New Canon XTi!!! What to do?

boclcown · Dec 29, 2006

My parents decided to surprise me (about 15 minutes ago) and bought a new XTi and hid it in under my bed. Of course, they were quick to remind me of the $800 I owe them.

So, I opened it up, and poped in the battery. It works amazing. I played with the D80 and other cameras, but the 400D simply feels the quickest. Even it's shutter sound trumps Nikon's. It'll be fun, now that I have a team to play on during those long and heated Canon vs. Nikon discussions!

Anyways, what do I do next? I'd like to learn the ins and outs of my camera but would rather an online source than the manual. Should I be testing it to make sure it isn't faulty? This is my first DSLR, and I feel overwhelmed with the amount of information there is to retain.

oCyrus55 · Dec 29, 2006

Learn how to use the manual modes, like the P and the M mode. Just practice with it, I think that is the best way you can learn. Mess around with the different ISO settings. So, yeh... just take a lot of pictures in the different modes and you will slowly learn about your camera. It's a great camera, so congratulations! You can PM me anytime if you have any questions about the camera.

Sw1tchFX · Dec 29, 2006

taking pictures is a good start.

Alex_B · Dec 30, 2006

boclcown said:
My parents decided to surprise me (about 15 minutes ago) and bought a new XTi and hid it in under my bed. Of course, they were quick to remind me of the $800 I owe them.

That is an interesting way to get camera

Congratulations and have fun!

It'll be fun, now that I have a team to play on during those long and heated Canon vs. Nikon discussions!

For people actually doing photography, that discussion is one of the most obsolete and dead boring discussions

So don't waste your time on that.

So now go forth, play with it, try out settings, shoot images

And make sure to report here

CMan · Dec 30, 2006

What the others said is right; just go out and take pictures; mess with the settings, learn what works and what doesn't. Post what you think are your better or best shots here; folks will really be able to give you advice then.

LaFoto · Dec 30, 2006

Our German TV ad's slogan for this camera (for this one, too :scratch: !?!? Sure applied to the 350D) is "Come play".

This is what you should do.
Go out and play.

And what a gift!
WOW!
Congrats!