offramp Posted April 15, 2005 Share Posted April 15, 2005 Well, I finally did it....got one of the bigger players on the digital camera scene. Picked up the new Canon Digital Rebel XT kit with a 2G microdrive today. Back in January I went in to get the Canon 20D--which is what I really want--but found out (abruptly) that I/we had been the victims of identity theft, and American Express wasn't having any part of it until we got the issue figured out. I have a benefactor who is very determined to see me get back into photography and at least surpass the level of productivity I had back in the day; to that end, most of the purchase price is covered. Since it looks like I'd be a while making up the difference between the gift and the final price of the 20D, I decided I needed to get started, so I dove in, as the final price for everything mentioned above was much cheaper than just the 20D body alone. This thing is REALLY cool. It's smaller than the 20D, which my big hands are definitely noticing, and lighter as it's made of an 'engineered plastic' (yeah, right...whatever, guys) as opposed to the magnesium alloy. I do wish, though, that it had the european D350 badge on it instead of the Rebel XT . Something about that moniker just doesn't really cut it for me. Oh, well. AND...as a manner of apology towards my half of our species, I hereby confess that I'm reading the manual. I've upped my standards; now, up yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Base Posted April 16, 2005 Share Posted April 16, 2005 That looks like a good piece of kit! I've got it's predecessor, the 300D... You going to post some samples?? Check out the photography thread in the Guitar Forum (near the top, it's a sticky)... Fa Fa FA Fa fa fa fa fa FA fa FA FA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mats Olsson. Posted April 16, 2005 Share Posted April 16, 2005 If you feel it is a little bit too small, get the vertical grip! http://www.lexam.net/peter/carnut/man.gif What do we want? Procrastination! When do we want it? Later! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offramp Posted April 16, 2005 Author Share Posted April 16, 2005 Oh, I plan on the grip, Mats. I think, at some point, it's going to be a 'must' for me. base, I've been charging the battery since yesterday, so I haven't shot any pics yet. I'm sure the battery's full, I just haven't had the opportunity yet. I'm thinking about hitting the model train expo in town this weekend; there's also a car show coming up (I love to shoot those). It's not that I don't know what the buttons do, or anything like that...it's really a matter of programming my brain to operate the thing in a '2nd nature' kind of way...remembering that I now have some steps to take if I want to shoot in B&W, or to remember to switch resolutions depending on the end result. I'm looking forward to shooting in RAW format, too. I've upped my standards; now, up yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Botch. Posted April 16, 2005 Share Posted April 16, 2005 Offramp, I thought you were singing the praises of the Nikon D-70 just a little while ago, am I mistaken? Are your old lenses compatible with this new body? Since Nikon decided to make the aperture stop-down incompatible with the old lenses, I guess I have nothing to lose by jumping completely over to Canon if/when I go digital (I was just out sweeping the back porch, the wood is falling apart and a Trex deck may postpone my digital photography for yet another year... ) Botch "Eccentric language often is symptomatic of peculiar thinking" - George Will www.puddlestone.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offramp Posted April 16, 2005 Author Share Posted April 16, 2005 You are not mistaken, Botch. That was before I discovered the incredible features of the 20D, AND...this is big, here...was at the camera store while a professional portrait guy was trading in his D100 AND D70 for a 20D. Among the complaints was lack of white balance control (!). To boot, I spent a serious amount of time with them at the store, playing with features, getting a feel for it, etc., and I have to say the Canon came out hands down the winner. Granted, I couldn't get what I really wanted (20D) yesterday, but the Rebel XT is such a fine piece of work! I've been gingerly handling it all day, partially out of fear, and partially out of brain-training. I've shot a few pics. As far as lenses go: No, as I was shooting Olympus and Yashica prior to this. I've made a 100% jump. Anyone interested in an Oly OM10 with a standard 50--cheap-- e-mail me. I'm keeping the Oly OM4 and motor drive, although I may decide to favor my basic old Pentax over that. Who knows. Total price was $1225; camera kit --this includes an 18-55 lens--was $999, and I picked up the 2G microdrive as well for $149. It has the newest generation CMOS chip, at 8MP (which was the biggest sweet point for me on the 20D). You can plug a printer directly into this thing and print from it; you can plug a video cable into this thing and view pictures on your teevee; you can shoot in RAW format as well as dual RAW/JPEG fine (the smallest resolution available on this baby is something along the order of insanely huge), you can shoot in B&W; the sequence shooting mode is crazy fast, given what's available. I know you've got deck issues, but do not wait, if at all possible. I've upped my standards; now, up yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odyssian Posted April 17, 2005 Share Posted April 17, 2005 I have a general question about using digital cameras. I have a Sony DSC-P8 and I've noticed that while taking pics inside, that the colors look much better without the flash. Problem is, most pictures I take this way are blurry. Is there any setting that I can change to avoid this? Thanks (and sorry to interrupt the thread, offramp) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed A. Posted April 17, 2005 Share Posted April 17, 2005 The camera is automatically setting a slow shutter speed to compensate for the low-light condition. Any little vibration from hand movement will cause the shot to blur. You can: 1.) Use a tripod to steady the camera for the longer exposure. 