Beginner Resources/Advice on Lenses

[Wunderlush]

Hello all, I'm new here, and I'm new to photography; it's been a hobby for some time but admittedly I have so much to learn. My friend is a professional photographer and gave me her old Canon EOS D30 because she believes I have "an eye for composition." I need help; honestly, the technical aspects of this camera and photography in general overwhelm me. Can anyone recommend a good learning resource for beginners? Also, I am looking for a good lens to start out with, any suggestions? Right now all I have is a macro and a zoom. Thanks!

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome aboard.
I'd suggest starting with the basics. Learn about Exposure, which encompasses three main things; Shutter Speed, Aperture and ISO. Those things haven't changed in 200 years, so any good photography resource could be a good start. There are many books, but you might also consider a class so that you can be face to face with an instructor.

The Canon D30 is ancient by today's standards. I think it's only got 3.1 mega pixels and the noise levels are probably laughable compared to anything modern, but that doesn't mean you can't learn photography with it.

 

[tedyun]

I think the 30D is a great camera to learn your way around the camera. As Big Mike suggested, learning exposure is key first step. There are a ton of resources on the net, and a good one if you're just starting out is Cambridge in Colour:

Learn Photography Concepts

I find the tutorials on this site very easy to understand.

To learn you way around the 30D, there's always the manual which you can find on Canon's site. To go beyond the manual with specific recommendations and good explanations of which options to use and when to use them, I kind of like David Busch's books:

Canon EOS 30D Guide to Digital SLR Photography: David D. Busch: 9781598633368: Amazon.com: Books

In terms of lenses, you could start with what you have, and then figure out what type of photos you're find yourself shooting. Landscapes, sports, portraits and macro all have unique requirements.

Hello all, I'm new here, and I'm new to photography; it's been a hobby for some time but admittedly I have so much to learn. My friend is a professional photographer and gave me her old Canon EOS D30 because she believes I have "an eye for composition." I need help; honestly, the technical aspects of this camera and photography in general overwhelm me. Can anyone recommend a good learning resource for beginners? Also, I am looking for a good lens to start out with, any suggestions? Right now all I have is a macro and a zoom. Thanks!

 

[Big Mike]

I think the 30D is a great camera to learn your way around the camera. As Big Mike suggested, learning exposure is key first step. There are a ton of resources on the net, and a good one if you're just starting out is Cambridge in Colour:

Learn Photography Concepts

I find the tutorials on this site very easy to understand.

To learn you way around the 30D, there's always the manual which you can find on Canon's site. To go beyond the manual with specific recommendations and good explanations of which options to use and when to use them, I kind of like David Busch's books:

Canon EOS 30D Guide to Digital SLR Photography: David D. Busch: 9781598633368: Amazon.com: Books

In terms of lenses, you could start with what you have, and then figure out what type of photos you're find yourself shooting. Landscapes, sports, portraits and macro all have unique requirements.

Hello all, I'm new here, and I'm new to photography; it's been a hobby for some time but admittedly I have so much to learn. My friend is a professional photographer and gave me her old Canon EOS D30 because she believes I have "an eye for composition." I need help; honestly, the technical aspects of this camera and photography in general overwhelm me. Can anyone recommend a good learning resource for beginners? Also, I am looking for a good lens to start out with, any suggestions? Right now all I have is a macro and a zoom. Thanks!

They said they had a D30, not a 30D. It may have been a typo on their part...but I'll assume they mean the old D30 until further notice.

 

[KmH]

Some members haven't been into photography long enough to know about the older cameras, like the Canon EOS D30 and Canon EOS D60.

 

[Big Mike]

That's probably a good thing. Those two models aren't worth remembering.

