Hey all,

Just bought a Canon t3i today! It will be my first DSLR personally but my mom also has the T3i so I have played with it and loved it so I decided to pull the trigger.

Went with a class 6 16 gig card, cheap bag, and the Canon 50 mm II prime lens!

Lens came with a hood, cleaning kit, uv protector, and lens string for four dollars more so that was a plus!

Pretty excited about it, little nervous about the prime lens but I love learning about this stuff and feel like I will have no trouble growing into it!

Any advice for me? Can't wait to start playing. My roommate has a t1i and is into it so he is lending me a tripod and has some other lens so when we go shoot I can borrow some of his stuff.

 

Best $16.00 you can spend right now;



I would also stick with your 50mm for awhile before jumping into other lenses right away.

Here is also a good website, http://camerasim.com (it seems to be down right now) they also have an iPad 2 app.

 

I'm going to tell you what Sarlacc (David) advised me... "Just shoot... shoot and more shoot" (or something along that line lol)

 

Congratulations on your new DSLR!

My advice:

Go out and shoot as much as you can but also resist the urge to just set it to "program". Try different settings - Aperture priority, shutter priority, etc. Learn your camera!

Join Flickr and learn from others. Join different groups, starting with a Canon T3i user group.

Join www.dpreview.com and read through the multitude of forums. There's so much information there, it can be mind boggling but so useful!

Invest in a good photo editing program like Lightroom, Aperture, etc. Depending on how much your shoot, you may also need to get a larger hard drive!

Don't be afraid to shoot in RAW format. Yes it takes up more space but you will have the freedom to edit to your heart's content and see the true exposure not what the camera decided.

If you're shooting in the daytime, the best light is early morning or late afternoon. Many people make the mistake thinking 12 noon is the best light. It's usually the worst time to shoot.

Finally, have fun!

 

I'll second Jups suggestion of Understanding Exposure, I learned A LOT from it.

The 50MM F1.8 is a great lens for a crop. I always use it for portraits, however, it can be pretty limiting in smaller rooms.

 

Bought the book with some extra itunes cash and I have been reading it as I sit here on watch! learning a ton! Can't wait for the camera to get here!

Thanks for all the help so far guys! i'm sure I will have more questions as I dig deeper into it!

 

Congrats on your camera!


In for knowledge. I too have the same camera.

 

congrats and welcome to another expensive hobby.

 

I need another expensive hobby like I need a knife in the back! Between fishkeeping, (my salt tank especially) My car, the camera, and living I am maxed out!

Camera should get here Friday and the lens and all that will be coming tomorrow.

Beach Camera (where I ordered) messed up and sold me the body when they didn't have any instock, even though the website said they did, so my order got bummed up to free overnight shipping and they refunded cost of all shipping paid originally. Have to wait an extra day but got my shipping back!

 

now that you have the body out of the way, you can try and reign in your spending somewhat.My work horse lens for the past 3 years is a Sigma 24-60 F2.8, I bought it used for under $300. It has fantastic image quality, hard to differentiate between images from it, and the Canon 17-55IS I recently replaced it with.

A good tripod is a must too, they do occasionally pop up used, but not too often. Gear bags can always be found used, since the unwritten rule is that every photographer has to have at least five of them, and constantly either add to or rotate new bags into his collection. You could get away with a smaller one for now, I started with a Lowepro Nova, and while I outgrew it as my main bag, I still use it often for a body and single lens outing.

Just let your skill level dictate what you spend on things. You can often get pretty far without spending way too much on the hobby. I still shoot with a 20D because until recently, I could get it to do everything I ever needed. You already have a fantastic body, so work with it until you think what lens' you currently have are holding you back...then look to move up.

 

Thanks for the advice! I opted for a small cheap bag as I will only have one lens for quite some time. The way I figure it, the camera will go in the small bag which can go in my backpack and then my tripod can be lashed to the outside of the backpack.

So the tripod is my last order and then I am done and I swear I mean it!! Not really sure of what size to go for on the tripod, want it to be good for a beginner but like I said able to lash to the backpack. DO you guys think a 50-65 inch one would be too big? Been looking on amazon and those seem to come up the most.

Hopefully I will get some pictures in the next few weeks and put them in this thread to condense things.

 

Tripods, the ballhead and the camera will give you 6-8 inches of height. You want one that'll be easy to look into. You don't want to have to keep bending over far to look into. A head bend yes, but not neck breaking.

 

When you are shopping for a tripod, don't go cheap on it. You have spent good money on a camera. You don't want it blown away by wind or so. If you're the type of person who doesn't mind used gear, I would look into it for tripods. Check craigs list or even other photography forums for good finds.

 

KoD,

As a Canon user you'll want to visit this site;

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/index.php

 

+1

I learned the lesson the hard way. I'd rather buy a good used one than a mediocre new one

 

Even if you think you have a good one the first time. I did, spent good money on good equipment, but still wanted better.

