Finally decided on the Rebel XT, now what about accessories?

[chipmunkfan]

Okay after months of going back and forth I have decided on the Rebel XT I know my additional purchase will be "the Kelly" Sigma 18-125 lens and of course a memory card

Okay what else?
I haven't researched the filters and the speedlite flash. I am a newbie and I have been spending so much time figuring out what camera is right for me that I am clueless on the accessories

 

[WillCAD]

Absolute MUST is a simple U/V filter for your Kelly lens. Mostly it's there so that if something happens, you replace a $15 piece of glass instead of a $230 lens.

A couple of cheap accessories that you will get a lot out of: after-market camera strap ($20 or less), and a pocket-size tripod ($15 or less).

I also love having a remote shutter release (Canon RC-5, I think it is) that lets me snap a pic on the tripod without touching the camera. Gereat for long expsures like fireworks or night shots. Cost was about $25.

 

[jann1033]

a bag to put it all in...so far i have bought, one outgrew it, bought second 2 weeks ago and now can't fit new stuff into it( it does fit my lenses, body and essentials though, so i'm just spilling the filters etc over into the first one moral...get one larger than you think you need) i don't like the backpack ones but there is a rebel starter kit on www.newegg.com for $67 with a bag i wish i had bought, extra battery and something else( uv filter maybe?) that was a good price
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...3&Submit=ENE&Manufactory=1213&SubCategory=393

i bought a 28-135mm IS canon lens that i love and the thing i really want but havent' got yet is a circular polarizer to fit it( miss that as my old lens was 55mm, the one above is 72mm) and also like the canon 50mm f1.8 lens since it is good for low light

second the remote and if you don't have one a tripod ( i have one that is not fantastic but ifs stable if not good at panning etc, was under $100 if money is an object)

willcad is that a new signature or am i so dense i never noticed you moving around before? very ic

 

[JR6ooo4]

second battery. Sterlingtek makes them at half the cost of canon and many many folks have reported no problems.
Althoiugh I have shot for a whole day with servo mode focusing (heaviest battery draw) and one battery lasted all day, it's not worth the chance of running out, compared to the cost of one more battery
mikeeee

also a quality lens and sensor filter cleaning kit
it should have a blower, swabs and cleaning fluid. I went three months without a speck but got two realy big ones on the sensor in the middle of a disney trip. Sensor dust will show up extremely well in the sky portion of pics. I was able to clean it and have not had any more (noticeable ) specks for anohter three months.

Use a very special tool to clean the sensor. It can easily be damaged.

 

[Mellie0119]

Since November (when I got my XT) I've picked up...
Speedlight
Tripod
28-135IS Lens
2 bags (just got my Crumpler 4 million dollar home today! )
extra memory (2 1 gig cards in addition to my 4 gig microdrive)
CF card reader
several photography books


Going to the camera store tomorrow to get a new strap and an addtional battery (that might come from Fry's- hate the store, love the prices ).

Oh, plus I still carry my pocket sized 4mp Olympus around in my camera bag- it's my backup camera. Just waiting for DH to relent on a new digital camcorder- right now I have the old school 8mm style.

 

[rtphokie]

Okay after months of going back and forth I have decided on the Rebel XT I know my additional purchase will be "the Kelly" Sigma 18-125 lens and of course a memory card

Okay what else?
I haven't researched the filters and the speedlite flash. I am a newbie and I have been spending so much time figuring out what camera is right for me that I am clueless on the accessories

I'd hold off on the speedlight flash. You may surprised at the built in flash.

The first accessory you should buy is a good bag.

The rest can wait until you are more comfortable with the camera.

 

[PoohJen]

BE FOREWARNED...I really thought I could start out for a while w/ the XT "on the cheap"; I got the body (amazon) and the Kelly (ebay) and a 2g San Disk Ultra II CF.

WELL...that was a WHOLE month ago, and since then i've purchased:

a Tamrac backpack (the larger one... Adventurer 7?) Love it!

an extra battery (SterlingTek; just got it; will report as soon as i can try it out); this in response to leaving the battery home one day in the charger by mistake - I'll be glad to have a backup in the bag.

another 2g memory (Kingston...i think off amazon) - I shot over 700 pics my first wkend w/ the XT at a baseball tournament; I won't always have the time to unload and erase the card, so wanted a backup card.

a Sigma UV filter (about $25 on Amazon; multicoated I believe)

and today's purchase: a Hoya HMC circular polarizing filter (new off eBay). This was in response to all my baseball tournie pics looking a little washed out. It was extremely bright that weekend (although maybe I'm just ignorant re: that); I will also try different settings, but hoping the polarizer will help.