2.) Put it in manual mode and open the apeture more and set a faster shutter speed. 3.) Use a higher ISO (camera sensor sensitivity) setting, causing more image noise as a result. Here's a good site for more info: http://www.dpreview.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Base Posted April 17, 2005 Share Posted April 17, 2005 Is the Sony DSC-P8 an SLR? THIS is also an excellent site for photography, there are quite a few lessons in there as well, both technical and theory... Fa Fa FA Fa fa fa fa fa FA fa FA FA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odyssian Posted April 17, 2005 Share Posted April 17, 2005 Awesome.. thanks for the help guys. I'll try the tips you mentioned, Ed. Base, the camera I have is a digital camera. I'm not sure if it's a SLR (I don;t know what an SLR is actually ) Thanks again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offramp Posted April 17, 2005 Author Share Posted April 17, 2005 Single Lens Reflex It means that you're actually looking through the lens, when you look through the viewfinder. I've upped my standards; now, up yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odyssian Posted April 18, 2005 Share Posted April 18, 2005 Ahhh! Then my camera is not an SLR. Thanks offramp.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Base Posted April 19, 2005 Share Posted April 19, 2005 SLR's (usually) give you more control over the shutter speeds, aperture, etc, which will allow you to do things like take pics inside without the flash, night scenes, blurred water effects, etc. It will be difficult to take pics inside without a little blur if you can't control the ISO speed, but blur can still look good, you just have to use it creatively... Fa Fa FA Fa fa fa fa fa FA fa FA FA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed A. Posted April 19, 2005 Share Posted April 19, 2005 Most point-and-shoot digital cameras with manual control (like the Sony DSC-P8) have a maximum ISO of 400. At that setting, the image noise starts to get pretty bad because of the small sized sensor in these p&s cameras. Many digital SLR cameras, on the other hand, can shoot with an ISO of up to 3200. Because the sensor in an DSLR is much bigger, the noise at high ISO settings is much less. At ISO 3200, you could shoot a subject illuminated just by candle light and still get a good low-noise shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed A. Posted April 19, 2005 Share Posted April 19, 2005 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brittanylips Posted April 19, 2005 Share Posted April 19, 2005 Hey, anyone got a suggestion for a digital camera for around $500? -Peace, Love, and Brittanylips Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan South Posted April 19, 2005 Share Posted April 19, 2005 Originally posted by Brittanylips: Hey, anyone got a suggestion for a digital camera for around $500? Sony W7 or Canon SD500 The Black Knight always triumphs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan South Posted April 19, 2005 Share Posted April 19, 2005 Originally posted by Botch.: Offramp, I thought you were singing the praises of the Nikon D-70 just a little while ago, am I mistaken? Are your old lenses compatible with this new body? Since Nikon decided to make the aperture stop-down incompatible with the old lenses, I guess I have nothing to lose by jumping completely over to Canon if/when I go digital (I was just out sweeping the back porch, the wood is falling apart and a Trex deck may postpone my digital photography for yet another year... ) Don't do it! The D70 is a great camera, and it's scheduled to be updated to the D70s later this year. An entry level D50 is also expected. I don't like the look of Canon digital shots. They look "fizzy" to me. Nikon looks like a real photo. Must be something about the construction of the sensors or the signal processing software at the back end. Just my $.02 US. If someone had difficulty with white balace on a Nikon, they didn't read the manual. White balance is completely controllable on the camera and also in the Nikon View software (not to mention photoshop if you port it there eventually). Photo journalists seem to love Canons, but landscape photographers are more likely to use Nikons. When picture quality matters, Nikon is the way to go. Check out this guy\'s site before you give up on Nikon. The Black Knight always triumphs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearmike Posted April 19, 2005 Share Posted April 19, 2005 Cool purchase Offramp! I love my Digital Rebel. I too have been eyeing the 20D, but really the Rebel hasn't given me any troubles at all... Seriously, what the f*ck with the candles? Where does this candle impulse come from, and in what other profession does it get expressed? -steve albini Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan South Posted April 19, 2005 Share Posted April 19, 2005 Ramp, That lens(es) did you get with your Rebel? Did you buy a separate flash unit for it? And what's happening with your identity theft issues? And can we be sure that this is the real YOU? The Black Knight always triumphs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offramp Posted April 19, 2005 Author Share Posted April 19, 2005 gearmike: This XT has pretty much all the features of the 20D, so I'm not missing as much as I thought. You might want to peruse the web; I'm understanding that many of the 'lesser'(earlier) Rebels can be hacked to unlock the same features I have on the XT...it would appear that Canon is fond of software disablement. Dan: I got the standard 18-55 that came in the kit. For a basic lens, it's really not that bad. I just need to get started...I can't wait around and hem and haw about it. I passed on the Nikon for other reasons, most