most basic gear/must have's

Witness

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so my little sister has been hounding me to buy her a camera for her birthday, i've decided in stead of going out and buying an expensive body with some junk kit lens i would just give her my little XSi and throw a few of those "must have" items that should be in every amateurs camera bag.

so my question is, if you were putting together a rig with just the basics what would you put in the bag?

so far in the bag is:
XSi body
an older speedlite i had laying around
canon EF 28-135 3.5-5.6 IS
a decent tripod
a hand full of memory cards

i want to add 2 more lenses for sure, probably a 50mm 1.8 and i'm not sure what for the other one. Maybe a little compact macro? Fisheye?

what lenses should be in ever beginners bag?

who has what? what about the newer crop sensor specific lenses? i've heard some guys swear by them, claim to have L glass quality.
 
Wow, nice big brother! What kind of budget do you have? A macro or an UWA (sigma 10-20 or the like) ... a polarizing filter ... Maybe the bag itself ...
 
i'm willing to spend probably 500-600. i have zero in it right now as everything is pretty much hand-me-downs. i have a decent Crumpler bag that i ordered a while back and never used.

i'm just trying to get opinions on lenses. If it were -MY- rig i would just buy a 24-70L and call it a day, but more lenses gives more flexibility and thus its easier to learn.

I really just want to throw in two more decent pieces of glass, and that should pretty much keep her busy for a while. That 28-135mm lens really is pretty solid for what it is, i feel like a 50mm 1.8 would be a nice addition mostly b/c its only $90 and rock solid, i need one more budget lens to really make a good well rounded rig.
 
maybe "Understanding Exposure" by someone, forgot his name :). She could read up on it and it could take her quite far. Disclaimer, I've never read this book, it's recommend by most though.
 
maybe "Understanding Exposure" by someone, forgot his name :). She could read up on it and it could take her quite far. Disclaimer, I've never read this book, it's recommend by most though.

Excellent suggestion ... author is Bryan Peterson
 
Hmm I'd say avoid the fisheye - they can be fun but are the sort of lens which once used once or twice ends up left in the bag the rest of the time. I'd say look at a good macro lens or a wideangle - something like a sigma 10-20mm would be a good landscape option or perhaps a macro lens - the Tamron 90mm is the cheapest (read shortest focal length) that I would recomend to a beginner.
Though if you know she will never ever take a shot of a bug then you can go for the cheaper options like the Canon EFS 60mm or Sigma 70mm

And certainly throw in the book as well :)
 
I would recommend putting the manuals, to all the gear, in the bag as well.
 
I would suggest a cleaning kit
A spare battery
A couple of extra cards and a card gel case
and a bum bag
 
If you get a wide angle lens be sure to include a CPL filter.

Personally I would go for a macro lens, so much fun without having to even leave the house.
 
Used Canon 70-200 f/4L will run about $400-$500 if they're still going for what they were last time I looked. One of the sharpest zoom lenses they make.

That and maybe a cheap pair of radio triggers for the flash. About $40-$50 for everything you would need. That's a set of Cactus triggers and a hotshoe to pc port adapter.

Off camera lighting is fun.
 

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