DSLR nub

[TheDrift-]

I realize i'm a little late to this party but I had a slightly different suggestion. Instead of spending the money on gear, I'd look into a photography class at a local college or art school or something.

Not only will you learn the basics of photography (though you did mention your uncle did teach you a little) but by presenting and critiquing your photos, you really can grow as a photographer.

Either way, best of luck and have fun!

^^This is a great piece of Advice imo

 

[Blakeco123]

The most incorrect statement of this thread. Try mounting a Nikon D3S + the 70-200mm VRII, and watch it all fall to the ground. If you're not sure what you're talking about that is okay but don't feel the need to spread incorrect info.

well I can mount a t2i on it with a 55-255 mm lens and it doesn't fall over...

 

[danahn17]

well I can mount a t2i on it with a 55-255 mm lens and it doesn't fall over...

A t2i with that lens is a VERY different setup than the Nikon D3s +70-200.

While a cheap tripod will be okay for lower level SLRs / lenses (and should be fine for the OP), if you're going into prosumer / pro quality gear, cheap tripods won't be able to hold all the weight stably and safely.

 

[sapporobaby]

A t2i with that lens is a VERY different setup than the Nikon D3s +70-200.

While a cheap tripod will be okay for lower level SLRs / lenses (and should be fine for the OP), if you're going into prosumer / pro quality gear, cheap tripods won't be able to hold all the weight stably and safely.

Thank you for explaining it...

 

[chrono1081]

Save your money. Get acquainted with your new camera. Be adventurous. Take lots of pix. You'll soon find out what you need next (of course it may be something as unexciting as an external hard drive to store all your pix)...

This. Never buy anything until you absolutely know you need it. Too many people rush out, buy bunches of stuff they don't need (a gary fong light sphere comes to mind) and then they get bored or run out of money and can't buy anything they do need.

Don't get lenses, don't get tripods, if you want an accessory get a flash (but still wait on that one until you know you can't go any further without it.)

 

[tinman0]

Couldn't agree more! If you start pending your money now, before you even touch your new camera, your bound to waste it on things you think you need or want, only to find out, there were better things you could have purchased. Get to know your camera 1st, and most important... just have fun with it!

+1.

I wouldn't go spending much money at this stage. Work out what you like doing and where you might want your photography to go. Find the limitations of what you have, and move forward from that.

Bad advice that's been given here so far:

1. $16 tripod. I have one of these. It's crap. It's cheap for a reason and the last thing you want is a £600 camera sitting on top of it. I had one for a few weeks and it was totally untrustworthy and not very stable. Got good at catching the camera falling off.

2. $200 tripod. Work your way up to a $200 tripod if you want one. I put together an old Velkin tripod off Ebay for £9 and coupled it to a Manfrotto head that I already had (£40). Brilliant tripod for a fraction of the money.

3. Prime lens - eg the 50mm f1.8. It's a bargain of a lens, really is, but a really difficult lens to use. 50mm is already covered by your kit lens, so the only other thing is f1.8. Which is great but just difficult to use unless you are in the right situation. By all means get one later just to say you have it (it's a rite of passage), but don't get sucked in with "it's the greatest lens ever" BS.

However, what I would suggest as a great first buy is a Cokin P series with an ND8 graduated filter. (Or equivalent if you can't get Cokin. Don't worry about the Lee vs Cokin thing at this point. And buy P series as it's a good investment for bigger lenses in the future.).

Buy branded filters, not cheapies off Ebay as there is a big difference. Branded stuff is made properly, cheap stuff is vinyl on a bit of plastic.

The ND8 Grad will bring tone and contrast into the sky, which in turn allows the camera to expose the ground better, which in turn brings in more colour to the photograph.

Finally, buy an optical lens cap (Skylight, UV etc). When you drop a lens you will learn why.

 

[firestarter]

However, what I would suggest as a great first buy is a Cokin P series with an ND8 graduated filter.

Seriously?

The ND8 Grad will bring tone and contrast into the sky, which in turn allows the camera to expose the ground better, which in turn brings in more colour to the photograph.

- Only useful for landscape
- Only useful on a tripod
- Can easily avoid using one by taking two exposures and merging in post

Last time I needed an ND grad was with film a decade ago.

Finally, buy an optical lens cap (Skylight, UV etc). When you drop a lens you will learn why.

And when you take a night shot and see ghost images, you'll see why they're more trouble than they're worth. Again, I haven't used these for years.

If you want to avoid the cost of a dropped lens, get camera insurance.

3. Prime lens - eg the 50mm f1.8. It's a bargain of a lens, really is, but a really difficult lens to use. 50mm is already covered by your kit lens, so the only other thing is f1.8. Which is great but just difficult to use unless you are in the right situation. By all means get one later just to say you have it (it's a rite of passage), but don't get sucked in with "it's the greatest lens ever" BS.

The ability to do low DOF photography is one of the biggest creative differentiators between owning a DSLR and a Point & shoot. A fast lens opens up that possibility (and f1.8 is a lot better than a kit lens), and immediately opens up photographic possibilities that weren't there before... and in a short tele format gives lots of options for great portraits.

Seems that you're fixated on landscapes, tinman0.