ted_matsuoka1

Unless you are going for a very specific effect (and it sounds like you don't know enough yet to achieve the effect you want), there really isn't much point in shooting full manual mode. I agree with those posters that say to use Av or Tv mode and allow the camera to teach you.

 

But I am specifically going to recommend that you use Av mode. Why? Av and Tv mode are really just flip sides of the same thing. In Tv mode, you pick the shutter speed and the camera picks the aperture. As you change the shutter speed, the camera changes the aperture according to the metering it reads. With Av mode, you pick the aperture and the camera picks the appropriate shutter according to it's metering. For those that say to switch from Av mode to Tv mode in low light, it doesn't make sense - just stay in Av mode and change the aperture to achieve the shutter speed you want (or change the ISO) and you achieve the same thing as being in Tv mode but you've maintained control of DOF and attempting to keep a lens close to it's sweet spot. And that is the key to shooting in Av mode - it allows you to control DOF, keep a lens in it's good zone, and change ISO to maintain the required shutter speed.

 

When you shoot in P mode, the camera always picks the smallest number aperture (largest opening) it can while keeping a reasonable shutter speed. This is very bad if you are using the kit lens or you are shooting in low light with something that is not optically very good (like a L lens).

 

When I am using my 70-200 F2.8L, I try to shoot around f4 to f8 for decent DOF and adjust the ISO to attain the required shutter speed to stop motion blur while shooting sports. With my 28-105 f3.5-5.6, I try to stay at f8 or above to keep the lens in it's sweet zone. I guess having used "consumer" grade glass for most of my photography life, I'm much more conscious of keeping my aperture under control.

 

A shutter speed of 1/750 to 1/1000 is required to stop motion blur in the extremities in sports. You really can't look at photography magazines and see what exif data was recorded for a specific picture without understanding why those settings were used, what filters if any were used and what the exact light conditions were. I might shoot the exact same scene under the exact same lighting conditions using natural light with one lens and fill flash with another. You have to understand the charactistics of each lens.

 

What everyone seems to be ignoring is that you never had a camera until you picked up the 20D. I grew up with full manual cameras and my father taught me photographic technique and concepts (light meter, shutter speed, and aperture, their interrelationship and interplay). You either need to take a class - your local college (junior or community college) probably has one or you need to pick up a book that covers general photography concepts and techniques.

 

There is no reason to circumvent the automation built into the camera you bought. Photography is about taking and producing pictures, not about fiddling with your camera. If your lenses allow you the freedom to put the camera into full auto or select one the automated shooting modes, then just do that and enjoy photography until you have the opportunity to learn more about your camera and lenses and the "art" behind photography. I switch the camera to full manual the rare times I need to but 99% of the time, I am in Av mode and I let the camera make the "technical" decisions while I take the picture.

 

With film photography, it was all about setting up the shot since most people don't have a dark room to fiddle with reworking the picture so the emphasis was on getting the shot right. With digital, it's all about getting the shot because the dark room is our computers. So go out and concentrate on getting the "right" shot and let the camera worry about the technical decisions. As one poster stated, backlit, part full sun, part shade, brightly lit area with a dark background, these are times the exposure meter on the camera will be challenged and you are challenged with correcting it before taking the shot. Experience will show you when the camera is overmatched and when you have to override. Outside of those conditions, let the camera do the work.

It's not too much camera. One thing I've noticed in comparisons between the 2 bodies when taking "identical" shots at different exposures is that the 20D is more consistent in it's exposure while the XT varies from over to under exposure as the ISO is changed.

 

But glass is most important. You don't list what lenses you own. If getting the XT allows you to buy really good glass that you couldn't afford if you bought the 20D, then I would vote for getting the XT with a high quality lens.

 

If you print 4X6s then minimal post processing is required and you can get away with printing directly from the camera. If you want 8X10s or larger, then you must post process. I will tell you that going digital will lead to noticing some faults in your lenses that you may not have fully appreciated with film. There are plenty of tutorials on the internet on how to do certain things with Photoshop.

 

Experiment with shooting jpg and raw and choose for yourself which format works for you. If you shoot action with multi shot mode, you must shoot jpg. Use Photoshop for jpg and you can experiment with raw using Raw Shooter Essentials.

 

Something most people don't appreciate is that film labs post process your negatives. A lot of exposure correction and a couple of other tweaks take place before they print. All that post processing falls on your shoulders in the digital world.

You do save a LOT of money by staying film based. What you lose is what we could call opportunity cost. Put in a 2 or 4GB card and you go into an event with the knowledge that you can basically take an unlimited number of photos. I found that with film, I planned my shots more and limited what I took. With digital, I am much freer and I take shots I probably wouldn't have with film and have come away with some of my best shots.

 

With film, you have to be careful to get the shot right before the exposure while with digital, I can be more concerned with getting the right shot. It's a huge difference.

The glass and coatings are basically the same between the Hoya S-HMC (the Pro1 is simply the thin version of the SHMC), B+W MRC and Heliopan. The difference is that Hoya uses Aluminum while the other two use Brass. If you found that the Sigma 24-70 EX or Tamron 28-75 had the same optical quality as the Canon 24-70L, would you spend 3 times as the cost of the 3rd party lenses to get the Canon? Some people would. That's the basic choice between Hoya and the other 2. Hoya tends to be a little less expensive. The people claiming the Hoya is harder to clean are still using lens tissue rather than microfiber lens cloth.

For everyday photography, 70-100mm won't be missed. For 150 ft away, 70-200 is fine. For 300 ft away, 100-400. I guess it depends on how often you want to capture the entire "roostertail" and the boat versus getting a closeup of the boat itself. I can't believe that a little cropping of a 70mm shot of something 300 ft away (that's the length of a football field minus the endzones) is good. You must be including several boats in the shot or the boat plus roostertail is 150 feet. 70-200 seems to fit the bill for you and since you are specific about the use (power boats in bright daylight), you can get the 70-200 f4.

I agree with Bob Atkins - I shoot 98% jpg. The camera does a fine job with jpg. I shoot RAW when the lighting is something I know the camera doesn't handle well. If you are shooting indoors without flash using artificial lighting, use RAW. In all other circumstances, I wouldn't bother - just shoot jpg.

I don't know any internet stores that offer student discounts online but many local stores do or have in the past. Calumet, Bel-Air camera, and others. If your college (almost all stores that participate do so at that level) has a photography class, they probably know which stores in that area offer a discount. Tamron offers a student discount - you can find details on their website - not aware of any other manufacturer that has a similar program - but you have to be enrolled in a college level photo class.

 

My advice is to just call around your area and just ask if they offer student discounts (don't expect more than 5%). Remember that the high volume dealers (like the ones on the internet) have lower dealer cost charged to them by the distributors due to their volume so it might be better just to ask if the local store will price match. I've asked for price matching, they can on some items and on others, they will tell me it's below their cost. Just remember that almost any price is negotiable. My wife got a discount off a large screen TV that was already sale priced if we agreed to buy it immediately (and having already shopped around, we knew we were getting a great deal).

Jim did qualify the situations he was making his claim under. Bob Atkins made a good point in that Jum specifically listed landscapes and there have been many times when using a short lens would not work for the effect I wanted. You can only crop so much, then what are you going to print, a 2X3 inch photo?

 

There are limitations to zoom with your feet. There have been times when I've had to switch from my main 28-75 to something wider because I physically could not back up anymore.