What to get with $......

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Ok, I have worked my a$$ off and saved up $1800 to get some gear. I have no gear so I am starting with nothing. I am VERY new to photography and plan on taking a class or 2. I will primarily be taking photos of my kids and nature. I am planning a trip to Hawaii in a few months so keep that in mind. Since I am new to this I don't want to make purchases on stuff I don't need. The only thing I am set on is getting the Canon 30D and getting everything from B&H. What would you get with the money that is left?
Please put the list in priority. If you go over $1800 that is ok. I can put the rest on a "need to get" list.
Thanks for you help
 
Spare battery
Two 2-Gig memory cards (rather than one 4 Gig card)
Card reader that slots into your laptop

24-70mm f/2.8 L USM lens (or possibly the 24-105 f/4 L USM lens)
LowePro Slingbag 100 (the little one)
 
Spare battery
Two 2-Gig memory cards (rather than one 4 Gig card)
Card reader that slots into your laptop

24-70mm f/2.8 L USM lens (or possibly the 24-105 f/4 L USM lens)
LowePro Slingbag 100 (the little one)
Judging by the final cost on this, it would be a great package. Just the camera and lense go way over my budget (If I am picking the right stuff). I would love that 24-105 lense. I just can't afforde it right now. I was thinking about the 28-135 IS.
 
The 28-135 is a very nice lens - it was my first and only lens for about four years.

Oh, gmarquez is right, Adobe Photoshop Elements (ca. $85) is all you'll need for a long time - and may even come free with the camera, or a printer you'll end up buying.
 
For the nature landscapes a tripod is a nice thing to have, as well as for portraits of the kids.

I have the 28-135 IS lense and have been very happy with it, other than wanting something wider at times, but I have the 18-55 kit lense to use in those situations.
 
Thanks for your input. I guess I lied a bit as I do have some photo editing software and a very inexpensive tripod.
What other accessories would you suggest? Should I get a lens filter, a flash,... One thing I am really stumped on is what camera bag to get. I know it is probably different for everyone but I would like to hear what you would get if you were just starting out. (Iron Flatline: thanks for your input on that.)
Thanks
 
Yup. GREAT bag! I have other bags, too, but use this one exclusively unless I'm hiking a lot of gear into a National Park.
 
I don't think the 30D is the best camera to start with. It's a good camera but will eat away most of your budget. It will become obsolete in a coupe of years, while good glass you buy now will last you a coupe of decades.

The 400D is almost half the price, allowing you a better selection of good lenses. The 24-105 is a good all round lens, provided you also get the kit lens (criticized but really not bad) to cover the wide angle.

This should leave you with some change for a bag.

You can reconsider your tripod when you buy your first telephoto.

The next lens you could get to cover telephoto better would be an EF 100-400/4-5.6L and if you find the kit lens less than what you want, you can later on get an EF-S 10-22.

I believe the above lenses will outlast at least 2 or 3 SLR bodies.
 
dont forget to get an ND and polarized filter, i always have a filter on all my glass, its like a scratch guard.
 
Canon 30D with kit lens
2 2gig cards
spare battery from sterlingtek (even though you said B&H only, its a 10 dollar battery)
50mm 1.8
sigma 70-300 apo DG macro
possibly the 580EX speedlight

I'd also consider not getting the kitlens and instead getting a faster lens in that range (f/4 or faster).

the 50mm 1.8 will do wonders for photographing your kids in low light, especially if you dont use the flash. if you enjoy using the flash (buying the 580EX) than this is just a cheap lens with outstanding quality optics.

The 70-300 APO isn't the best lens, but at 200 dollars it is very affordable for what it does. It has great range and at 300mm in macro mode (via switch) it can produce 1:2 magnification. The downside is its on the slow side (which isn't a huge deal, since macro you just grap the tripod, and you probably wont be using 300mm unless photographing your kids playing outside, hopefully in bright sun).

As for bags, you basically need to decide on backpack or not. Backpacks are nice if you are hiking, but bad for most everything else, especially being able to get your camera out quickly should an opportune shot arise (animal in the wild). I had a backpack and didnt like it, so a shoulder bag took its place. The slingshot is a great compromise and lets your get to your camera very easily.

For photo editing software, if you are trying to save a buck GIMP is a great choice, since it is basically free photoshop. www.gimp.org

if you are doing landscapes with foliage, a circular polarizer may be a good choice. I recommend looking through all the lenses you have or want to get and figuring out which has the largest diameter filter thread, and buy your filters in that size. Then buy the generic step up rings (5 or 6 bucks each) for the smaller lenses so you only need to buy one filter.

All around I think that will get you plenty to start out.
 
Thanks to all for your opinions. There were many ideas mentioned that I had not thought about. This will definitely help make an informed decision.
 

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