notably I really wasn't very comfortable with the grip; compared to the Canon, it felt awkward, and for my big hands that's a real issue. I did not get the separate flash unit. The built-in one is serving my needs thus far. I'm more interested in the light ring, remote control, and battery grip. And this is the 2nd generation CMOS chip. Yes, it's really me. Or is it? I've upped my standards; now, up yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan South Posted April 20, 2005 Share Posted April 20, 2005 Well, the great thing about a digital camera is that you can experiment, experiment, experiement, and it costs you nothing except time. Plus you get instant feedback - well, mini-feedback. True feedback requires you to download images to your computer. Still, that's a lot faster and easier and less expensive than having film developed. I would suggest that you experiment with flash, specifically try adjusting the power of the flash up or down over a +/- two stop range. Experiment with the spot meter. Take a shot with the matrix meter first. Then switch to spot meter mode. Before making an exposure, spot meter all of the areas of the scene that you just shot - sky, ground, someone's face, their shirt, an animal, etc. Compare these readings and try to come up with the correct exposure setting (i.e. shutter speed and aperture (f-stop)). Then switch to manual mode and re-shoot the scene with your guess as to what the correct setting should be. This is difficult, but this is where the real control of photography comes in. Experiment with different white balance settings in different settings. Shoot something in the shade with the auto white balance setting. Then shoot it with the shade setting, the sunlight setting, and maybe another setting or two. Later, compare these on your computer and see which ones you like best. Go somewhere - a park, a city street, a landmark, your back yard - and very quickly (in two or three minutes) shoot five, ten, twenty, or even thirty different compositions. Then switch to playback mode and leaf through this range of shots quickly. Pick one or two or three that you really like and then go back and try to reshoot them more carefully. This is a great exercise for building your composition skills. Try panning a moving object as you shoot it - car, bike, running dog - so that the object is clear, but the background is a streaky blur. Try shooting something from a high vantage point. Try shooting something from 6 to 12 inches off of the ground. Try shooting people with and without flash, and at different powers of flash. Force your flash to fire even if the sun is shining. Does this make a difference in the way that the photo looks? Consider buying a tripod and shooting some night scenes. Make sure that the camera's "noise reduction" mode is on, or the photos will be marred with hideous dots of color sprinkled across them randomly. The Black Knight always triumphs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mats Olsson. Posted April 20, 2005 Share Posted April 20, 2005 Some useful & inspirational resources: http://www.shortcourses.com/ http://www.dpreview.com/forums/ http://luminous-landscape.com/ http://www.lexam.net/peter/carnut/man.gif What do we want? Procrastination! When do we want it? Later! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offramp Posted April 20, 2005 Author Share Posted April 20, 2005 Dan-o, preaching to the choir. I've been doing the photo thing for a lonnnnnggggg time (like, since the late 70's). I've upped my standards; now, up yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan South Posted April 20, 2005 Share Posted April 20, 2005 Originally posted by offramp: Dan-o, preaching to the choir. I've been doing the photo thing for a lonnnnnggggg time (like, since the late 70's). Hopefully, my comments on white balance and noise reduction will be of some value. There are tricks when you get to the print phase, too. Sharpening is very important unless you want to print a blurry mess. Good luck!!! The Black Knight always triumphs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed A. Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 Some info for Nikon fans: Nikon D50 preview Nikon D70s brochure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc taz Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 Originally posted by Ed A.: Some info for Nikon fans: Nikon D50 preview Nikon D70s brochure Man... I'll have to put that D50 on the hot list now. Looks good so far. I'm not getting rid of my film cams anytime, soon, though. I'm still using my Pentax K1000. Should have the pics for that in a few days. sevenstring.org profile my flickr page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brittanylips Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 Originally posted by Dan South: Originally posted by Brittanylips: Hey, anyone got a suggestion for a digital camera for around $500? Sony W7 or Canon SD500 thanks Incidentally, I find that I usually agree with your comments, enjoy your insights, yada yada yada, so I'll take your suggestions to heart. -Peace, Love, and Brittanylips Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearmike Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 For Around $500 I absolutely love my little Cannon Digital ELF. Sure there may be other camera's to check out, but I love the size -I almost always have it with me- and I can't complain about the picture quality... Definately give them a try... Seriously, what the f*ck with the candles? Where does this candle impulse come from, and in what other profession does it get expressed? -steve albini Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brittanylips Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 Is the Elf smaller than the SD500 (just guessin), with less features but more convenience? Jess Gessin' Thanks gearmike -P, L, and B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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