Will my kit be complete?

[JeffieLove]

At least for a beginner?

My camera will be in by Thursday (hopefully, we'll see what happens when Adorama runs my credit card tomorrow, all should be okay now!) and I have another cart full of stuff ready to order from Adorama... So here is what I will have to start with:

Canon XSi Body - Refurbished
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS w/ 58mm UV Filter
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II w/ 52mm UV Filter, Lens Cap Leash, & Lens Cleaning Kit
(2) 4GB SDHC Memory Cards
Canon BG-E5 Battery Grip
(2) Canon Battery Pack LP-E5 - 1080 mAh
(2) Replacement Battery Charger for LP-E5 Batteries
Adorama Wireless Radio Remote Release
Canon 2400 Camera Gadget Bag

And I need to know where I can get an inexpensive but good/sturdy tripod - I only saw one that was "affordable" on Adorama and I wasn't sure if it was a good one or not - only had a 3.5 star rating...

 

[Montana]

Should get you started! What is with the battery chargers? The camera should come with one battery and one charger. Did you order 1 or 2 batteries in addition to the one that comes with the camera? And did you order a spare charger?

 

[JeffieLove]

I haven't placed the order for anything except the body and one memory card so far, so I'm not locked in yet That was why I wanted to post... to see if there is anything I'm missing...

I ordered 2 extra batteries (I may not need them... so I'll ask)... The battery grip holds 2 batteries... Does the body of the camera still hold one? Or will I only use a total of 2 batteries at a time? If it will only be 2 batteries at a time, then I will take one battery and one charger off... I want a charger for each battery so they can be charging at the same time instead of me having to plan WAY in advance for a shoot

 

[Dominantly]

I shoot like crazy, with one battery, and have to charge it maybe once every week and a half. I personally think your chargers are a bit overkill

 

[JeffieLove]

I shoot like crazy, with one battery, and have to charge it maybe once every week and a half. I personally think your chargers are a bit overkill

LOL I just want to make sure I'm prepared LOL

So do you use a grip on your camera that holds 2 batteries?

 

[JeffieLove]

so here is the one tripod I saw on Adorama that was affordable... Maybe I'm not searching for the right "keywords"?

6195A003 Canon Deluxe Tripod 200 with 3-Way Pan Head, Quick Release, Built-in Bubble Level (Extends to 59.3", folds to 22.85")

I am a little put off by the 3.5 star rating... Should I be? I did read the reviews on it and there was only one that was really bad, the last one kind of scares me a little...

 

[Montana]

My 40D is gripped, I have 3 batteries for it....never use one of them. Only have one charger as well. More than one charger is overkill. With the grip, you will not be charging batteries very often at all.

 

[Big]

I shoot like crazy, with one battery, and have to charge it maybe once every week and a half. I personally think your chargers are a bit overkill

I hear ya on that one, I just bought another battery just in case since it's been cold out and I was on a trip with no power.

 

[Big]

so here is the one tripod I saw on Adorama that was affordable... Maybe I'm not searching for the right "keywords"?

6195A003 Canon Deluxe Tripod 200 with 3-Way Pan Head, Quick Release, Built-in Bubble Level (Extends to 59.3", folds to 22.85")

I am a little put off by the 3.5 star rating... Should I be? I did read the reviews on it and there was only one that was really bad, the last one kind of scares me a little...

I would be too. I would never buy a tripod for $35. The one I'm looking at now is about 250. You wouldn't want that thing to let loose and drop your pride and joy...

 

[JeffieLove]

Any other suggestions on a tripod? I am definitely going to need one by the 4th of July ANd might want one sooner... I'm one of those "want it now? get it now..." kind of people... it kinda sucks sometimes

 

[Derrel]

The grip goes in to the camera's battery well, so only two batteries can be used at a time,and the charge is drawn from one battery at a time, so there's very little need for a second charger. Canon's smaller consumer batteries charge quite rapidly. As far as an inexpensive and good/sturdy tripod, those two qualities are mutually exclusive. Almost any tripod in the $99 and under range will be a bit wobbly, and will not hold the camera stable enough for a multiple exposure for say, a 5-shot HDR or something like that.

Good tripods are not cheap. And cheap tripods are not good. Cheap tripods however, will slow down your shooting, and will help with framing and composition, and since you have a remote release, you'll probably be able to touch off shots made with your current kit list on even an inexpensive tripod; the problem comes when trying to use such tripods with longer lenses or for macro work, or when triggering off shots using the body's shutter release, or when trying to frame a composition very tightly; low-cost tripods almost always have some "slop" in them, so that when the head is tightened, the camera will move enough to mess up the composition, so you'll need to learn to,usually, aim high, and then tighten the tripod down and watch the camera inch downward.

I hope you enjoy the new Canon d-slr system.

 

[JeffieLove]

thanks for your input derrel

So basically, I should look for a tripod that is above $100?

I don't think I'll be doing any HDR anytime soon, so that shouldn't be a problem... but I want to be able to depend on my tripod...

While looking on Adorama, all the tripods seemed to be $1,000+ except for this $35 one lol...

I searched for "Canon Tripod" and those were the results I got... a few at $1,000+ and then the $35 one...

 

[pharmakon]

My wife got me this one for christmas. It's pretty good, but for really long exposures it's best to keep the bottom sections collapsed since they are a little thin. It is worlds better than the cheapo video tripod I had before it though. Given the chance I would have probably spent another $100 to get something that didn't leave me wishing for a little more rigidity. It would have been worth it to know I won't have to upgrade later.

 

[pharmakon]

also you don't have to buy a canon brand tripod, manfrotto is a fairly reputable brand that isn't in the 1000's and there are many other brands out there are good. I wasn't too sure about what I was doing when I got mine, I kind of just looked at the weight capacity. If you search the forum here for tripod you can find several posts where people recommended some really good tripods for around $250-300.

 

[gsgary]

Ditch the battery grip and put the money towards a good tripod, why do you think you need a battery grip ? most only buy them to make their camera look pro level because it doesn't take much to change a batery you probably won't even use up one battery a day unless you go mad