Next: a longer zoom; I do love the Kelly, have taken some great pics already, but I've always loved a long zoom... I admit though, the Kelly has been fine for me in my telephoto needs.

Have fun with the new toys!!!

 

[spoon2003]

Show DH this thread ....I'm not the only one keep buying "necessities" for the new camera...

 

[jann1033]

a Tamrac backpack (the larger one... Adventurer 7?) Love it!.....



Have fun with the new toys!!!

not to derail but hope op would like to know too

can you use this bag as a shoulder bag or does it have to be backpack? mine is not big enough and when i eventually buy another lens( another lens...who said that... not me ) i'm going to be forced to get a bigger bag but hubby( also know as "packmule" on crabby days and "my personal assistant" on less crabby days ) doesn't want to lug anything to big or on his back( and since he's carrying it he gets to pick, how nice am I )

 

[PoohJen]

Not sure what you mean, Janet, but I'll give it a shot...

I can wear it over one shoulder, which is what i do w/ any regular backpack, but not sure if you mean some sort of special shoulder strap (there's not).

and, it's not that "big"; it's smaller than my kids' school back packs. I love it b/c the camera goes face down in the padded base, which has both zipper and clip to secure it. then your stuff goes in separate backpack compartment in the top. The compartment in the "6" was too small to be useful to me - I couldn't even fit my paperback "field guide to Rebel XT" in it. The 7 is slightly larger. Here's some details on the backpack

 

[Anewman]

Nobody mentions any software
Oh and make sure the PC is loaded up with ram.

 

[PoohJen]

whose got money left for software??!! dang, i just throw in what came w/ the camera!

oh yeah, i also bought a memory card reader.

and RAM???? ohhhh, is that why my putr is suddenly running so slow since my XT arrived...

 

[jann1033]

Not sure what you mean, Janet, but I'll give it a shot...

I can wear it over one shoulder, which is what i do w/ any regular backpack, but not sure if you mean some sort of special shoulder strap (there's not).

and, it's not that "big"; it's smaller than my kids' school back packs. I love it b/c the camera goes face down in the padded base, which has both zipper and clip to secure it. then your stuff goes in separate backpack compartment in the top. The compartment in the "6" was too small to be useful to me - I couldn't even fit my paperback "field guide to Rebel XT" in it. The 7 is slightly larger. Here's some details on the backpack

do any lenses fit in the bottom part? right now my camera and lenses "fit" but just. the canon non backpack bag has places for it looks like a body and 3 lenses but never saw it in person

 

[Mellie0119]

Check out the Crumpler bags- I just got mine and I love it. You'd want one of the bigger bags- the 4 million holds my camera with the 28-135IS attached plus room for one other accessory (speedlite or lens) and back up battery and extra memory. This is my "light traveling" bag. I've got a backpack style bag that holds it all, but I really don't need to carry it all with me all the time. But they have some really nice messenger style bags that will hold a lot more (the larger Million Dollar Home bags look nice) and they don't scream camera bag.

Crumpler Bags

 

[PoohJen]

Janet, in the Tamrac, my rebel goes face down with the Sigma 18-125 attached. This is in the center. Around it are 4 more padded compartments for lenses (although I'm not sure 4 more would really fit, but the padding is adjustable to an extent).

When I ordered the Adventure 6 online at Circuit City, shipping was free. It was too small, I just returned it right to the nearest store.

HTH! Have a great day!

 

[WillCAD]

Janet, in the Tamrac, my rebel goes face down with the Sigma 18-125 attached. This is in the center. Around it are 4 more padded compartments for lenses (although I'm not sure 4 more would really fit, but the padding is adjustable to an extent).

When I ordered the Adventure 6 online at Circuit City, shipping was free. It was too small, I just returned it right to the nearest store.

HTH! Have a great day!

But if you have the Kelly, what other lenses would you need?

Personally, since I use the Kelly as my walkaround lens and don't bother carrying any others, I leave the camera bag at home (or in my room at WDW), and simply carry the camera on a strap.

Recently I came across a wierd-looking contraption called a Bino-Cam harness from Op/Tech. It retails for about $25-$30, and looked intrigueing enough for me to wonder if it was better than a regular camera strap.
http://optechusa.com/product/detail/?PRODUCT_ID=4&PRODUCT_SUB_ID=&CATEGORY_ID=4

Not wanting to spend money on something I might not like, I made something similar by crossing two camera straps in an X-shape, then bringing the ends together to form a figure-8, thus creating a home-built version of this harness. I tried it last weekend as I walked around the National Mall in DC, and was floored by how much better this odd-looking contraption feels than a regular camera strap.

