Canon 400D (Rebel Xti, Kiss X)

[MommytoMJM]

I third the Bryan Peterson book, I used my camera manual for the camera basics and then got Understanding Exposure for learning other stuff. As for websites, I really like this one: http://photography-on-the.net/forum/

 

[DVC Jen]

I agree with Jen. Peterson is the way to go. He also has Understanding Exposure which covers much of the same material. The difference in the two books is that the latter does not go into too much about the camera itself, just learning to "see" the scene and get the best out of it. I have both and am glad I do.

Ditto.

 

[Lizziejane]

As a newbie too (with a Rebel XTi!) I agree with the recommendation from everyone. It really helped put some of the pieces together.

I also picked up a book by Scott Kelby, called The Digital Photography Book. What I really like about him is that I can actually understand him! He also tends to write from a "how to" perspective vs. theory.

 

[EpcotKilterFan]

Congratulations on the new camera!!

Oh, and they make these for new SLR owners:

Oh I think I need to find one of those!

Thanks!

Debbie

 

[mmessler]

Oh I think I need to find one of those!

Thanks!

Debbie

I bought a few last time I was at my local camera shop, I nearly jumped up and down and did a dance when I saw them on the counter, I think the shopkeeper thought I was nuts. I have one on every lens I own. They're the best invention ever.

 

[AndrewWG]

Congrats on your purchase! I am jealous.

I have one question about the digital Rebels. I own a Rebel film camera with all auto focus lenses (quite a few actually). If I were to someday buy the Digital Rebel, do these lenses work with those camera bodies, or would I have to buck up and buy all new lenses? I know that on some cameras, the lenses work but the focal length is different by some percentage. Is this the case with the Rebel as well? I hope so!

 

[annie1995]

Congrats on your purchase! I am jealous.

I have one question about the digital Rebels. I own a Rebel film camera with all auto focus lenses (quite a few actually). If I were to someday buy the Digital Rebel, do these lenses work with those camera bodies, or would I have to buck up and buy all new lenses? I know that on some cameras, the lenses work but the focal length is different by some percentage. Is this the case with the Rebel as well? I hope so!

I am pretty sure you can use the lens from you film rebel camera with the digital one. I know if I am wrong, someone will correct me.

 

[ndelaware]

All Canon EF lenses will work on their digital SLRs. What will happen is the lenses will apper to be longer due to the 1.6 crop factor of the sensor on almost all of the Canon DSLRs. In other words if you have a 100mm lens for your Rebel, it will be the equivalent of a 160mm lens on a Digital Rebel. This is because the sensor is smaller than a frame of 35mm film.

 

[mmessler]

All Canon EF lenses will work on their digital SLRs. What will happen is the lenses will apper to be longer due to the 1.6 crop factor of the sensor on almost all of the Canon DSLRs. In other words if you have a 100mm lens for your Rebel, it will be the equivalent of a 160mm lens on a Digital Rebel. This is because the sensor is smaller than a frame of 35mm film.

I was about to reply when I realized someone already had, so I will just add concrete #s. I have a 75-300mm EF lens that gives me almost 500mm equivalent zoom. It's awesome for sports photography, which I do a lot of. Though I think I will upgrade someday to a better lens, like maybe one with IS or something. (wishful thinking)

 

[donaldduck1967]

Bryan Peterson is defunately the way to go. Also National Geographic has some pretty good books on photography.

 

[boBQuincy]

I am going to take a different approach (as usual) and recommend Ansel Adams' "The Negative". Light hasn't changed and we are still exposing a light sensitive material to light, so this book is as relevant as always.

 

[treynolds]

Thanks so much for the info so far. I am going to ck on the Peterson book today! Keep the info coming!!

 

[mabas9395]

Since the OP is leaving for WDW in just three days from now, I would recommend two things:

1) The OP says they are comfortable with the basics, if you think that you might not be comfortable enough, make sure you bring a long a P&S just in case. I remember that I had very few keepers the first few months with my XT. If I would have gone to WDW and messed up all the photos, my wife would have killed me. Your old trusty P&S is good insurance to carry along.

2) If you are leaving in only three days, you may not have time to order and read Bryan Peterson's book (which I have and love, btw). So I would recommend these two canon websites that teach how to use the Rebel.

http://www.canon.co.jp/Imaging/enjoydslr/index.html

http://www.usa.canon.com/dlc/controller?act=GetArticleAct&articleID=279&fromTips=1

 

[boBQuincy]

Since the OP is leaving in a few days, there are few options. One is to leave the camera in "Auto", which is likely to result in almost every photo being well exposed, but without any creative control. Another option is to read something on the web.
I suggest this:
http://luminous-landscape.com/columns/determining-exposure.shtml

And there is always the option of going back to the trusty P&S camera but then why carry the SLR? I say study fast and hard, and go for it!
That's the Disboard spirit!

 

[allyn]

i never use a lens cap anyway. instead i have a metal hood i just leave on most of the time. the only downside to the hood is having to remove it before using the built-in flash, otherwise it would cast a shadow on the photos.

 

[boBQuincy]

All Canon EF lenses will work on their digital SLRs. What will happen is the lenses will apper to be longer due to the 1.6 crop factor of the sensor on almost all of the Canon DSLRs. In other words if you have a 100mm lens for your Rebel, it will be the equivalent of a 160mm lens on a Digital Rebel. This is because the sensor is smaller than a frame of 35mm film.

Sort of, but not exactly.
The lens appears to be longer due to the crop factor reducing the field of view *but* the magnification stays the same. The image the lens projects on the sensor is the same size on all the cameras the lens fits.
What this gives on a 1.6 camera is the field of view of a 160mm but still the magnification of a 100mm.

 

[ndelaware]

Sort of, but not exactly.
The lens appears to be longer due to the crop factor reducing the field of view *but* the magnification stays the same. The image the lens projects on the sensor is the same size on all the cameras the lens fits.
What this gives on a 1.6 camera is the field of view of a 160mm but still the magnification of a 100mm.

Um Bob, I never said the magnification would change.

 

[jann1033]

handy dandy explanation of crop factor complete with illustration
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-series/dslr-mag.shtml
i can't count how many times a camera sales person has told me i get a "longer zoom" with any given lens/ rebel xt body... which isn't really true, basically i get an enlargement of a smaller amount of the photo i would have gotten at that mm length with a film camera, ie not more detail like i would get with an actual zoom of that length

 

[boBQuincy]

Um Bob, I never said the magnification would change.

Nope, you didn't!
I solemnly swear to not get involved with technical issues before the 2nd cup of coffee!

 

[vettechick99]

I'm trying to reduce the size of my jpegs. They are about 3-4 MB each and that's too big to upload to Imagestation. Even uploading one at a time is too much for the program to handle.

So I downloaded Picasa2 but haven't figured out how to reduce the picture size without damaging the integrity of the photo. Have you used Picasa or any other program (besides photoshop) to do this?

On another note, I want to make some photo flipbooks and want excellent quality (and decent price - no cheapy sites please). If you know of a good place for this, I'd love recs (especially if the website can handle this size picture).

TIA!