Foo - Got an SLR.

I've been waiting for a while now to finally own my own "real" camera. Today, I finally got it.

It's a used Canon 300D, which was (somewhat surprisingly) kept in immaculate condition. It just lacked the charger and a CF card, both of which I can probably get on the cheap.

$250 too!

Only had to sell my trainer in the process, which I don't use anyway because I can't stand cycling indoors (too many distractions; hasn't really helped me much).

You BRAT!! :p

What a great deal!! *jealousy kicks in*




Congrats on the new camera. Now you KNOW you are going to have to post pics, right? You can start with the men's thread......

Wow. Congrats on your new camera.

Please post pictures from it. =)

Isn't the 300D the XTI?

it is the xt.

the 400d is the xti

Well if it's in good condition, and he didn't use it TONS, that's an awesome deal. Good job mate. Post some bloody shots already.

Meh. I tested out canon, pentax, and nikon. I like the layout of nikon the best.

i am not the hugest fan of the rebel, but someone just purchased me a xti
so i am not going to complain about it too much

400D = XTi
350D = XT
300D = the original Digital Rebel.

Not a bad camera for $250, in any case. :)

I tried to find an XT for $300; someone actually made that offer a couple of days ago, but it was taken up really quickly.

I have to get a CF card for it; pics to come tomorrow. All of them will use the standard EF-S 18-55mm lens that came with it.

That's cool. I borrowed my sister's brand new Nikon to take pics at the hockey game last night. I got lots of comments from people around us. Too bad I only figured out how to use 3 different settings....

I bought a 300D when they first came out. I paid $1000 with the kit lens and it was well worth the money. What I'm saying is you got a good deal. :D

Alright, so I sacrified a really nice opportunity for a ride to Nyack to spend the day with my camera and run some errands.

I really like this camera. With my old Powershot, even though everything was manual, I felt that there was more that I could do. Indeed, with my 300D, there was. I like how I was able to control the focal length from the lens itself instead of by camera software. I really liked the feel and its grip on my hands. I finally felt like I was holding a real camera instead of a toy-ish kind.

This lens is MUCH faster than my Powershot (2.5 fps, 4 shot buffer). While I might not get super-high aperatures with this lens, knowing that my camera is capable of doing f/1.0 and higher than f/7.1 (limit on my Powershot) is awesome. It was also super responsive; I'm sure that a more professional camera is much more responsive, but I will DEFINITELY not complain. I did run into some focusing issues, but I think that's when I had a weird AF point and some nonsense settings.

I think I need to work on my picture-taking skills, especially during the night-time. My daytime images came out nice, but my night pictures weren't as sharp. Notice the pic that I took of the Washington Mews at NYU (a.k.a Asia). It was not really focused at all, but that might have been a bad adjustment instead of a camera limitation (or is it)?

Sorry for the run-on. Enjoy the pictures. Minimal bike schwag coming later when I get home :-)

http://photos-262.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-sctm/v170/34/105/47701262/n47701262_30330789_1196.jpg

Note: This is the notable timepiece of our university. It represents different things to different people, but in my opinion it symbolizes the "helping hand" of the educated to those in need or yearning for "more."

http://photos-262.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-sctm/v170/34/105/47701262/n47701262_30330791_1881.jpg

Note: The pathway through our main campus.

http://photos-262.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-sctm/v170/34/105/47701262/n47701262_30330793_2578.jpg

Note: So I tried to use slower shutter speed technique, but I got blurriness outside of the focal area. Is there any way that I can improve on this? I used an f-stop of 18 and a shutter speed of 1/4. It was getting dark, so I needed as much light as I could get without using flash.

From what I understand, higher aperture will always drive sharpness down after it hits it's peak. In addition to that, the old kit lens usually isn't very sharp. I would suggest you keep ISO at 100 if it's not there already and lower the f/stop a bit to reduce blurriness. I usually use neutral density filters to use lower shutter speeds. You can also use twin stacked circular polarizers and turn the top one for varying amounts of darkness. Just a thought.

If your hand holding, then 1/4 second is way too slow. Rule of thumb is ideally shutter is twice focal length of lens, or 1/100 for 50mm lens. A steady hand can reach 1/focal length.

The 300D has trouble focusing in the dark. You either have to manually focus or try to focus on some sort of light source. It can also have difficulty focusing on extremely shiny objects or very smooth ones with little or no texture. Which lens came with the camera? This (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/12142-USA/Canon_2514A002_Normal_EF_50mm_f_1_8.html) one is pretty good for the price. It's not very sharp when you set the aperture all the way to 1.8 and it can give you a splotchy background, but it is also capable of some very sharp images with some practice. I used that lens for this picture:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v214/lamplightsg/Bertoni/IMG_8748cropWEB.jpg

Timmyquest needs to see this thread. He is quite knowledgeable on this subject.

So I tried to use slower shutter speed technique, but I got blurriness outside of the focal area. Is there any way that I can improve on this? I used an f-stop of 18 and a shutter speed of 1/4.You need either a faster shutter speed, or a tripod. With the use of a tripod and the same kit lens you're using (I think. Similar, at least.), I've taken pictures of small waterfalls and streams with shutter speeds of two and half seconds, and the non-moving parts of the image are still pretty sharp, while the moving water attains a pleasant smoothness.

