Equipment for Beginner

[clintd]

Hi all, I am new to the forum and photography.

I really have very limited knowledge of photography and am just the point of wanting to get started.

I would like to get your advice about equipment.

What is the basic equipment I should purchase in order to begin learning about photography?

I am looking at the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS, but it will be several months before I could make that purchase.

Any advice is appreciated! Thanks!

 

[christopher walrath]

The basic equipment would be a camera, a lower end zoom (28-80 or some such), a nice and small bag, if digital, an extra battery and charger and mem card, a tripod and a book to explain the basics such as Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure. My advice would be to learn the manual functions first (that great big scary M on your dial), get the hang of why your camera does what it does and then you will be more informed as to future choices of what modes to use when. And, starting out, your best friend should be your owners manual. Anything you need to know will be there. Ask us for clarifications and other whatnots as needed. Good luck and have fun.

 

[D-B-J]

well.. i grabbed a d200 for a great price, and set it to manual, and tought myself! granted, there is still ALOT for me to learn, but putting it in manual and screwin up ALOT is a great way to learn. This website has been really helpful too.

 

[Dallmeyer]

The Canon camera with the kit lens 18-55mm. This lens will allow you to make quite wide-angle pictures of scenes using the 18mm focal-length and through to pictures similar to the field of view you concentrate on usually with your own eyes at the 55mm end of the scale.

You'll need a basic PC set-up with a monitor whose color and display can be adjusted for best viewing of your photos.

An SD card to store the photo captures on. An external card reader (USB connect) can be useful too. 2GB or 4GB cards are a suitable size.

A monopod for stabilising your photography in some situations.

A shoe-mounted flashgun to allow you more creative control over using flash.

Get used to using Canons CR2 RAW image format as early on as possible. These are like your digital negatives. There are several free RAW "development" applications downloadable from the web (eg, UFRAW, Faststone Image Viewer).

Hi all, I am new to the forum and photography.

I really have very limited knowledge of photography and am just the point of wanting to get started.

I would like to get your advice about equipment.

What is the basic equipment I should purchase in order to begin learning about photography?

I am looking at the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS, but it will be several months before I could make that purchase.

Any advice is appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Vinny]

Since you have several months before your purchace I would advise to read a few books to get an idea about what the relationship is between the lens and camera body along with the aperture (lens opening), shutter speed and ISO (film speed or sensor sensitivity). There are a few books out, one is mentioned above but 2 I have read and found great were Kodak's "Joy of Photography" - it's an old book but may have been updated and Tom Ang's "Fundamentals of Photography" - it's a fairly new book. They go into a little detail about color and light. Tom Ang's book goes into some detail about film and digital cameras.

I will also second that once you get the camera - read the manual, it will really help you understand how your camera works.

 

[flyin-lowe]

I also have to recommend Peterson's Understanding Exposure. Depending on what your level of understanding photography is at this point it might be better to read it once you have your camera and understand the basics. I knew a little about photography (from reading on this forum) and I think that helped me when I read the book because I had a basic understanding of the terms he is using and the concepts.
Oh yeah, I have the XS and it is a fine camera. You will learn that the photographer is just as important or more as the equipment. Get the best equipment you can afford. But with this body you can upgrade to a better lens in the future and you will be fine.

 

[pbelarge]

Clintd
Hello and welcome to the forum.

Do you know what type(s) of photos you are interested in shooting?
Such as landscape, portrait, cityscapes, nature, cars, action, sports, etc...


If you have an idea, let us know and it will be easier to help you decide on what equipment may be good for you to start.
Also if you have a budget in mind of what you can afford.

 

[fokker]

The Canon camera with the kit lens 18-55mm. This lens will allow you to make quite wide-angle pictures of scenes using the 18mm focal-length and through to pictures similar to the field of view you concentrate on usually with your own eyes at the 55mm end of the scale.

You'll need a basic PC set-up with a monitor whose color and display can be adjusted for best viewing of your photos.

An SD card to store the photo captures on. An external card reader (USB connect) can be useful too. 2GB or 4GB cards are a suitable size.

A monopod for stabilising your photography in some situations.

A shoe-mounted flashgun to allow you more creative control over using flash.

Get used to using Canons CR2 RAW image format as early on as possible. These are like your digital negatives. There are several free RAW "development" applications downloadable from the web (eg, UFRAW, Faststone Image Viewer).

I agree with most of this, except a tripod will be much more useful than a monopod. Monopods are more for supporting big, heavy lenses for extended shooting periods and won't be of much use trying to take long exposure shots. Also, the flash could probably wait until more experience in basics is gained as learning to use flash is a lot more difficult.

