I have never ever had my own camera untill the recent Comex in 2009. Before Comex, I have only borrowed PnSs to satisfy any photo taking needs.
3 weeks before Comex, I was out on my usual weekend window shopping with my wife and happened to step into a Sony shop. Curious about the craze on DSLRs, I took the A330 into my hands to fiddle with it. Things changed! I could no longer use another PnS anymore. I was blown away by the image quality and speed of taking photos. I will be holidaying in Japan for 10 days in November and immediately thought of all the photo taking opportunities I would be encoutering. I spent the next 3 weeks doing my research on cameras and photo taking techniques and finally decided to buy myself a Canon EOS 500D. Before making my decision, I even borrowed a superzoom, Sony HX1, to play around with it. I wanted to make sure that a DSLR was what I wanted as the Sony captured nice pictures too. The crunch time came and I busted my wallet during the Comex and got myself the 500D with the 18-55mm kit lens (Yes! I know my decision to buy at the Comex is debatable but I was a sucker for the red Canon Crumpler bag).
Now, I am still reading up a book for dummies and practising my shots, hoping to attain some level of proficiency before my trip to Japan. Just reached my first 1k shutter count and uploaded some pictures that I've managed. All comments and criticisms are welcomed. I have a steep learning curve before my Japan trip.
Scenes from my garden:
http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=581696
Our best friend - Black & White Series:
http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=581718
After my 1k shutter count, the dreaded BBB virus is now setting in. :embrass: Constantly on my mind, I am thinking of the ideal setup to acquire. UWA? Telephoto? Filters? Tripods? The standard set of questions asked by every noob. I've sort of concluded on the following,
- the new EF-S 15-85mm f3.5/5.6 IS USM for most of my walk about needs. I think this should be wide enough for me not to want to buy a UWA.
- EF 70-300mm f4/5.6 IS USM as a telephoto zoom or the EF-S 55-250mm f4/5.6 IS for its portability and much cheaper price. The price for a EF 70-200mm f4 IS with or without USM just seems too crazy for a starter to buy.
- flash, tripod and appropriate filters at a later stage
I also have a EF 50mm f1.8 prime lens to experiment with and may at a later stage acquire other 'fast' prime lens if required. For now, I think the 2 above mentioned zoom lens will fuel my requirements for a really long time. Again, I will be glad to soak in any comments from the experts.
I apologise about the long introductory note but I am all excited about this new found hobby.
3 weeks before Comex, I was out on my usual weekend window shopping with my wife and happened to step into a Sony shop. Curious about the craze on DSLRs, I took the A330 into my hands to fiddle with it. Things changed! I could no longer use another PnS anymore. I was blown away by the image quality and speed of taking photos. I will be holidaying in Japan for 10 days in November and immediately thought of all the photo taking opportunities I would be encoutering. I spent the next 3 weeks doing my research on cameras and photo taking techniques and finally decided to buy myself a Canon EOS 500D. Before making my decision, I even borrowed a superzoom, Sony HX1, to play around with it. I wanted to make sure that a DSLR was what I wanted as the Sony captured nice pictures too. The crunch time came and I busted my wallet during the Comex and got myself the 500D with the 18-55mm kit lens (Yes! I know my decision to buy at the Comex is debatable but I was a sucker for the red Canon Crumpler bag).
Now, I am still reading up a book for dummies and practising my shots, hoping to attain some level of proficiency before my trip to Japan. Just reached my first 1k shutter count and uploaded some pictures that I've managed. All comments and criticisms are welcomed. I have a steep learning curve before my Japan trip.
Scenes from my garden:
http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=581696
Our best friend - Black & White Series:
http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=581718
After my 1k shutter count, the dreaded BBB virus is now setting in. :embrass: Constantly on my mind, I am thinking of the ideal setup to acquire. UWA? Telephoto? Filters? Tripods? The standard set of questions asked by every noob. I've sort of concluded on the following,
- the new EF-S 15-85mm f3.5/5.6 IS USM for most of my walk about needs. I think this should be wide enough for me not to want to buy a UWA.
- EF 70-300mm f4/5.6 IS USM as a telephoto zoom or the EF-S 55-250mm f4/5.6 IS for its portability and much cheaper price. The price for a EF 70-200mm f4 IS with or without USM just seems too crazy for a starter to buy.
- flash, tripod and appropriate filters at a later stage
I also have a EF 50mm f1.8 prime lens to experiment with and may at a later stage acquire other 'fast' prime lens if required. For now, I think the 2 above mentioned zoom lens will fuel my requirements for a really long time. Again, I will be glad to soak in any comments from the experts.
I apologise about the long introductory note but I am all excited about this new found hobby.