I don't see any SLR mclaren pictures in here. :(

Why fuggle up a perfectly good thread?

I can. That's why. Oh there a problem? - ban me mastuh!

Congrats on your Rebel purchase!

I've found the best place to get CF cards are office supply stores. Radio Shack also has different kinds of digital memory go on sale each week. It's good to check there, too.

I really appreciate everyone's input here! I love that a biking forum can have such a diversified crowd :-D

Anyway, I went on a second photo binge and had amazing results. While I could use a faster lens (I like taking up-close pictures, and a faster lens would be an excellent choice for portraits), this lens does have some kicks. After learning how to focus the lens myself, I had much better results (especially in the night-time). Take a look at the picture of a tower in Hoboken that I took as an example:

http://photos-d.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sctm/v170/34/105/47701262/n47701262_30331183_4486.jpg

I also have to work a bit on my macro shooting, which might be improved with a lens upgrade:

http://photos-a.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sctm/v170/34/105/47701262/n47701262_30331184_4808.jpg

Once again, I really appreciate the help and direction here. Let's see how far this goes!

I don't see any SLR mclaren pictures in here. :(

I like cars that we mere mortals can actually drive and not risk dying :-D

Congrats on your Rebel purchase!

I've found the best place to get CF cards are office supply stores. Radio Shack also has different kinds of digital memory go on sale each week. It's good to check there, too.

I actually found a really good deal at B&H (AMAZING store! That place is the pinnacle of customer service and delivery!). They had Kingston 80x CF-Type II 2GB cards at $19.99. I also bought a charger for my battery at $15 or so.

NewEgg also always has great deals on CF card. The second picture looks a bit soft. Was it in a blurry shutter speed range or is it just misfocused?

If you need get new lenses for your camera, check out Fred Miranda Buy/Sell Forums. You can find great deals there from people looking to move up. Photozone.de is a great site for lens tests for when you decide to expand your glass collection.

Considering everything, I was quite surprised today when I used the Canon Rebel today at school (forgot to bring my XTi). Yeah, the large size with the low weight makes it feel a but clumsy but it works just as well. Anyhow, you should make a gallery at a sight like Flickr and such to keep all your pictures in place. It's only been about a year since I started shooting and looking back, it's easy to see the difference between early and old. Always good to see your progress without clogging up tons of space on your computer (just wait till you have a lot of pictures).

When you buy memory cards, no matter the camera, be sure to buy the fastest available. It's worth it.

It'd suck to miss The Picture because you're waiting on the card to finish writing...

My first reaction was you got a Mercedes SLR.

Still, the 300D is a great choice. I bought a Nikon D40 last year and it's been great. I looked at Rebel XTI and that's the one I was going to the shop to buy, but after holding the Nikon and looking thru the viewfinder, I knew the D40 was for me.

Are you gonna buy any accesories? I bought so far a Sony tripod (excellent) and Hoya Skylight 1B filter to protect the kit lens. I want the 18-200mm Nikkor lens but it's too expensive for my purposes.

Congratulations on the purchase btw.

Are you gonna buy any accesories? I bought so far a Sony tripod (excellent) and Hoya Skylight 1B filter to protect the kit lens. I want the 18-200mm Nikkor lens but it's too expensive for my purposes.

Congratulations on the purchase btw.

I prefer a circular polarizer as my general filter up front.

I think the best accessories are the battery grip and a new lens (50mm 1.8 FTW!). The grip is just an amazing enhancement (I love mine more than I love...something I love less) and the 50mm is a great portrait lens for very little money!

I think the best accessories are the battery grip and a new lens (50mm 1.8 FTW!). The grip is just an amazing enhancement (I love mine more than I love...something I love less) and the 50mm is a great portrait lens for very little money!Yep, I love the battery grip on my XT. Makes it an even less inconspicuous camera, but oh well. The 50mm f/1.8 is next on the list, for sure.

the cannon 50mm f1.8 is next on my list
followed by a decent tele lens.

The 50 is such a wonderful lens. I really can't say enough good stuff about it.

The first upgrade I really want to do is try and get a lens that can handle f/1.8. I like taking portraits, and low aperatures like this can really assist me in doing that.

I was at a party yesterday and brough the rig. Borrowed a wide-angle lens (12-22mm, f/3.5-5.6, Canon EF-S) and a Speedlite and the results were impressive. I will probably land up getting those two items in the future when my bike schwagging thirst is sated :-D

It seems that MANY MANY more people look at you when you have a nice camera on your neck (esp. women; do women naturally like photographers or is that just a something out of the ordinary moment?)

When you buy memory cards, no matter the camera, be sure to buy the fastest available. It's worth it.

It'd suck to miss The Picture because you're waiting on the card to finish writing...

Actually, it seems that this card is holding up well! The buffer is doing nicely (even though it's only 4 shots).

I'll probably move up to a faster card later.

It seems that MANY MANY more people look at you when you have a nice camera on your neck (esp. women; do women naturally like photographers or is that just a something out of the ordinary moment?)

Hmm, when I walk around with my camera everyone looks at me like I'm a freak of nature. As if they've never in their lives seen a person with a camera. Then again, they do that when I'm not carrying my camera either. :lol: