Just bought a 2nd hand 300D - what accessory is best to buy next?

[DwainDibley]

Hi, very new here! I'm hopefully recieving a Canon 300D/Digital Rebel tomorrow, can't wait! It comes with it's standard accessories and the EF-S lens it comes with as standard. No memory card supplied, so I've also ordered a 2Gb CompactFlash card for it, which I'm hoping wil also arrive tomorrow... or I'll have this nice camera but not be able to take pics as no memory card!

Basically, I'll probably have £50, or £100 max to spend, what would be the best accessory, or accessories to get for to go with the camera?

Another lens, filters, a dedicated flash unit, remote control, a few of the above? I'll probably buy a spare battery or two for it so I don't get stuck out with a dead battery. Or maybe one of those battery grips? I have a tripod, though I don't think it's a very expensive one.

Sorry for all the Noob questions! :blushing:

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome to the forum.

A tripod is a great accessory, so it's good that you have one. I might suggest a lens that does what that lens can't...for example, a lens with a wide maximum aperture. The Canon 50mm F1.8 is a very affordable lens with a very large max aperture and it's optically very good.

As for filters, I would only recommend a circular polarizer for starters. They are great when shooting outdoors in the sun.

If you do a lot of indoor/people shooting...a hot-shoe flash might be a good idea. The Canon 430EX would be a good choice.

 

[DwainDibley]

Thanks for the tips mike

The camera comes with a 'skylight filter' apparently, not sure what that does!

I'll keep an eye open for that Canon 50mm 1.8 lens - perhaps see what there is on the market section of the forum. btw, the kinds of pictures I'm hoping to take would be sunrise/sunset pictues, landscape pics, also some macro/super macro photos. I'd also like to experiment with long exposure pictures too.

The cam comes with that pop-up flash, but I'm guessing that isn't really that good, and a dedicated flash unit like the one you've recommended sounds like a great idea - will price them up on Ebay and local photo shops.

 

[PlasticSpanner]

One of the best accessories I bought for my cam was a good strap. The TPF Op/Tech straps are great because they somehow spread the weight across to the shoulders instead of just the back of the neck. ( important when you start getting heavier lenses!)

I recommend you have a look here!

 

[DwainDibley]

I'll definately consider those straps, I can imagine the camera would get very heavy with a big lens on, and it would make having the camera round your neck all day much more bearable!

btw, bit off topic but I'm finding that TPF is running a bit slow at the moment, and I'm often getting 'page cannot be displayed' error messages - is there a problem or is it my laptop?

 

[Big Mike]

Yes, those straps are a great help...I have one and another one on the way.

The forum seems to be working fine for me...although my connection here at work is a bit sporadic. It's probably a problem on your end.

 

[PlasticSpanner]

OK here too & I'm "just up the road"!!

 

[panocho]

It really depends on your needs/preferences.

Pesonally, I would suggest, with Big Mike, either a tripod or a circular polarizer. Which one first only you can decide

The skylight filter, basically, will only protect your lens (if you scratch the filter, you easily get a new one; if you scratch the front element of a lens, it becomes more expensive to get a new one). Some are against that, some think it's a must.... again: only oneself can decide (now, that's help!). If you really take care about your camera and shoot in "normal" (?) situations, you may forget about it; if you tend to forget about that thing you're carrying or simply give your camera a tougher life, then I'd suggest using always the skylight

 

[WDodd]

Big Mike gave some great advice on what to get. My parents have a 300D so I know you will like it.

I highly recommend the 50mm f/1.8 I use mine all the time and it was the first lens I bought for my camera.


I just got a TFP Op/tech strap and its great.

I'd say a tripod would be the first thing that I would get. I use mine all the time.

 

[Big Mike]

They already have a tripod

 

[WDodd]

Ah, apparently I can't read.

 

[MikeR]

Hi, very new here!
Sorry for all the Noob questions! :blushing:

You were already given great suggestions, I would jsust add the book Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson to your list.

No need to apoligize for being a Noob. We all were at one time.
I have the 300D. It is a great camera, ENJOY the hobby

 

[DwainDibley]

Thanks Mike, I intend to!

I've just got a load of photography books out the library, so plenty of reading material there! Also bought a great book explaining a lot of the basics on photography, can't remember it's name offhand but will look later.

 

[DwainDibley]

I've noticed on Ebay as well a lot of Macro lenses that screw onto your existing lens like this one, are these any good or not worth their listing fee? The sample images on some of these look very good - or have they been doctored?

The other thing I already have is Adobe Photoshop 7 which is gathering dust on my hard drive - I'd like to learn to use that properly too, as it's a rather powerful programme I believe!

 

[DwainDibley]

Errrr... might have to put the accessories on ice for a short while, this missus has just had an eppy when a box containing a nice big 300D arrived, and I'd forgotten I owed the joint account some money... layball: <-- What she wants to do to me!

Though it's very frustrating, the mem card won't arrive till tomorrow!

So might have to wait a couple of months befor buying anything else, but thanks for the suggestions, will look into that Canon lens, neck stap, and that filter!