Took another step into the world of digital photography today. A step up from the Olympus Stylus 850SW I’ve been using regularly since last May. That camera was a good introduction to digital, which, for those who haven’t tried it, is a totally different experience than film photography.
Picked up a Canon Rebel XSi which came with an 18-55mm lens with image stabilization ( IS ) from Circuit City. 20% off as Circuit City winds down locally.
Also picked up a Canon 55-250mm telephoto lens with IS from our local camera shop, which is affliated with Ritz.
The Olympus will be my mainstay for fishing pics and cold weather outdoor stuff with its waterproof / shockproof / freezeproof features.
The Canon will be my primary camera for everything else, from indoors and macro to outdoors landscape / scenery and wildlife telephoto photography.
The Rebel XSi is a relatively simple but quite versatile digital SLR. The focus is on image quality, and that is where it should be for what I have in mind for this camera. The image quality / optics on the test shots I took at maximum telephoto before buying the camera were quite impressive. Will probably be a few days before I get a chance to test it in the field, but I’m really looking forward to seeing what it will do.
John, Just don’t get it wet taking pics of the fish.
My wife is taking a Digital Photograhy class at the local Community College where she teaches. It seems to be a fun class. She needed a new camera for it, and life. We purchased a Canon EOS 50D Digital SLR body with 5 lenses and a whole bunch of other stuff. Like they saw us coming. We even got it in HD. It was really a good deal though and she does take thousands of pictures.
So far she hasn’t let me touch it.
Jim
John,
Congratulations! That is a great camera. Good deal on the IS lenses too. You got a great deal all around. I did a lot of research before buying my Pentax k110d and again before upgrading to the K10D The differences now between the major manufacturers are getting very small when it comes to digital SLR cameras. The two cameras I liked the most were the Pentax K10D and the Rebel XSi.
Canon makes a great product. I will be looking forward to seeing some photos soon. I might recommend one additional, very inexpensive item for you. It’s called a Rainsleeve. I don’t recall if your model of the Rebel is weather resistant or not but even if it is a little inexpensive extra protection never hurts. Check them out here:
John, I have the XT. Terrific camera btw. I got the same tele lens as you do to.
It’s a great camera, but trying to use it one handed while you’re taking a picture of a fish is a feat in itself. But, I’m sure you find that out soon:).
Take the pictures in the highest setting and RAW and play with the photos. It’s a blast.
john im glad for you and your new purchase. i think im more glad for myself because ill have more of your photos to drool over! looking forward to seeing them. enjoy!
58mm High Definition PRO Wide Angle Lens w/ Macro Lens attachment
58mm High Definition 2X Telephoto Lens
58mm 3 pc Filter Kit High Definition: UV - Polarizer - FDL
58mm UV Digital Multi Coated Professional High Definition Filter
Like I said, the salesman saw me coming. The camera body is not HD. The lenses we bought are HD lenses. Jim
I had an Olympus Stylus also, and I didn’t find it too user friendly. The controls are in the wrong spot. I would try to take a picture and to hole the camera with one hand and I would hit all the buttons by accident. It takes good pictures though.
I went with the Canon Power Shot. Had a deal at Inkley’s that too hard to resist. The camera and a printer for $129. I bought the frost filter and the Polarized, got a ring adapter off ebay.
Takes awesome pictures:
this was with the polarized not the frost LOL Just a little nippy this morning.
wow what a great picture Goddess! Holy Macro…a beauty. Would make a nice painting on the wall.
Wish I could take photos like that. Maybe someday I will learn how. But that is gorgeous.
Can’t wait to see some pics from your new camera. For 30 some odd years I used 35mm SLR and medium formats. When digital came along I thought no way could it replace Kodachrome 64 or 25. Boy was I ever wrong! Sold all my old film stuff on ebay and bought a DSLR and never looked back. I also like being able to control the final results and not being tied to a lab to that doesn’t always see the image as I did. If your camera has RAW try it. I like having total control. Anyway, enjoy!
Thanks, but mother nature is the painter on this one. That is the nice thing around here. The water is actually warmer than the air so we get these nice fog effect. Not to be mistaken for the BIG brown cloud over the city right now:D
But there is the Mountains in any direction:cool:
Well, after reading two manuals approximating 350 pages of description and instruction, which included a lot of diagrams and virtually empty spaces ( thank goodness ! ), loading the software required to transfer pics to the computer, recharging the battery to full power, setting time and language, and formatting the memory card, I took a few pictures.