My camera didn't bounce or bump, I felt no weight on my neck, and I was able to walk around without one hand on the camera all day as I do with a regular strap. But I also had plenty of slack to get the camera quickly and easily to my eye in either portrait or landscape orientation, or bring it up to work the menu controls and view my pics on the back.

And surprisingly, I didn't get any odd looks from people, wondering what that silly-looking getup was. I guess the fact that it had a camera hanging from it made it obvious.

I'l be using this puppy from now on!

 

[mhutchinson]

BE FOREWARNED...I really thought I could start out for a while w/ the XT "on the cheap"; I got the body (amazon) and the Kelly (ebay) and a 2g San Disk Ultra II CF.

WELL...that was a WHOLE month ago, and since then i've purchased:

a Tamrac backpack (the larger one... Adventurer 7?) Love it!

an extra battery (SterlingTek; just got it; will report as soon as i can try it out); this in response to leaving the battery home one day in the charger by mistake - I'll be glad to have a backup in the bag.

another 2g memory (Kingston...i think off amazon) - I shot over 700 pics my first wkend w/ the XT at a baseball tournament; I won't always have the time to unload and erase the card, so wanted a backup card.

a Sigma UV filter (about $25 on Amazon; multicoated I believe)

and today's purchase: a Hoya HMC circular polarizing filter (new off eBay). This was in response to all my baseball tournie pics looking a little washed out. It was extremely bright that weekend (although maybe I'm just ignorant re: that); I will also try different settings, but hoping the polarizer will help.

Next: a longer zoom; I do love the Kelly, have taken some great pics already, but I've always loved a long zoom... I admit though, the Kelly has been fine for me in my telephoto needs.

Have fun with the new toys!!!

And so it starts Just stay away from Canon L Glass, once you start down that dark path it is so so hard to explain to the DW or DH why you simply had to have one,two, or MORE lenses the price of the mortgage and car payment combined

...and the red ring around the end ....my precious

I noticed you've also only have ONE bag and what about a tripod and monopod

I would hate to have to total my purchases since my dSLR upgrade, but I am sure my DW is keeping count for me

Mike

 

[jann1033]

But if you have the Kelly, what other lenses would you need?

Personally, since I use the Kelly as my walkaround lens and don't bother carrying any others, I leave the camera bag at home (or in my room at WDW), and simply carry the camera on a strap.

Recently I came across a wierd-looking contraption called a Bino-Cam harness from Op/Tech. It retails for about $25-$30, and looked intrigueing enough for me to wonder if it was better than a regular camera strap.
http://optechusa.com/product/detail/?PRODUCT_ID=4&PRODUCT_SUB_ID=&CATEGORY_ID=4

Not wanting to spend money on something I might not like, I made something similar by crossing two camera straps in an X-shape, then bringing the ends together to form a figure-8, thus creating a home-built version of this harness. I tried it last weekend as I walked around the National Mall in DC, and was floored by how much better this odd-looking contraption feels than a regular camera strap.

My camera didn't bounce or bump, I felt no weight on my neck, and I was able to walk around without one hand on the camera all day as I do with a regular strap. But I also had plenty of slack to get the camera quickly and easily to my eye in either portrait or landscape orientation, or bring it up to work the menu controls and view my pics on the back.

And surprisingly, I didn't get any odd looks from people, wondering what that silly-looking getup was. I guess the fact that it had a camera hanging from it made it obvious.

I'l be using this puppy from now on!

i saw that same thing and wondered how it would work but it is soooo ugly maybe if i could find some fancy smancy straps to make it with

not to be disgusting but it would also solve the "sweaty neck strap syndrome"... nothing like a damp strap hanging around your neck that i figure is going to start smelling like dirty socks sooner or later ewwwwww

 

[PoohJen]

...and the red ring around the end ....my precious

y'know, that Sigma APO 70-300 does have a red ring at the end!

I already have a tripod that I've never, ever used (it's from my 35mm days; hope it's adaptable). And yup, even with my $$ backpack, I still just stuff the camera in a hip pack when just carrying it around.

p.s. Very clever, WillCad! I believe you had no stares; they were all probably trying to avoid eye contact... (jes' kidding...)

 

[chipmunkfan]

Thank you everybody for your advice...
Question on the filter:

I would like to get the UV & Circular Polarizing filters
Hoya has a kit that includes both at a reasonable price

Sigma's filters seem alot higher in price and what about Tiffen

Is there a difference in filter manufacturer's? Are they all almost the same?

I want to make the smart choice but there are so many brands! Also, should I go with the wide angle circular polarizing filter or just the basic polarizing filter?

This is for "the Kelly" lens