40d!

WTF? · Jan 2, 2009

so christmas finally came and after the longest year of my life, i finally got my beloved canon 40D.

ive still got a lot of learning to do, and a lot of buying of lenses etc, but this is what ive got in the first few days of figuring it all out

(17-85 kit lens)

im planning on getting the canon 50mm 1.8 this weekend, is this a good choice?
any pointers and advice for a complete noob is greatly appreciated.

also, how do you convert raw files to jpeg without photoshop? can you do it in iphoto somehow? ive got no clue.

Phelan · Jan 2, 2009

RawTherapee is a good free app for converting RAW to JPG after you've made any desired adjustments.

Release of RT V2.4 beta 4 + Happy Christmas!

Picasa will also read most RAW formats and export to JPG.

Samanax · Jan 2, 2009

WTF? said:
so christmas finally came and after the longest year of my life, i finally got my beloved canon 40D.

ive still got a lot of learning to do, and a lot of buying of lenses etc, but this is what ive got in the first few days of figuring it all out

(17-85 kit lens)

You've got a nice set of images...not your typical snap shots. Good start.

WTF? said:
im planning on getting the canon 50mm 1.8 this weekend, is this a good choice?

It's not the most well made Canon lens, but it can take sharp pictures. Tends to hunt for focus in low light situations or when you're using the other focus points besides the center one. It's okay to start with but you may eventually want to replace it with the EF 50mm f/1.4 USM, which will give you better performance and has much smoother bokeh.

WTF? said:
any pointers and advice for a complete noob is greatly appreciated.

Read the owner's manual. Then learn the basics of photography...exposure, understanding light and composition. For help with composition, this is a good place to start. Be sure to click the "How To Improve Your Photography" link at the bottom of the page.

WTF? said:
also, how do you convert raw files to jpeg without photoshop? can you do it in iphoto somehow? ive got no clue.

Install the Canon software that came with your 40D. Digital Photo Professional (DPP) will convert RAW to JPEG as well as allow you to do some minor post processing (PP) of your images. ZoomBrowser EX can convert RAW to JPEG too, but it's more of an organizer.

Ptyler22 · Jan 2, 2009

Good shots! Have fun with your new camera! I know I bought mine this summer after a 2 month wait and I haven't stopped loving it for even a second!

ShutterSpeed · Jan 2, 2009

Your first sunset picture is outstanding. Was that the natural color, or did you edit it?

WTF? · Jan 2, 2009

ShutterSpeed said:
Your first sunset picture is outstanding. Was that the natural color, or did you edit it?

thanks! its natural colour, right before a sunrise.

Harmony · Jan 2, 2009

3 made me stop and stare for awhile - the effect of the long exposure on the waves is quite something. Generally, you should be wary of having horizons right in the middle of the photograph, but I feel it works well here. Also you've got some ugly vignetting going on the upper right hand corner, probably because your lens was fully extended. I'd get rid of it and straighten the horizon out and I think you have a winner!