 

[gardy]

the Tom Ang books as well as the Bryan Peterson books are good reads, as far as lenses, if your just starting out just get out and shoot and you will soon find what you need to upgrade to, i can recommend a fast prime off the bat though, not sure of the cannon lineup but something like a 50mm f/1.8. Cheap Fast and a good way to get down to basics without worrying about zooms and such. i personally dont think ive touched a zoom lens in months

 

[Wunderlush]

Hey, thanks for the responses everyone. Yes, my camera is ancient, it is a D30. I know it's not the newest or the fanciest, but it works and it was a gift, so I'll use it until it dies or I can afford something nicer (which with my income may take a while). In the meantime, I plan to learn as much as I can about the basics. From what I'm gathering from your collective responses, maybe I should not even bother investing in a new lens until I get a better camera; I just thought it might help to have more versatility. Since I'm on a tight budget, should I just save my money for a better camera instead of buying a new lens? If so, what kind of camera would you all recommend as good a balance between function and value? Should I stick with Canon or use Nikon or some other manufacturer? Thoughts?

 

[tedyun]

I think the best thing to do is to start experimenting with what you have, and get a feel for what kind of pictures you like to take. At that point, you'll be able to get a better sense of what is more limiting your ability to get your ideal photographs, your camera or your lenses.

Hey, thanks for the responses everyone. Yes, my camera is ancient, it is a D30. I know it's not the newest or the fanciest, but it works and it was a gift, so I'll use it until it dies or I can afford something nicer (which with my income may take a while). In the meantime, I plan to learn as much as I can about the basics. From what I'm gathering from your collective responses, maybe I should not even bother investing in a new lens until I get a better camera; I just thought it might help to have more versatility. Since I'm on a tight budget, should I just save my money for a better camera instead of buying a new lens? If so, what kind of camera would you all recommend as good a balance between function and value? Should I stick with Canon or use Nikon or some other manufacturer? Thoughts?

 

[mhenry71]

I don't have an answer for this but have a question kinda bout same thing. I have the cannon rebel t3 with the 300x lens. It does really great but I'm looking to get a little closer for football games etc. What off brand lens is recommended for getting closer. Also what's the difference between the mirror lens and regular as far as quality.
Thanks

 

[Big Mike]

I don't have an answer for this but have a question kinda bout same thing. I have the cannon rebel t3 with the 300x lens. It does really great but I'm looking to get a little closer for football games etc. What off brand lens is recommended for getting closer. Also what's the difference between the mirror lens and regular as far as quality.
Thanks

Which lens do you have...a 300mm? Maybe a 75-300mm zoom?

Anyway, to get closer, you need a longer focal length, so something longer than 300mm. It sounds like you've been looking at those 500mm 'mirror' lenses. Yes, there certainly is a difference in the quality between a 'regular' lens and a mirror lens. Probably a more accurate way to put it, is that the mirror lenses you see for sale, are just all around cheap...so their quality is going to be shoddy anyway.
On of the main disadvantages is that they (I think) have a maximum (and fixed) aperture around F8. That means the amount of light they can gather, is limited. That, in turn, means that it will be harder for you to get a good exposure without having to use a slower shutter speed. A slower shutter speed will mean blurry photos.

They aren't useless...they are a way for you to get a lot of reach, for very little money (a normal 500mm lens is very expensive)...but if you are expecting to get nice photos out of it...don't hold your breath.

Another option might be to use a teleconverter. That is something that mounts behind a regular lens and magnifies the image. They usually come in strengths like 1.4 or 2.0. So with a 2X TC, you could turn your 300mm lens into a 600mm lens. That sounds good, but there is a catch. The TC eats some light and you end up with a smaller maximum aperture...which means less light, which means slower shutter speeds. Also, there is an image quality loss...depending on the quality of the TC.

Lastly, it's likely that neither of those options will allow your camera to autofocus. The cheap mirror lens is probably manual focus only...but even though you can get AF compatible TeleConverters, your camera needs a max aperture of F5.6 for the AF to work. SO if you use something with a smaller max (higher F number), the camera won't have enough light to AF.

So really, my suggestion would be to just try to get closer, rather than using a longer lens or a silly lens. Or, just get as close as you can and try to get very sharp photos, then crop them later.