I finally did it, now what?!

[MissMet]

I have NO experience with photography, but have always loved photography since childhood. I've wanted to get a DSLR & learn on it & possibly take lessons if I couldn't learn just with a book & trial & error. I always pushed the idea away & put it on the back burner. I'm not the get out there & do it type of person, I need a little push...

Fast forward to now: I am three weeks away from a big trip to Hawaii & in planning for the trip, the desire for photography has grown quite a bit! It's all I've been able to think about. Plus, the mets failed to make it to post-season (collapsed AGAIN!) , so I have a $2,500 post season tickets refund coming in the mail.

Tonight I just happened to be on Circuitcity.com and they have a big sale for DSLRs, so I checked it out & the sale price and the mail-in rebate I could get the D60 for $525!!!

So I purchased it! I am SO excited!! Every time I've been in any type of electronics store, I would always make a stop & visit the D60 & wish & now on Mon I get to take it home!!!

I have three weeks to get comfortable with it. I don't have high expectations & I plan on bring my olympus point-and-shoot as back-up & because it's water/sand proof. I have the Digital SLR Cameras & Photography for dummies book already, plus I may get one of the books on the Nikon d60 itself, if after I get it I'm overwhelmed & the owner's manual is not enough. So I have three weeks, as well as a 10 and a half hour plane ride to learn the basics.

Can you guys give me any pointers to what accessories, if any I will need to pick up that I may not be thinking of when I go on Mon? I know I need a memory card. Any suggestions on memory cards? Any tips you could give me on anything I would GREATLY appreciate!!!!

I'm so excited, but nervous!!

 

[YEKCIM]

If you only have the 18-55mm kit lens, I would definitely consider adding a 55-200VR or 70-300VR lens, depending on your budget. Also, for memory cards, you may want to consider buying online. Sandisk has a prepaid VISA card rebate that is good for another few days, thru several online retailers, including Beach/Buydig, B&H, and Adorama. Beyond that, Amazon, NewEgg, and Buy.com are usually good sources for cards. If you don't have *any* SD cards, you may want to pick up a 2GB locally for learning/experimenting and also order some larger capacity cards online, unless you find a really good deal at CC. Unless you have a portable hard drive, laptop, or some other way to archive your photos, you will need enough memory card capacity to cover you while on your trip. A tripod might also be a good investment, as well as a good bag to hold camera, lenses, cards, and other accessories.

Those are just some of the things that come to mind at present.

~Ed

 

[annnewjerz]

Congratulations! I also just purchased the D60 about two weeks ago (first dSLR) and LOVE IT! I got the kit lens (18-55mm VR) with the camera and just yesterday splurged and purchased the 18-200mm VR. I took it out for a test drive today (I just posted another thread with pictures, if you want to see what the D60 can do if you know NOTHING -- look there, that is my situation also )


As far as memory cards go, I just purchased a few (5) SanDisk Extreme III 4gb SD cards for the camera. You probably won't need that many right away, but adorama.com has free shipping. It is $34.99 for each card, plus they have a $20 mail in rebate for them if you purchase by October 11th. I got 3 $105 total - and will have $75 in rebates...meaning after all is said and done I spent $10 per card. Not bad. Some people say the bigger the card the better. I personally like to have a few smaller cards, that way if (heaven forbid) something happens to one of them while shooting, I haven't lost a whole trip of pictures.

Another thing recommended about memory cards was to get a high-speed card (like the Extreme III or Ultra II) and to also buy a card that has a card reader, this way you aren't burning up your battery downloading the pix to your computer directly from your camera.

Some of the accessories I purchased was a cleaning brush for the lens, a new neck strap (Op/Tech) because it had a little more padding, a camera bag and some people would recommend a UV filter although I haven't gotten one yet.

If you got the 18-55mm lens that came with the camera and you want to get a filter, the thread size is 52mm. I bought a neutral density filter from adorama.com for my 18-55mm which was a 52mm thread and now that I have the 18-200mm VR which has a 72mm thread, I'm a little upset I made the impulse buy for the smaller lens. Oh well, I'm sure I'll use it!

Anyhow, that's about it for now. Good luck with your camera, you are going to love it I'm sure. It's super easy to use, fun to learn and takes great pictures.

More importantly than anything else though....


GO PHILS!!!!!

 

[MissMet]

Thanks so much for the fast replies!!!

As for storage, I am planning to bring my laptop on the trip.

I have memory cards but they are not SD, so I will have to purchase new. Thanks for the tips on where to buy them.

Camera bag, I'm halfway tempted to buy the laptop/slr combo backpack, but $120 for a backpack is a little seep, so I'll probably purchase just the bag.

Filters were the big thing I was thinking about. So I should get a UV filter & a neutral density filter.

As for the lens, I'll probably wait until I get the camera & feel more comfortable, but it's definitely an option...

...More importantly than anything else though....

GO PHILS!!!!!

You just had to add that didn't you. I loved you until that last sentence, but hey I'll get over it while I'm in HI for two weeks with my new dream camera!!

Loved you pics by the way, now I'm REALLY excited!

GO RED SOX!!! I gotta root for someone...& I can't stand the Yankees so...