 

[clintd]

Hi all,

thanks so much for your replies. They are very helpful. A professional photographer I was talking to recommended "Photography" by London and Upton. It is a college level introductory photography book. I'll probably check it out along with those you recommended.

I am really interested in all types of photography. I am partial to landscape, cityscape, animals, and still life.

Eventually, I would like to move into portraiture and wedding photography as a potential career. The same photographer I mentioned before advised me not to buy the Rebel. Instead, to invest in a wall-taken-care-of used Canon 40d or 50d with a lens somewhere in the 24-75 or 24-105 range. His reasoning was so that as I progress, I could use this semi-pro grade camera as a back-up body.

 

[clintd]

By the way, I do have a Canon EOS Rebel 2000 film camera that I am borrowing from my parents. I am going to start taking photos with that.

Anyone know of an inexpensive processing servicer? I would rather have the film developed and then put onto a cd so that I can begin experimenting with post-production as well. I think Walgreen's charges 2.99 + the cost of processing. Is that a good deal for a digital cd of 24 exposures?

 

[Vinny]

For "just taking pictures" and getting started Walgreens may be OK. I have found that all places like that really do an aweful job at processing the images and they come out dull. But to get a camera in your hand and learning on what it can do it - it may be worth it but probably wouldn't pay for the CD ... you'll be surprised how many lousy photos can be taken. You can always scan any photo you want to be digital. When you get to the point that you want better processing then try a local camera store that has processing - that may be your best bet. I would imagine Kodak still offers processing services and there may be others on line as well.

By the way, I do have a Canon EOS Rebel 2000 film camera that I am borrowing from my parents. I am going to start taking photos with that.

Anyone know of an inexpensive processing servicer? I would rather have the film developed and then put onto a cd so that I can begin experimenting with post-production as well. I think Walgreen's charges 2.99 + the cost of processing. Is that a good deal for a digital cd of 24 exposures?

 

[Dallmeyer]

True enough. I agree just not wishing to load so many learning curves straight off. I've used monopods for 24-200 length photography a lot. The improvement in sharpness can be noticeable over handheld shots (and the ability to go down towards 1/15, 1/10 or maybe even less with acceptable sharpness in possible situations). This is using a monopod or tripod in a similar way, collapsed-down and stood inside a bag (shoulderbag/camera bag) hung from around the neck. The tension nut slackened off and the tilt-arm facing outwards. Steady and very mobile. Position, tighten, shoot.

The Canon camera with the kit lens 18-55mm. This lens will allow you to make quite wide-angle pictures of scenes using the 18mm focal-length and through to pictures similar to the field of view you concentrate on usually with your own eyes at the 55mm end of the scale.

You'll need a basic PC set-up with a monitor whose color and display can be adjusted for best viewing of your photos.

An SD card to store the photo captures on. An external card reader (USB connect) can be useful too. 2GB or 4GB cards are a suitable size.

A monopod for stabilising your photography in some situations.

A shoe-mounted flashgun to allow you more creative control over using flash.

Get used to using Canons CR2 RAW image format as early on as possible. These are like your digital negatives. There are several free RAW "development" applications downloadable from the web (eg, UFRAW, Faststone Image Viewer).

I agree with most of this, except a tripod will be much more useful than a monopod. Monopods are more for supporting big, heavy lenses for extended shooting periods and won't be of much use trying to take long exposure shots. Also, the flash could probably wait until more experience in basics is gained as learning to use flash is a lot more difficult.

 

[Grimgard]

Hi all, I am new to the forum and photography.

I really have very limited knowledge of photography and am just the point of wanting to get started.

I would like to get your advice about equipment.

What is the basic equipment I should purchase in order to begin learning about photography?

I am looking at the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS, but it will be several months before I could make that purchase.

Any advice is appreciated! Thanks!

I just bought a Canon XSi that was packaged with Two lenses 18-55 & 55-250 with a Case, 4GB SDHC memory card and software. It was $700.00 from Costco (not sure if you have them in your area or not) and it's a great starter camera and you get more features than the Canon XS.

 

[Foques]

I started off with d40, and an auto mode...
Resulting pictures were opened in exif reader and studied and noted.
Shot again.
Rinse repeat.. Explored usable ISOs and low light shooting..
By the time I was ready to buy my 300 and 700, I knew what to expect of my camera at a certain setting.

 

[LearnMyShot]

Hi take a kook at this LearnMyShot - learn how to photograph anything I hope it helps