finally did it

[XJBANKER]

I bought a Canon 40d today with a kit lens to start, a couple of filters, a 1 gig card and a 64mb card and a magic lantern book for $450.00 I am giving my wife full responsibility of the power shot now.

Need to learn how to actually use it and start saving money for better glass

 

[DiploStrat]

Welcome to the cult! Yer gonna need something larger than a 1 GB card REAL soon! ;-)

 

[DrMoab]

The people he bought it from gave him a 64 MB card to. I was messing with his new camera and put that card in...it showed 11 remaining photos... I giggled

 

[XJBANKER]

I ordered a 4 gig card last night and an exta baterry with a car charger for our trip coming up

 

[Wander]

Good buy!

 

[TRACTION]

That's a great body. I've got it paired with a 24-105 L that I just love. When you're ready look into that lens. It's great for a general purpose lens.

Mark

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

WOOO HOOO!!! It's about time Steve!!

Glad to hear you got it and took the plunge. Yeah, that 64mb card is just for keepsakes

Start saving for good glass. Also get yourself the Scott Kelby series of books. Great reading and Scott has a way to explain what normally is hard to understand in very simple speak

Now, lets start seeing some EXPO Cover Shots

 

[DrMoab]

Now, lets start seeing some EXPO Cover Shots

He has two weeks.

Over Memorial Day we are taking a small group on a tour of the San Rafael Swell.

Four nights and four days of non-stop travel through the heart of the Swell. Some of it will be areas you guys got to see with us and most of it will be new. We won't camp in the same place twice and should cover about 350 miles of dirt by the time we are done.

I wish you could go with us.

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

I wish you could go with us.

I do too!! Man, that sounds like an amazing trip. Between you and Steve, I expect to see some awesome trip reports!!

 

[XJBANKER]

I just played around with the camera today on auto just to get a feel for it and the photos of Gabby are already 10 times better than the powershot. I have a lot to learn but feel this will be the tool to take me on my journey.

 

[HB 4X4]

Congrats!

Don't go higher than a 4GB card. That's the size I use. It's safer to have multiple smaller cards than one or two large ones. That way if any of them are damaged or the files are corrupted, you don't lose all of your shots. I get about 19X per card on the 4GB (shooting RAW). I usually don't shoot enough to fill more than one card unless it's on a vacation though.

 

[XJBANKER]

So here is a question for you. i know I need to save money for lenses, but is it worth having a cheap lens just to get me through in the meantime?

Our trip to the swell we are going to be out in the jeeps and Pat took wonderful pictures but with a wide angle lens. i would love to be able to have that effect when I go in two weeks but I dont have another $500 to drop on a lens now. My question is would it be worth the $30 to get this lens for now?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200462556171&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

I know it will not be great but to go on my kit lens for learning will it be worth having to get the effects that I want for this trip?

 

[DrMoab]

No. It isn't worth it.

Think about this. We are going on an epic trip. Do you want your photos from it to come home looking horrible?
Also, that really isn't a lens but an adapter that screws on the end of your lens. Every time you screw another piece of glass on the end of an existing lens you are degrading the quality slightly. The cheaper the add on, the greater the degrading will be.

Consider that people spend hundreds of dollars to get high quality filters...

The kit lens you have, while not being perfect still isn't bad. It will allow you to get some great shots. Far greater than something like that lens off Ebay...which might very well ruin anything you take.

If you are short on money but want to have better glass for your trip, you might want to consider renting.

Pictureline in SLC rents glass for pretty cheap. There is also places like Lensrentals.com and other various places on the net that will allow you to play with lenses that cost thousands for pennies on the dollar.

 

[Every Miles A Memory]

What Ryan says is true. Save your money and dont get taken by purchasing little attachments like that.

Sigma makes a 10-20mm that B&H sells for $479 and that's brand new.

You might find one less expensive on POTN or Craigslist, and you might just want to rent one for the week of the trip. Weekly rentals can sometimes only be $50.

Save up and get good glass that will really make the most difference.

Lenses to save for.

24-70 L F/2.8
70-200 L F/2.8 - The 'L' Glass is what you want. Its like a Stock Jeep compared to a Rubicon

Once you have those two lenses, anything else will just be for cool effects. The 10-20mm is my next purchase only because I cant afford Canon's version of the 16-35 L which is what I lust after.

 

[goodtimes]

You can always rent a lens too . . .

There are a number of places out there.