The subject is one of the frogs that Deborah has created over the past several years. She’s made eight or nine, now, all along the same basic design but each highly individual with materials selected and details created as she goes along. Thought this one would be a good first photo with the new camera.
Reading through the manuals was quite a bit easier than I thought it would be. First, it all revolves around the basic principles that I learned a long time ago using film cameras, and surprisingly, a lot of that stuff that I haven’t thought about for years came back quite readily. Second, the things I learned starting off with the Olympus really prepared me for using the menus, functions and controls of the Rebel.
Whew - it came together in short order. Now it’s time to get out and try it in the real world.
Went up to Birch Creek Valley today. Hoped to see some wildlife as well as do a little fishing. Got lucky.
All the pics in the slideshow were shot hand held at full telephoto ( 400MM ) on the sport mode. Figured the sport mode would provide fast shutter speeds in the bright daylight, and let me shoot continuous pics rather than one shot at a time. This camera will do 3.5 frames per second. A high proportion ( somewhere around 75% ) showed no or very little blur, which I thought remarkable for shooting off hand at full telephoto including several moving subjects.
Shot a lot more pics than you’ll see in the show, but you get the best of the day. Click on the photo and enjoy.
Hey buddy,
Been gone a while and decided to stop in for a quick visit here.
Great decision on the XSi. I’ve been shooting with the XTi for about 2 years now (the XSi replaced the XTi). Although it is still considered an amateur DSLR body, I think it is at the very top of its class. I’ve not had one single complaint with mine and I’ve really put it to the test in a million different ways. The possibilities with this camera body and just wide open.
Excellent choice with the 55-250mm IS lens. That is a great one. Just curious, how fast is that lens (max aperture range)?
I’ve taken mine fishing (always solo, just like you) and it is pretty tough to use one handed. I’m always a nervous wreck when fishing with it slung over my neck and wading though! One dip and yikes! There goes $800 down the drain.
You mentioned being able to shoot 3.5 frames per second and that the action setting may help with that. It really doesn’t, except that it will keep your shutter speed faster. You compromise image quality this way, but that’s not bad if you’re stopping action on some great tele subjects (i.e wildlife). If you want to maximize the 3.5 fps make sure you’ve got your image setting to continous shooting and you AF setting to AI-SERVO. You’ll burn through 100 images this way before you know it! If you are shooting this way, make sure you aren’t shooting RAW+JPEG. It takes a super long time for the processor to handle both types of images at once. Stick with either RAW or JPEG when shooting this way. Anyway, I’m sure you learned all that in the 350 pages of manual!
Just for fun, here are a couple images that show a variety of what your camera can do. (oh, I would also really recommend getting a decent maco lens–this camera body really shines on macros).
The MAIN reason I looked at the Canon Rebel is that I remembered you used it for all the great photos you’ve posted here. Thanks for that !!
The apperture range on the 55-250 is f4-5.6.
I will probably get a macro lens before summer ?? The Rebel does have a close-up mode, but it’s nowhere near macro.
I think we are saying the same thing regarding using the sport mode. With the strong light, I figured the shutter speeds would be very high. Most shots of the golden eagle and the running antelope validated the selection. With less favorable light, I probably would have tried something else.
Nice pics. The second one really stands out !! Hope you find some time to hang out around here and join in. ( I’m sure McKinlee, and the other two kids, are keeping you busy. )
John
P.S. This camera is not getting near the water. The fish pics will be with the Olympus 850SW.
Good choices for the lenses too!! I’m a Nikon guy but either way we use the same setup Olympus Nature (or idiot) proof for all around on the river and a good quality DSLR for fancy stuff. You will LOVE exploring what a DSLR can do!!
I bundled mine up in a Pelican case so it can get bounced around anywhere in the pickup or strapped to the boat. A monopod is handy too and the tripod gets used ALOT too!
edit:
Also, … don’t be affraid to run the ISO up well past 1000, … for most shooting, you’ll appreciate the shutter speed and never notice the “graininess” … I set mine to Max 1600 except on very special occassions like scenery.
With the Canon you’ll have to actually set the ISO to any number higher than 400 (Auto is from 100-400 on the XSI.
As you get used to it, … the pre-programmed modes will get used less and less and you’ll go to P,S or A (that’s my reason for the Nikon over the Canon … as I personnaly prefered the Nikon layout of the knobs and stuff over the Canon (then again, my brother prefers the Canon ergonomics).