Look at a local library or bookstore for what kind of photography book suits you best. Older books tend to have less fluff (look at anything by John Hedgecoe for examples of what I consider fluff).
Get a cheap tripod - a Quantaray will do. They don't pan smoothly and aren't rock solid if you tap the tripod leg, but they open up a huge vista of photo opportunities for very little money.
Pair the tripod with a cable release. The Canon RS-60E3 is cheap and lets you lock the shutter open for long exposures. Again, this presents an incremental advance in what you can do.
Get a polarizing filter (circular) for your lenses. I'd recommend against a UV filter - they degrade image quality and your lenses don't need as much protection as salespeople would have you believe.
Go browse http://www.dpreview.com/challenges/ Some of the pictures here are stunning and looking through the galleries gives you plenty of ideas for what to shoot.
As for a bag - pick that out in person if possible. One shooter's dream bag is another's nightmare. There are lots of good bag manufacturers out there but for starters I'd recommend something by Lowepro or Tamrac. Other bag manufacturers are harder to find in common stores. Please do not go look at a bag in store and then buy it online though - it's really discourteous.
vpk24_astro wrote:
Please do not go look at a bag in store and then buy it online though - it's really discourteous.
You've never accompanied a woman shop? The store where they found something they like doesn't necessarily means the store where they buy it from.
Besides, most of us live in the real world here. I'm not gonna care about their feelings when I can save almost 50% of the price. Australian shop price for a Kata bag US$127, Online price US$65. Which one would you buy from if you're faced with that choice?
About the tripod, the cheap ones aren't very precise and really aren't stable at all. I got a Velbon cheap tripod with a 3way pan tilt head, when I thought I got the camera in position and lock it down, it flexed.
Oh about the cable release, you can also use a wireless remote shutter for the XSi. With the RC1, you can choose instant shutter trigger or 2 second delay with MLU. It's great for family photos coz you won't have to be left out.
You can do BULB exposure too, just press once to expose, go inside have a cuppa, come back out and press again to close the shutter.
n0b0 wrote:
You've never accompanied a woman shop? The store where they found something they like doesn't necessarily means the store where they buy it from.
Besides, most of us live in the real world here. I'm not gonna care about their feelings when I can save almost 50% of the price. Australian shop price for a Kata bag US$127, Online price US$65. Which one would you buy from if you're faced with that choice?
About the tripod, the cheap ones aren't very precise and really aren't stable at all. I got a Velbon cheap tripod with a 3way pan tilt head, when I thought I got the camera in position and lock it down, it flexed.
Oh about the cable release, you can also use a wireless remote shutter for the XSi. With the RC1, you can choose instant shutter trigger or 2 second delay with MLU. It's great for family photos coz you won't have to be left out.
You can do BULB exposure too, just press once to expose, go inside have a cuppa, come back out and press again to close the shutter. ...Show more →
I just think it's unfair to punish brick and mortar stores for having fixed costs that online retailers don't. If you're planning on buying online, just don't go into the store is my policy.
As far as tripods go, I'm just suggesting that he buys a cheap tripod first before plunking a lot of money on something expensive. A < 100 dollar tripod is never a total write off should he choose to buy something more expensive - worst comes to worst it sits in the back of his closet in case something happens to the good one. Besides he may never get into photography enough to require a really nice tripod - only time will tell.
The only drawback to the RC-1 is it doesn't work really well out of line of sight. I think both are good accessories with slightly different uses.
Cassidamius wrote:
3. Possibly sell the 18-55 IS kit lens brand-new, pick up the nifty-fifty (50mm f/1.8) and save for a nicer wide-angle like a Tamaron 17-50mm f/2.8. I expect to receive a lot of feedback on this decision and welcome it.
Both have distinctive pros and cons. I suggest reading about that.
At your current state I'm not sure how much you'll benefit from this move.
Yakim Peled wrote:
Both have distinctive pros and cons. I suggest reading about that.
At your current state I'm not sure how much you'll benefit from this move.
Happy shooting,
Yakim.
I agree with Yakim.
The 18-55 IS and 50/1.8 complement each other much better than a 17-50/2.8 and 50/1.8.
Remember, the 18-55 is f/3.5 at the wide end, not even a full stop slover than 2.8.
vpk24_astro wrote:
I just think it's unfair to punish brick and mortar stores for having fixed costs that online retailers don't. If you're planning on buying online, just don't go into the store is my policy.
As far as tripods go, I'm just suggesting that he buys a cheap tripod first before plunking a lot of money on something expensive. A < 100 dollar tripod is never a total write off should he choose to buy something more expensive - worst comes to worst it sits in the back of his closet in case something happens to the good one. Besides he may never get into photography enough to require a really nice tripod - only time will tell.
The only drawback to the RC-1 is it doesn't work really well out of line of sight. I think both are good accessories with slightly different uses. ...Show more →
Rereading my post, it sounded a bit aggresive, my apology for that.
About going to a brick and mortar, I really don't see what the big deal is. Even if I don't buy anything there, they don't lose anything. Actually, quite a few times I went to a local retailer just to check on a lens or a bag and I ended up buying something else like a Lumiquest softbox or the 488RC2 tripod head. They may not have sold the item that I wanted but they still got my money.
Basically, as long as someone's willing to step into their store, there's always a chance that he or she might buy something and they're happy with that.
What you're saying is a bit like saying don't go to adorama/B&H/etc. website to check price if you're not gonna buy anything, you're wasting their bandwidth.
