kit.... lots of help

[bradleylaw]

HI, depending on when you read this I have 15 days till i get my Conon EOS 400D, and i cant wait! ive herd

lots of things about it, most good some bad (well i say some, it was just the one really) the bad one was

that the anti-dust system isnt allways afective, well i dont know. heres the deal, mum says (im only 15 by

the way) if i get good grades in my mock exams (only a few day now) she will get me this camera! wehey!

the lens you get with it looks a bit puney, but looks can be deciving. i dont know. i may just buy the body

and buy a seperate lens, i dont know what lens to buy. when i get it i will maily be taking photos of my

mates skate-boarding, what lens would you say i need for this? it needs to be cheap. we skate in a wide

range of light from pooly lit inside skate parks to out side in the summer, full on sun. and i generally take

photos of everything and anything. what accesoires do i NEED? tips please. do i need a uv filter thingy?

what size memory card is required? do i need a image stabliser lens? what photo editing software is best

(for macbook(what about appeture?))

 

Shutter speeds 1/4000 to 30 sec. (1/3- and 1/2-stop increments), bulb, X-sync at 1/200 sec. is this a

fast shutter speed? Aspect ratio 03:02 is that good? Magnification

Approx. 0.8x (-1 diopter with 50mm lens at infinity)is that good magnification?

 

http://www.tecno.co.uk/Store/s37744/2001-2136-2481/Home/Cameras/Digital-SLRs/Canon/

EOS-400D-(Black)-%2b-EFS-18-55mm-Lens/details.aspx this is it

 

 

this is a lens i liked the look of http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-EF-50mm-1-8-Lens/dp/B00005K47X/

ref=acc_glance__ai_4_img/203-0689457-2080760?ie=UTF8&qid=1181663533&sr=8-3

 

oh and im bloody british, chaps. spiffing old bean!

 

sorry about some possible spelling mistakes im only 15 and rushing to go out!

 

any advice would be very much appreciated! thanks brad

[martin_howard1]

try having a look through the learn sections on the photo.net site, this will probably answer a lot of your basic questions. You really need to try and ask only one question at a time or the thead will become very confusing!

 

The classic skateboarding shots are often taken with ultra wide or fisheye lenses, although you will be best getting a standard 17-85 zoom or similar to start with.

 

Good luck in the exams.

[chuck_c_charlottenc_]

Brad,

 

From what you've described, I'd say that the Canon 50mm f/1.8 II would be a great lens for what you're taking photos of... skate-boarding in all types of lighting conditions.

 

Plus the prime lens will allow you to learn a lot about photography composition by using your feet to zoom in and out.

 

The Canon 50mm f/1.8 II is a wonderful first lens. And, over the years, you will find yourself using this lens occasionally no matter how many other lenses you own.

 

And, as long as you don't use it as a basketball, the lens will hold up well, no matter what others think of it's build.

 

I hope this helps.

 

//Chuck

[mark u]

I suggest you spend time revising rather than skateboarding if you hope to earn that camera.

[chris_laudermilk]

I would think the kit lens is fine to start with. It will be challenged in low-light situations, but it sounds like you need to spend some time learning the basics before buying a bunch of different lenses.

 

Oh, and no you don't really *need* the UV filter. The camera shop is almost certain to try really hard to sell a cheap one to go with the camera; don't bother. If you don't know what it's needed for, you don't need it. ;)

 

An IS lens is nice, but not necessary. It helps eliminate camera shake when handholding at lower shutter speeds. It is useless for action photography (like, for example skateboarding). It also can add a lot to the lens cost. I wouldn't worry about it yet.

 

There is no "required" memory card size. You will need a CompactFlash card. For a 400D (XTi in the states), I'd suggest a 2GB or 4GB card. Smaller fills up fast, and larger gets expensive and puts all your eggs in one basket if it has any problems, unlikely as that is.

[rainer_t]

Get the 400D with the kitlens (efs18-55). The lens is much better than its reputation. Don't worry about the sensor cleaning ... just learn how to clean the sensor. Get a decent book about photography to learn from.

Get one or two 1GB (or 2GB) CF cards. Get an additional battery (not necessarily a genuine canon).

 

Don't get any additional lenses right now. Spend time with the new 'toy' . You'll find out when the equipment you have is limiting. Pnet will still be here for you to answer questions.

 

If you're going to buy in the internet (rather than in a local store),

check if you buy from a reputable dealer (visit http://www.resellerratings.com/ )

 

Good look.

[gdanmitchell]

I'm going to give you some simple advice that partially mirrors advice given above.

 

You are very new to DSLR photography and you do not have experience upon which to

base a decision about lenses. A great starter system is the 400D and the kit lens.

 

Do not get a 50mm f/1.8 lens as a single starter lens. It is the _wrong_ lens for most users

on this type of camera. It is a short telephoto lens and most beginners (there are a few

exceptions) will be far better served by a zoom covering a range from below 20mm up to

40-55mm or so. If you really know what you are doing - and I don't think you do as of yet

- and you want a "normal" prime lens, you would want something in the 24mm, 28mm, or

35mm range.

 

But just get the 18-55mm kit lens. Learn about the camera and photography using this

lens. If your interest grows, at that point start thinking about more sophisticated gear.

