Best Buy's new camera owner service?

[Luckymomoftwo]

We just recently bought a Canon EOS Rebel Xsi. This is my first SLR and I'm SUPER excited! I've been playing around with it and familiarizing myself with it, but I have A LOT to learn. I was so fed up with my PNS cameras (my most recently owned one was a Canon PowerShot A80), I missed SOOOOO many good pictures because of the delayed reaction that the camera had.

Anyway, to my question...Best Buy offers a class that you take at the store for $30 for half an hour that teaches you how to use the camera, or an in home class for $130 (I think it was $130, it may have been more) that lasts as long as you want (reasonably, of course), but it definitely lasts more than 30 minutes. I'm wondering if anyone has taken either of these classes that Best Buy offers and if it was worth it?

Thanks in advance!

 

[JR6ooo4]

for 30 dollars it sounds ok

But I would wait as ling as possible, the more you play with it the more questions you might have. Early on you will have easy questions that you can figure out with a little bit of reading or asking here.

MIkeeee

Oh and congrats on the new cam!

 

[wenrob]

When I questioned about the instructor coming to my home, they were kind of evasive and said he would 'teach me to use my camera,' which tranlated to in my mind to using the manual and menu's, not how to take pics. Another words, teach you where to set shutter speed, etc but not how or why. I'm very loyal to Best Buy but I had the feeling I would have regretted spending the 135 bucks. Just my 2 cents.
I would say read your manual and pick up a couple of good books."Understanding Exposure" is a gold mine of easy to understand info. You will have both at your finger tips to refer back to again and again. The only thing that has made things click for me has been to read, read, read and do, do, do.

 

[MonoManBlue]

in my opinion......save the 30 dollars too......take your camera to the zoo, or to the local park and just start playing. The fun of it is learning on your own. Plus, we can sit here and say "oh, simply but your shutter speed to 1/200 and an F5.6 for this setting" but until you really go out and learn this on your own, you really won't remember it. Playing with my camera was the best learning I have ever done


AND I highly recommend going to an office store, and purchasing a thing of notecards on a spiral. Then, everything you learn stick in on a notecard and carry it in your bag. Thats what I have done, now when I want a special shot of fireworks or whatever, no longer do I have to play with settings, I can go straight to the book! Don't want to wait till half the parade is over before you finally start getting good shots, well if you have the right settings already, then you get great photos.

Just my opinoin, but hands on experience is the best.

 

[Luckymomoftwo]

You guys are great! Thank you so much for the advice!! I'm going to look for that book that wenrob suggested. And I'm going to get a spiral notecard book that monomanblue suggested to write down little tips on how to use the different settings in different situations. I'm REALLY looking forward to using my new camera in November when we go to WDW!!