 

[annnewjerz]

Thanks so much for the fast replies!!!

Filters were the big thing I was thinking about. So I should get a UV filter & a neutral density filter.

I would say you really don't have to worry about getting any filters if you don't want them yet. I got the neutral density filter so I could practice using longer shutter speeds during the day without over exposing the rest of the elements in the picture. If I would have known I was going to splurge and get the 18-200mm VR so soon, I would have held off on a filter.

Also - a tripod might be good, depending on what type of photos you plan to take. I would NEVER want to lug around anything close to a full size tripod on vacation, so I have been looking at the Gorillapod SLR Zoom travel tripod. It's about $50 and has bendy legs that you can use to wrap around a fence, a tree, whatever if you want a self-portrait or just want some stability. It gets really good reviews, I plan to get it sometime before our 09 trip.

If I would have had the dSLR before our August trip to Mexico, I would have purchased the Gorillapod for that since it seems like it would be really easy to travel with and help in getting those lower light pictures.

 

[MissMet]

So I picked up the camera today. I also picked up a UV filter, polarized filter & a lesser speed & quality sd card, so I have something to use until the good ones I ordered online come in.

They had a slr/laptop backpack for $79 but I didn't want to rush that decision, I have three weeks to find the perfect one.

I looked at lenses...I may upgrade but I don't know yet.

 

[JonetteA]

Personal opinion on filters. Basically, you are spending alot of money on glass. The filter that you put on top of that is inferior to the Nikon quality glass that is in you lenses. There is a german filter that is really good but they are really pricey.

 

[MissMet]

Personal opinion on filters. Basically, you are spending alot of money on glass. The filter that you put on top of that is inferior to the Nikon quality glass that is in you lenses. There is a german filter that is really good but they are really pricey.

The main reason I went with the UV filter was more for protection than anything else. Being that I'm going to be on a cruise ship for a week & then on the beach for another week, all that salt water & sand, I decided to go with it.

The polarized filter was mainly for visiting Pearl Harbor & getting pictures of the sunken USS Arizona just below the water's surface.

That's about as far as I'm probably going to go with filters...really cause I don't know enough about them, but we'll see.

 

[blackears]

You'll love that camera, we've got one also and it did great at Disney. The neck strap you got is great, and we got the Lowespro backpack that holds the laptop and used that as a carryon and it did good at Disney also..not too heavy and it did hold the jackets and stuff. Take lots of pics and have fun!!

 

[jann1033]

you can get a cokin filter set for not much( sometimes they have a multi pack online like at B&h) since you probably are going to want sunset photos i'd pick up a graduated ND along with a tripod and if your camera doesn't have a self timer a remote as well
and congrats on the camera, have fun with it but get cracking learning it so your vacation shots are keepers

 

[MissMet]

For those of you who have been on vacation, or similar situations, with the D60, do you think I need a second backup battery?

 

[handicap18]

I always have a 2nd battery. I actually have 3 (also have a 4th option because with my battery grip I can load 8 AA batteries).

I get a lot more images on 1 battery now, but I never go without at least 1 backup. Better to be safe than sorry.

I have a Nikon EN-EL3e and 2 3rd party equivilents from sterlingtek that I've been using for about 2 years in 2 different camera's (Nikon D50 and a D300) with no issues.

 

[MissMet]

I always have a 2nd battery. I actually have 3 (also have a 4th option because with my battery grip I can load 8 AA batteries).

I get a lot more images on 1 battery now, but I never go without at least 1 backup. Better to be safe than sorry.

I have a Nikon EN-EL3e and 2 3rd party equivilents from sterlingtek that I've been using for about 2 years in 2 different camera's (Nikon D50 and a D300) with no issues.

That's how I feel...I have back-up batteries for my point-an-shoot camera and my camcorder & I have never needed them. It's more about the weight of the extra battery. With checked bag limitations that we now have to deal with, I'm trying to bring as little as possible. Plus, the 10 and a half hour plane ride already has whatever carry-on I'm bringing full!!

But you're right, better safe than sorry.

Thanks!

 

[MissMet]

You'll love that camera, we've got one also and it did great at Disney. The neck strap you got is great, and we got the Lowespro backpack that holds the laptop and used that as a carryon and it did good at Disney also..not too heavy and it did hold the jackets and stuff. Take lots of pics and have fun!!

Do you have the Lowepro daypack or the fastpack? Those are the two I've rounded it down to, but I can't decide which is best. I'm afraid the daypack will be too small for all my other item while on the plane.

I wish I could see them in person before buying- although I think I might have looked at the daypack in best buy. I've looked at so many backpacks, I can't keep them straight.

 

[crzy4mickey]

The one thing i learned (the hard way) if you can't put all your pictures on the computer right away be sure to use more than one memory card. I lost my 2 gig card with some picures on it. Thankfully it was pictures of everyday stuff and not a vacation. Also i have 2 rechargable batteries and when going on vacation buy 2 or 3 throw away batteries for back up incase i'm out during the day and the battery dies. Of course that depends on what kind of battey your camera takes. Good luck, have fun with it and have a great time on vacation!