 

Hmmm, thats a bit to think about. Any advice on brands to stick to?

 

Gitzos are one of the best, but very expensive.

Manfrotto is best bang for buck

 

I have a Gitzo and an Induro. Induro's are good for the money.

 

my Manfrotto is an older one that I bought through Craigslist, while it's heavy like a brick it's also as sturdy as a brick. I know I can upgrade to something carbon fiber, but I actually don't mind the weight

 

I have a Feisol carbon fiber tripod and ball head, plenty stable in wind, or even rushing water occasionally.

As for the backpack, my hiking pack is a regular pack and I do the same thing your planning to do. Keep that plan for the long run too, I dont think Ive ever seen a comfortable dedicated photography pack.

 

Well camera came in this morning! Looks amazing! the 50mm is tiny, definitely didn't expect it to be that small! Havent taken any pictures yet, been charging the battery and now I have a dress formation so when that shit is over I am gonna start playing with my new toy and research some tripods!

 

 

yea... i need to do this.

 

nice. imo, try using program(P on the dial) first. then start using the other settings after you have gotten used to it. Don't get fazed by people say the best setting to be in is Manual(M), everybody shoots in different settings because they feel comfortable with it. Its better to get the shot correct with P setting than having it on manual and your pictures are out of focus and under or overexposed.

 

Well I played around with program last night and find that I like the setting! Going to island import day on LI today so I should have hundreds of pictures. Probably going to use a combo of program and auto since I have only had the camera for a few days. Ill post the best ones here as soon as I go through them.

I am still deciding on tripods, might just ask for one for my birthday.

 

That's basically what I did. My MIL gave me money to get my tripod. I ended up with an Induro with a ballhead. Its very light and sturdy. Holds my D7000 with no problem.

 

Pics coming soon

 

Having trouble posting from Flickr? You took a bit of time posting all the pictures and then editted. I can see your photostream but the individual links you used did not work. Sorry, got an email notification of your post with the original post before you editted.

 

NSX



NSX and M3



M3 front



Stryker, even the cops making us leave got out and looked at this one



NSX



Acurazine TL



Aston with a bunch of go pros on it



Carbonated ZZZ



Stanced out, gorgeous TL



EVO



R33 GTR



Acurazine member, talked to him for a bit



VWR32



On the way there



A member on here, cant remember his name though



Waiting to get into the park



This is my car, taken with a blackberry not the t3i!

 

I learned so much in just the few hours being there with the camera, the 50mm really makes you think about your shots, I am not happy with my performance at all, for next time I have so much I want to try and to get better shots and what not. Overall I would say that this is a success and I am going to use this to become better. All shots were with P mode, ISO in-between 100 and 200, cloudy white balance. I think some shots would come out better with my light hook on but the thing wont ever line up straight, damn flower hood! So take a look and let me know what you think

Oh this was Island Import Day March 18th on LI NY

 

Good stuff! Looking at purchasing my first dslr soon as well

 

pics look good, but feel too "tight" for me. maybe save up and get a good wide angle lens because you had some potentially good shots there that just came up too cropped.

 

Yeah The 50mm is very limiting if you don't know how to use it. I had only had the camera for two days when I took this so you can see that the shots came out rough, but that's why I got it, so I could learn how to set up shots using my judgement and then when I save up I will have more options with a zoom lens. I have a ton of ideas and a good idea of what I need to do to get better shots now! Thanks for the reply! But yes tight is exactly what I was feeling as well, I probably should have slowed down a bit more and not rushed through the whole meet.

 

You will learn that Prime Lenses (Lenses that have a fixed focal length) have better optics than lenses with adjustable zoom. One thing i can tell you cant be lazy at photography. This hobby requires alot of bending and alot of moving around. Showing off your pictures is showing your "vision" of the world imo. be proud of it.

 

the 50 is tough in tight places on a crop sensor. I imagine it must have been hell as a noob dealing with that too. You will learn its place though, I seldom take it out of my bag with the type of photography I usually do.....but I will likely never part with it.

 

your shots actually came out good, just too tight. so as far as composition goes, you "have it in your mind" already. your eyes see the picture. the camera just doesn't "see" enough of it. you are definitely on the right track.

its digital so dont think of "slowing down". just keep shooting but keep in mind your settings. see what works for you and what doesnt.

a cheap good zoom lens you can pick up would be the "kit" lens for the Canon rebels. its the Canon EF-S 18-55mm IS.

here are a few shots using it on my 30D:





just because its a cheap lens doesnt mean it can get you good pictures

 

great pics Patrick.

This is why knowing and understanding exposure and lighting is very important.

 

I completely forgot about the kit lens, I actually have a non IS version in my closet. PM me if you want it, cheap.

 

Do you think the IS makes a difference in the lens? Thanks for the tips as well, I am looking forward to my next opportunity to shoot!