So recently a friend gave me his Canon XSI with 18-55mm kit lens. I've always thought about dabbling with photography, purely as a hobby but never actually got around to buying a camera. I was able to get a pretty much brand new never used 55-250mm lens for a few bucs. And I was just wondering if there are any other lens I might need/want to keep me amused/busy? It was recommended that I get a 35mm or 50mm "prime" lens? No clue about most of this stuff, open to suggestions.:stewpid:
Thanks for the reply. I was eying the 50mm f/1.8 actually. At about $100, not that expensive an investment at all. I was also wondering, if I wanted a dslr to record video but only wanted the body only would you have any recommendations? While I don't plan on buying a new body too soon, after thought I would like to try my hand at video too.
^^ This One a crop sensor the 50mm is a bit long for an everyday lens, but it's still an awesome lens for the price! Totally agree, why cant they just do exactly the same as that in a 35mm? That would be an epic lens on a crop sensor!!
There's the kind of people who love 28mm and others who love 35mm. it's really just a matter of trying them out for some time and seeing what you prefer. (or the kind who just really love wide angles and go down to like 24mm). the 40mm pancake lens is pretty good, really really small, but a downside of it could be the f2.8 aperture. Not nearly as wide as a f1.4/f1.8 but then again, you'd only shoot wide open if you really need the light or rather have bokeh over sharp details (like me ).
Welp here are two images I maanged to snap while on a road trip. Messing around with apeture priority, shutter priority and manual. Still a bit lost but I guess thats part of the fun. (And frustration) My laptop has a pretty lousy screen so I'm not sure exactly how these look but they seem to be the better of the few I snapped.
Off and running. For a crash course on aperture vs shutter speed, rules of 3rds, ... well just about anything - luminous-landscape.com Great site for any level of photographer
justmeez, first off good pics to start. I recommend using aperture priority and learning depth of field (DOF). Let the camera figure out shutter speed and iso. This is how I started. Once you learn DOF decent, pay attention to shutter speeds vs iso. Generally, to stop motion , you'll need to keep shutter speeds at or above 1/200th. If you are getting blurry pics, look at shutter speed. If you have the aperture all the way open and still not a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the motion, increase iso. So, in short, there are really only three things to learn, aperture, shutter speed and iso. Learn how these all effect each other and you're set. Chris
Sound advise ^^ Unless you are shooting fast moving objects, aperture priority is all you need. My camera stays in AP all the time. Don't get caught up in the "pros shoot manual" crap. People who shoot manual while walking around taking photos will spend too much time messing with settings rather than shooting. You'll miss more shots in manual because the light is always changing, better to let the camera do the math and you just enjoy/learn the "art" of photography. Use manual for studio work when you have constant unchanging light or night photography with a tripod. Use shutter priority when shooting sports or birds in flight, when you need to freeze the action. Use aperture priority for everything else. It will take you a while to learn your way around the camera but it's a fun journey. Once you are comfortable with your equipment then you can start relaxing and tapping into your inner artist. Have fun! P.S. As for lenses.........learn the camera first and find out what you enjoy shooting the most. It doesn't make much sense to go out and buy a 20mm prime lens if you like shooting birds. Although, as mentioned above, the 50mm 1.8 is a must have. It's so cheap, fast, sharp and light that it should almost be against the law not to have one!
Thanks for the advice guys! Started a new job recently that's been pretty draining so haven't shot much. Snapped a pic of my bud the other day that I liked so thought I'd share. Orig: Slightly Cropped: Great thing about the job though is that I'm about a block away from B&H in Manhattan, think I'll drop by and pick up that 50mm 1.8 this week. *Edit* By the way does Lightroom automatically embed exif data when you export to jpg, or do you have to somehow tell Lightroom to do that?
