I believe I got an upgrade

[clouddancer]

So Hubby got a surprise yesterday of some refund money from school, to the tune of $2000. Today, out and about, we had things to get and we stocked up some. But he promised me a new camera, something, anything to replace the Kodak. We browsed the selection at Sam’s and when I’d all but given up of finding something that would be ok, he talked with the Photo person and figured a few things out and made his choice. I let him pick it out because I didn’t know where he was going, but was pretty darned sure that just about anything would be an upgrade.

I think I’m in love. He picked out the Canon EOS Rebel XS (black) kit that came with the body, the 18-55 kit lens, a 75-300 lens, software, a 2 GB SD card, battery pack and charger, the requisite cables, a manual, and a nifty bag with more than enough room currently. The price was 600. I think it was a pretty sweet deal. I got to try it out on the way home and holy cow WHAT a difference!!! The response time alone is just astounding to me! I’m probably pretty impressionable, but he liked it, and I’m in love with it! The difference in clarity, the shots, focus, etc, is just amazing. We’ll get some filters probably soon, plus a lens cover or something, but I’m too excited not to say anything here! I still almost can’t believe he got it for me!

I can stop crabbing about the crappy P&S I have because, well, I have something better now! And he can be happy about the camera too! Time to get cracking on learning the functions now that I have something to adjust. This is going to be so much fun. 😀

[nobigdeal]

Congrats!!!!

[lokisbong]

The Rebel XS is the camera I am currently very happy to be using. Congrats.

[clouddancer]

Thanks! I’m all excited. I did get a book on digital photography, but it’s been over my head because I haven’t been able to adjust any of it myself to figure out what was going on and what it meant. Now I can, so I’m looking forward to it.

[ravnostic]

I have the EOS xTi. I love it. DO use the software that comes with it for post processing. They also have an nifty stitching program that does a nice job.

You’ll love what a simple thing like changing the f/stop (aperture) can do to a composition. Not to mention all the other nifty stuff.

Congrats on your new toy!! May we look forward to some gallery shots with your early ventures?

[zincprincess]

Congrats. PeriRies and I upgraded to a DSLR from a point and shoot last year. We’ve loved it. Even on auto or the pre-programmed scenes, it takes much better pictures than the P&S. The lack of a shutter delay makes it more likely that Peri will take pictures. Our only regret is that we didn’t buy one sooner for pictures of the baby (now a 4-year old).

Have fun with your new toy!

[ravnostic]

p.s. You know, cloud–your going to totally have to remake that blueberry cake for “Just Desserts”, don’t you?

[Curious]

that’s really great news. the price looks good too. my sam’s had these but they have sold out now.

i’m not one for bundles as a rule but that one will cover you for some time. you might want to look into more cards. these are a good buy. http://www.adorama.com/IDSSDHC4G.html

[olavf]

Congrats, and awesome!

*do* get UV filters for your lenses. If anything, they will help keep them from getting scratched, and I’ve heard of at least one instance where it saved the lens from being broken.

*do* get another memory card – I’ve found a single 8GB is more than enough for a single day’s shooting, even on a heavy day. (I’ve come back on at least one occasion with the card half-full). Plus, having a second card in your bag is always nice for when you leave your main one in the card reader…

And as Rav said, play with the DPP (Digital Photo Professional) software that came with it. Shoot RAW, too. You’ll be amazed at what you can do with it – I do 90%+ of my final editing there. Just being able to fix the white balance alone is worth it. (I can give an example with one of my pics from this week if you want to see)

Oh, and *do* have fun with it 😉
/also, throw your P&S in your purse, or your car. It’s never a bad idea to have one around

[Curious]

Plus, having a second card in your bag is always nice for when you leave your main one in the card reader…

Oh, and *do* have fun with it 😉
/also, throw your P&S in your purse, or your car. It’s never a bad idea to have one around

when shooting tests i have gone outside more than once with the card in the reader. and even occasionally taken a few shots before realizing that they wouldn’t be coming out as anticipated.

i keep a camera in the car and it has been handy. haven’t got the space alien photo i want yet but useful anyway.

[olavf]

Mine tells me if there’s no CF card loaded. But it doesn’t help if you don’t check until you’ve driven 20+ minutes from home….

My P&S came in really handy a few years ago when I was in a pretty nasty car accident. I handed it to a bystander and asked him to take a few shots of the accident scene. My lawyer was EXTREMELY happy. The dump truck driver’s, not so much 😉

[ravnostic]

*do* get another memory card – I’ve found a single 8GB is more than enough for a single day’s shooting, even on a heavy day. (I’ve come back on at least one occasion with the card half-full). Plus, having a second card in your bag is always nice for when you leave your main one in the card reader…

Oh, and *do* have fun with it 😉
/also, throw your P&S in your purse, or your car. It’s never a bad idea to have one around

Wow olavf, only 1/2 full? I have two 4 gigs and a 1 gig and have actually filled them all (of course, I take a lot of experimental shots that get trashed; still learning, you know.)

Also *do* get a spare battery!! I never leave home without two fully charged ones. There’s nothing worse than composing the perfect shot only to see “battery low, replace immediately” just before you click the shutter.

*don’t* rely on flash–learn proper exposure and you won’t have to, and it EATS the battery. You can take hundreds of shots without it, maybe a hundred to two with it. Usually lighting is better without flash (there are many exceptions to this, of course, but as a general rule…)

My camera also tells me it’s not loaded with a card–and there’s a setting that won’t let you take pictures without it. Useful way to not think you’re having a ball, only to go *doh!* later.

I can’t stress strongly enough about the extra memory card. Mine uses flash memory. The 1 gig ALWAYS stays in the bag. When I shot the street scene in Tempe for ‘Classic Green’? Shot on the 1 gig. Left the others at home by mistake. Wouldn’t have got those cool shots I posted in the forum had I not had the 1 gig tucked away.

And the P&S is good for hubby taking a picture of you taking pictures.

[olavf]

362 shots is around 4.5gigs on my camera in RAW. That was a friend’s wedding. If I’m really in the ‘zone’ and trying for the difficult shots I might take 150, normally.

[Curious]

the 7D had a red blinking line if no CF card was inserted. but since there is no live view i didn’t always look at the LCD right away. the D3000 just has an [E] where the number of shots remaining is.

since i don’t usually do a lot of post processing i shoot fine jpg instead of RAW due to write time. that gives me 550 shots on a 4GB card with the D3000. i’m going to buy more cards (one extra isn’t enough) but have decided that 4GB cards are large enough.

with either the CF or SD cards i have spares in my camera bag and i don’t leave the driveway without the bag.

[Elsinore]

Wow, nice–congrats!

[Author]

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