 

Dan

[bueh]

You need an E-TTL-compatible flash unit (all Canon EX's) to get good light and freeze the action of skateboarding. The lens is secondary, but it should be a wide angle (that's the cliche, at least). An off-camera flash cord or an <abbr title="infrared">IR</abbr> trigger (expensive and works only with the higher-end flashes) is also handy (if someone can assist you and hold the flash separately). You will have to learn how to correctly use the flash as your main light and how to still properly expose the background. 2nd curtain sync, high-speed sync and flash exposure compensation are the things you will have to master.

<p>

The 50mm lens is a great all-round and especially fine portrait lens. It also works wonders in low light. For skateboarding it's not that great unless skillfully used, but I recommend it nevertheless as one of your starter lenses if you are really into photography. My latest <b><a href="http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=303327">color portrait shots</a></b> were all done with this excellent lens.

<p>

The 18-55mm kit lens is inexpensive and quite good, especially when stopped down to f/8. For the time being, I wouldn't invest in anything wider as additional wide angles are expensive and you need to learn your craft first. If you really need something wide, I can recommend the excellent Tokina AT-X 17mm f/3.5 prime lens or the EF 20mm f/2.8 with fast <abbr title="Ultrasonic Motor">USM</abbr> autofocus, but a super-wide zoom is also an option (not my cup of tea, so no recommendations from me here).

[castsomelight]

With all due respect Bueh, your advice on kit is most likely far more than is needed for a 15 year old with his first dSLR! Bradley, go for the 400D & kit lens, with a 1GB or 2GB card. Honestly, that's all you need for now, and you can get spectacular results out of it with practice and good technique.

 

Of course, you can buy a few extra batteries, extra memory cards, flashes, prime lenses etc. etc. but as a beginner, they'll just overcomplicate things. If you start off with just the camera and lens, it's far easier to learn how ISO, aperture (f-stop), shutter speed and focal length affect the look and feel of a photo. I admit, it's ridiculously tempting to splash out on loads of kit when you see that your first photos might not be perfect, but resist the temptation and brush up on composition and technique, and it'll make a world of difference.

 

I sound like I'm rambling slightly here so just to sum up - the most important thing about a camera is the person behind it. Once you improve as a photographer, you might feel the limitations (as Dan Mitchell said) of your equipment, and in that case you'll know what you need to buy to remove these limitations. An excellent motto to go by, and one coined on photo.net if I remember correctly, is "if you don't know which lens you need, you don't need a new lens."

[bradleylaw]

brad here

 

i just wanna say thanks to all the people who have helped me here, this is what im going to

do: get the camera with the standerd lens kit, im gonna get two 1GB memory sticks ( so if i

lose one, and its cheaper this way) i will wait a while to see if the lens you get with it is good

enugh and if i need to get it, special thanks to Nathan saying "the most important thing

about a camera is the person behind it", and to Chuck for "using your feet to zoom in and

out." this is great advise so again thanks oh and Bueh, great pictures i like the bee

[gdanmitchell]

Good move, Brad! :-)

[bueh]

Aw, come on, Nathan, I only suggested the inexpensive 50mm prime, the kit zoom and an external flash light (hell, I use the cheap 380EX myself) and maybe -- just maybe -- an accessory flash cord for skateboarding photos. Good flash technique is often the key to great pictures, and fast-action photography is one of the applications where this is particularly true (especially when using a slow zoom lens like the 18-55mm).

 

The flash unit is really an invalueable tool for a lot of situations, and bounced flash will provide a MUCH better light indoors than the direct pop-up flash. Examining the differences, drawbacks and advantages of both prime and zoom lenses early on will help Bradley to make up his mind for future lens purchases. Having a faster-than-f/2 prime at hand can never be wrong, and will offer insight on how to use selective focus and depth-of-field for aesthetic purposes. Even an 15- or 16-year will understand that when he sees it.

 

And Bradley, thanks for the compliment. You see, macro photography is not really my style, and so instead of buying a costly autofocus lens, I use an inexpensive manual focus lens with an adapter on my Canon camera for those rare occasions when I want to shoot flowers and bugs. While I do not recommend this for beginners, keep in mind that for non-critical focal lengths or special applications this can come quite handy if you are low on funds (and that Tokina macro lens is really one of the bestest lenses evah!).

[bradleylaw]

Brad

are you trying to sell me a flash-gun bueh?

[castsomelight]

Sorry Bueh, my post wasn't meant as a criticism of your advice at all. The equipment you recommended would do a superb job, and as you say, it's not all that expensive.

 

My point is that simplicity is vital to realise that more gear doesn't always equal better photos - something most camera owners eventually find out. However, I must admit you make some excellent points in favour of buying a cheap 50 f/1.8 for DoF learning purposes, and the flash for better lighting. :)

 

Apologies if it came across as slightly condescending, with me saying that a 15 year old should have what could be seen as inferior gear - this wasn't my intention. It just seems as though simpler (and fairly flexible) equipment might offer a greater advantage in the long run.

[bueh]

Bradley, I am not trying to sell you a flash unit, I am trying to sell you the idea that an external flash gun is an often underrated but very important tool. Just because the camera's bodies have a pop-up flash, a dedicated hotshoe flash is far from superfluous. Bounce flash, highspeed sync, AF assist are some of the options an extra flash offers, in addition to more power, more range and the possibility of using a diffuser, a reflector or color filters on the head. And it is much easier to avoid issues like red eyes and dark lens shadows on close subjects.

 

So if you want to learn the good stuff right from the start, get an external flash light and use it to archieve the pictures you always wanted.

[bradleylaw]

well just for now im going to get used to what i got, then when ive hit the limit on what

quailty of pictures i can take i willl think about getting a flash, then i will post a thred on it.

but thanks anywho.