markubig

Hi Kermit -

I shoot RAW with my Drebel and use Photoshop Elements 3.0. It has the RAW plug-in built into the program, so it allows you to adjust exposure/contrast/brightness/saturation/shadows/sharpness. It also does batch RAW processing, so you can convert several RAW photos to JPEGs or TIFFs. It's working out awesome for me!

Save yourself some money and get the 300D hack, so you can buy the smaller, lighter and cheaper 420. i just did the hack and it's sooooo easy. takes less than 5 minutes. 550 is a monstrocity of a flash without a grip. I'm a beginner and i'm finding the 420 is more than enough for now.

I can't say much about the 50/1.8 ('cause i dont' own it), but I did have the 50/1.4 USM and the pictures were sharp! I sold it 'cause it was too $$$ for the little use i was giving it. However, if I were to buy a 50mm prime again, i would probably get the 50/1.8 because everyone is saying, you'll get the bang for the buck

Rubsh,

What mode are you shooting in? I had the same experience as you with my 50/1.4USM. I am still new to photography and was shooting in Av mode at approx. f/2.2. This was giving me "extremely" slow shutter speeds (which I didn't realize until later). The result was blur because anything handheld slower than 1/60s will give you the blur (sometimes mistaken as appearing soft). The shallow DOF didn't help either, as anything just outside the plane appeared out of focus.

Shooting in M mode and keeping my shutter speed at 1/60 or faster vastly improved my shots. If the child is running around, you might just want to consider using a flash, faster shutter speeds (1/125) and smaller apertures (f8ish)to stop the movement and keep him (her?) in focus.

I have since sold my 50/1.4 not because i was unhappy with it but because I haven't used it as much to justify keeping it's cost ($300), so now I use my Tamron 28-75/2.8 all the time. If i'm going to get another 50mm prime, it's probably going to be the 1.8 because the difference in quality doesn't justify the difference in cost (at least for my puposes).

Good luck!

~mark

I found this site very useful:

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/

Good luck!

~mark

Thanks all!

I didn't know that the Parameter settings were only applied to JPEG files. I really like the flexibility that RAW gives me because I am still a beginner and usually under/overexpose my pics. Elements3.0 has been great in correcting my mistakes. So, I guess, I'll just continue post-processing RAW until i'm comfortable/confident enough to shoot high-res JPEG.

Happy Holidays!

~mark

Hi all -

I have a Digital Rebel and just got a Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 yesterday.

I took some test shots and noticed something that was true about my

300D before i even got the new Tamron. Pictures look to be low-

contrast and low-saturation. My settings are on "Parameter 1" and

I've even tried using "Set1", with all parameters except tone bumped

up, but I'm still coming up with low saturated and low -contrasted

pictures. I shoot in RAW, so I'm able to fix it in Elements3.0, but

if i could have it come out right from the camera, it would reduce my

post-processing time. Thank you, in advance, for your help.<P>

Here's the example (first time posting a pic, so if it doesn't come

out, i'll followup w/ URLs):

300D, 28-75, Av Mode, 28mm, 0.3s, f/4, ISO400, no flash, handheld <P>

<IMG SRC="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/2977233-lg.jpg">

<IMG SRC="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/2977245-lg.jpg">

Hi all -

I think I am learning towards the EF 28-135 f/3.5-5.6 IS USM as my

walk-around lens for the Digital Rebel I am planning on purchasing.

I am leaning towards it because it's relatively small, light, and is

within my budget. It is also pretty close to the focal range that I

use with my current G3. My pictures mostly consist of portraits

(bust or full-body), but I do have some vacations coming up that I

would probably need the zoom capability, and I have recently gotten

into Macro shooting. I was curious to hear some of your opinions on

this lens.

Could any of you commend on its ability to take macro shots? If

not, could you recommend a good, yet affordable macro lens?

I'm still fairly new to photography, especially the DSLR market, so

am I going in the right direction with my first purchase?

Thank you, in advance, for your assistance!

Happy Holidays!

~mark

thank you all for your great responses!

To answer some of your questions, my G3 does allow me 34-140mm focal length, and I have used it in that entire range, from floral macros to ballgames.

I asked the question because I can't afford to buy more than one lens, so I wanted one that will give me the most flexibility. I primarily use my camera for parties and gatherings. I have some vacations coming up where we'll be doing a lot of walking, so I don't want to have to keep changing lenses.

Thanks again!

OK, I am currently using a G3 and I was thinking about upgrading to

a DSLR, probably the 300d Digital Rebel. I've heard that the kit

lens 18-55mm EF-S lens isn't that great, so what lens would you

recommend to purchase that could be used as a "walk-around" lens?

In otherwords, what lens can I get the most uses out of? Thanks!

"The 300D/Digital Rebel and the 20D can take both EF and EF-S lenses, whereas other Canon bodies can only use EF lenses. "

Does that mean that the 10D only takes EF lenses? If so, would it be to my best interest to go with a 300D over 10D so I could upgrade easier to the 20D in the future, by not having to get new lenses?