Camera or Photography know-it-alls?

[Rashae]

Does anyone know anything about cameras or photography? Specifically the Canon Rebel XTi, or also known as Canon EOS 400D? I recently upgraded to this camera from a point and shoot digital camera. I'm looking to buy a good lens but don't know where to start. I know I want an EF series because I want to eventually upgrade again and most of the Canon upgrades don't take the EF-S, just the EF lenses. So .....I know.... what kind of photography am I looking to take, right? Well I really enjoy taking macro but being here on Okinawa I have to be ready for anything such as landscape, portrait, and something for nighttime pics (nighttime cityscape). I guess my questions are... what exactly makes a Macro lens a Macro? Could it be used for anything and not Macro alone? How about Image Stabilizer lenses? Are there any Macro lenses with IS? Thanks in advance for any advice!

[HDR-Japan]

It's all about the person shooting the image. Really.
I have seen people create amazing images with point and shoots, and I have seen people create terrible images with the most expensive DSLR's.

Get a camera, any camera...and try. This is how you learn best. :old:

[Bones]

As posted by Rashae:

Specifically the Canon Rebel XTi, or also known as Canon EOS 400D? I recently upgraded to this camera from a point and shoot digital camera. I'm looking to buy a good lens but don't know where to start.

Go to dpreview.com. it's an excellent photography site, with reviews of cameras and lenses.

NBTP

[FDokinawa]

+1 on dpreview.. another great site is www.fredmiranda.com you can find a lot of good deals for used gear on there too.

[okisteve]

I consider myself to be an experienced photographer, having started back when the Rolleiflex was the hot setup, but now I just enjoy pushing my point-and-shoot (Canon A700) to it's limits.

HDR's advice is excellent. If you start off with a fancy, ultra-capable camera you might get bogged down in learning how to use it and be distracted from actually seeing and composing pictures, which is what it's really about.

[okisteve]

Does anyone know anything about cameras or photography? Specifically the Canon Rebel XTi, or also known as Canon EOS 400D? I recently upgraded to this camera from a point and shoot digital camera. I'm looking to buy a good lens but don't know where to start. I know I want an EF series because I want to eventually upgrade again and most of the Canon upgrades don't take the EF-S, just the EF lenses. So .....I know.... what kind of photography am I looking to take, right? Well I really enjoy taking macro but being here on Okinawa I have to be ready for anything such as landscape, portrait, and something for nighttime pics (nighttime cityscape). I guess my questions are... what exactly makes a Macro lens a Macro? Could it be used for anything and not Macro alone? How about Image Stabilizer lenses? Are there any Macro lenses with IS? Thanks in advance for any advice!

AFAIK, all macro lenses can be used for 'normal' shooting. They are different from regular lenses only in that they can focus at very close distances. Before this kind of lens became popular, the way you got close focus was by using an extension tube or bellows between the lens and camera, but then you could not focus at normal distances unless you removed the tube.

Offhand I would not guess macro lenses come with IS, since you don't experience much camera shake when doing macro work, or at least not enough to worry about. But I am not up on those sorts of things, not owning an SLR nowadays.

[uriel]

While I don't own a Canon (I have a Nikon, but with the way that D-SLR's are going, the only difference at any certain price point is not in quality, but in how the camera fits in your hands), I can tell you that as far as getting "bogged down", I have heard that opinion and completely disregard it. Think of it like this, if you buy what someone considers a "beginner's camera" strictly because it is cheaper than a little higher end D-SLR, you will probably end up being disappointed later down the road. It really isn't that much more expensive to get something that is really nice. While I am definately not saying that a better camera will net you better pictures, it will be easier to capture them with a nicer camera as opposed to a point and shoot. Why, you may ask? Flexibility of lenses, not to mention the vastly improved sensor in a higher end camera. And, as HDR said, just get out there and shoot. If you don't want to be bogged down with all the options on an expensive camera, read the instruction manual. I know, it sounds a little condenscending, but that isn't my intent. When I got my D80, I sat down for a little while and read the instructions. When I was bored, I would read through them a little more. Some of the manuals actually do make things easier. I have also read some good photography books. My personal fav is Kodak's guide to 35 mm photography. I know, you have a digital camera, however, most of the info in there is relevant to a D-SLR also.

[badkitty]

I use consumerreports.com it works for me...

[okisteve]

There are a few excellent websites that have reviews of digital cameras and SLRs, that are written on the basis oif personal opinions rather than just regurgitating the manufacterer's specs and the MSN/CNN reviews. I think one is called Steve's Digitals, but it's no relation! Just Google and read a few.

[Throe]

I've got a low end sony digital point and shoot now, and I've taken some very nice pictures with it. I really enjoy the mode where I can set most of the shooting options myself, and when I first got it I regularly referred to the manual to figure out how to use it. For most applications though, I just use the full auto mode. I find many of the pictures I take are ones that won't wait around for me to fine tune the settings on my camera enough for an absolutely excellent shot, so I settle for a good picture of an awesome, rare, hard to catch scene.

I'd like to note however, that for many applications, just the ability to take a large number of pictures very quickly increases your ability to capture a great shot. Its sort of like some people say about firearms, "Send enough bullets downrange and you're bound to hit something." Take enough pictures and you're bound to get a few good ones. With the advent of digital cameras specifically, the ability to take tons of pictures quickly is increased exponentially. Add to that the fact that with most, if not all, you can review your pictures immediately afterward, and throw out the ones that are obviously trash before you even leave the field, thereby freeing up space for more pictures.

Also, I've taken many great pictures with a cheap 35mm point and shoot camera that I later converted to digital images.

While I'd love to have an extremely high end, several thousand dollar D-SLR, I can't really justify buying one; my current camera is meeting all my needs. It would be largely a toy.

[uriel]

You don't really need extremely high end D-SLR. I was thinking of the ones that are no more than 700 dollars for the body or about 800 dollars for the kit, i.e. Nikon D80 or the equivelant. High quality digital cameras have really dropped in price in the last few years.

[P_chan]

Anybody have the canon rebel? I've been looking at getting a DSLR but probably not for another year at least. Just looking for some opinions.

[uriel]

The Nikon D40 along with the Canon Rebel XT, the Pentax K100D, the Samsung GX-1S and the Olympus E-500 are all aimed at beginning photographers. The D40, for example, is for sale at amazon for $465 and will put to shame most point and shoots as far as print quality. Obviously, it won't make you a better photog, but it will give you the tools so that you can improve. All of these cameras have their pros and cons, but, all the difference are really very minor.

[Stephie098]

I have 3 point and shoot cameras a Panasonic FZ20 and also a Rebel XTi. I absolutely LOVE my Rebel. It takes amazing photographs. I am a stickler for crisp sharp pictures (i do mainly landscape pictures) and the smallest amount of noise just irks the crap out of me. My 3 point and shoots are ok (casio, canon, nikon) but I just cant appreciate the quality of the pictures from those after Ive had the FZ20 or the Rebel.

www.stevesdigicams.com is a wonderful site to do some reading on. Lots of camera reviews there.

[Bones]

I have a Rebel XTi as well, and I like it a lot. I don't think that you can buy the XTi on base anymore. It has been replaced with the 12.1 mp XSi, and costs a little more than the XTi.

My big problem is that the BX doesn't sell extra lenses. The new Best denki opened at Jusco today, and I haven't had the time to see if they carry any extra lenses. There used to be lots of camera stores here a long time ago, and most of the ones that I was familiar with have either closed down, or moved.

Bones

[Stephie098]

My 3 point and shoots are ok (casio, canon, nikon)

Woops, that last one should be Kodak. :D