I have a feeling you will be one happy gal. Congratulations! Lets see some shots in the photo challenge. What lens?
—
Have A Nice Day, 🙂
James Hutchinson
http://www.pbase.com/myeyesview http://www.myeyesviewstudio.com/ wrote in message
quite a bit but it did come complete with a Canon EOS 300D ….. and a couple of Canon lens …
Wendy
What a Gal won’t do to get a new copy of Elements. Now that you have a lesser camera that the most Hateful Nikon D70 you will only have to post a Photo a week. Grant ducking and running ….
Grant
P.S. Welcome to the Digital Deep end.
James … I bought the Canon 18-55mm and the Canon 75-300mm USM. I did have some concerns that the 75-300mm might suffer from major camera shake but so far its behaved quite well. I have only used the basic settings up to now and understanding those has been a learning curve in itself.
Grant … Not sure about being happy (yet) I have a major headache due to trying to understand all those dials … its a bit little trying to fly a space ship. I did look the "Hateful" … but you put me off it 🙂 🙂
Will be asking lots of questions so watch this space 🙂
Wendy
I am trying to peruade myself that I’m not jealous. I have a perfectly good functional digicam, and my main barrier to taking good photographs is the user not the equipment and I’m not jealous in any way shape or form..
(Sigh. Who am I fooling here!!?)
Enjoy the new camera Wendy! I’ll be interested to hear what you think of the longer zoom – my suspicion was that for that length you might really need image stabilisation and/or a firm tripod and i’ll be interested to hear different- I was considering the 70-200 (or whatever the range is..it’s about that) for that reason as the IS increases the cost quite a lot. (Just because I’ve persuaded myself out of the camera, doesn’t mean that i can’t keep window shopping!)
Congrats Wendy,
I’m green with envy. Well, actually I just upgraded my Canon S110 to a S410 and I’m having a lot of fun with it. Seems that I’m on my bike so much of the time that a better small camera was more appropriate. For me, small is beautiful, but sometimes I’ll lug my monster G2 around. 🙂
So just put that Rebel in ‘P’ mode and shoot away. I want to see some scenes from the summer in UK.
I assume you know that there is a D Rebel group in the dpreview forum? Probably other groups as well and you always have James to collaborate with.
I guess I’ll be getting that D Rebel as soon as I get a chance to cash in my lottery ticket.
I have the 75-300 usm without the IS. When possible I do use a tripod but most of my wildlife and avian shots are handheld. With good technique it can be done in a lot of situations.
—
Have A Nice Day, 🙂
James Hutchinson
http://www.pbase.com/myeyesview http://www.myeyesviewstudio.com/ wrote in message
I’ll be interested to hear what you think of the longer zoom – my suspicion was that for that length you might really need image stabilisation and/or a firm tripod and i’ll be interested to hear different-
Wendy, wow!!!….. that is pretty special news isn’t it ? The digital era has got ya now ! No turning back !
sitting in Upstate NY waiting for images to be posted !
Congradulations !
Susan, your G3 already getting boring ? Trade it in I say ! You need a fancy new camera to go with that fancy new Photoshop program ya just bought 😉
Wendy!!!!!! Congratulations on the purchase, and welcome aboard the Canon DSLR family 🙂
I personally have my eye (well, my eyes) on a Canon 28-135 IS lens. It’s 699$ at my local camera shop. If I survive my ordeal, I think I might just be tempted to spend that much for it.
Of course, if you need assistance in understanding the controls, simply drop a note, there’s a good chance you’ll get a fast answer!
Again, congratulations!!! Truly a nice toy!!
Ray
Susan … I tried out the longer zoom on auto this afternoon and providing there is good light it seems OK. I worked on the principle that I could use it hand held on the lower settings but if "shake" came in at the top end I could always switch and use the tripod.
Nancy … Today I have been like a child at Christmas 🙂
Mark … Its a good point about a smaller camera and I will certainly hang on to my Kodak 4330 .. there are some times when a larger camera just isn’t appropriate. Will see what I can do about the photographs … just as soon as I work out how to use it :). Thanks for the info about dpreview.
Wendy
Ray,
Now you really will have to recover quickly as I will need you to answer my million and one questions 🙂 Wow it is complicated … just hope I get to understand it fairly quickly.
Wendy
Jodi,
Photos may take a little while as I’m still working out the simple things … like how to get the lens cap off 🙂
Wendy
Wendy
Put it on "P" and then you will just have to worry about composition. Then each day read a bit more of the manual and try a new thing. In no time you will be an expert and all the while you will be acquiring wonderful photos and having a great stress free time with your new toy.
Grant
Now i am off to a grown ups Birthday part … translates to an old fart friend of mine is turning 50 … Young pup!
Jodi – I wouldn’t say I’m getting bored with the G3 – but I keep on hitting its limitations. And I’ve a feeling I’d feel the same way about the 300D. It’s like Elements – it does a very fine job for most things but for certain purposes it is not as good as Photoshop. But the cost of getting around those limitations is pretty high! And while in one sense money is not a major consideration, I don’t exactly pull in a high income. My contribution to the family is in other areas but I still start to feel guilty spending too much money when I’m not earning a great deal myself. Not that my husband worries too much about that – he is pretty tolerant about my expenditures (it allows him to justify buying a new guitar every now and then!)
I keep on thinking about finding more work to pay for this hobby – but then I wouldn’t have the time either with the kids or to play with the toys! I can wait… By Christmas there will be a whole raft of new toys to play with on the market and maybe the next DSLR will have the feature set I want at closer to the right price point (I don’t need all the options on the 10D – there really are only a couple of things that are missing from the 300D and maybe Canon will listen to all the moaning when they introduce their next offering!)
Grant is absolutely right! That’s what I did. The 10D has more options, and well… Even being a techno fan myself, I was stupefied by the size of the manual. And, on top of this, I had the external Speelite 420 EX manual to read as well.
So, what I did is learned a few things to get me started, then moved on in other areas of the camera where I would play more with the controls.
One thing, though… Read the manual several times, carry it with you everywhere (on the bus, at the doctor’s office, while waiting for the car to be repaired, everywhere…) In fact, read it so many times until you reach a point where it gets boring as you know every word of every paragraph!
Ok, this might a bit extreme, but you get the point. At first, you’re likely to miss a few things (in my case, read that dozens of things) But as you re-read it, keeping your recent experiences in mind, you’ll be able to better relate to the concept being explained. Thus the lesson will be better retained.
Don’t worry for me, I expect to be on my feet in no time (probably next Saturday morning). And, as of week #2, it’s been made clear that I’ll have to take a one hour long walk every day. To make this a pleasant activity, I bought a new camera strap, one that doesn’t cut blood flow. I got a Lowepro, and so far, it’s just fantastic! The 10D is a very heavy camera (designed for the ones training for the Olympics.. Haha!), so a good strap was a necessity. Canon’s supplied one just doesn’t do the job.
Ray
Wendy,
My motto: One more toy might be enough… maybe.
Good for you!!!
Byron
I have the IS version; it eats up battery life. I’ll give it a C-plus as a lens; it’s certainly no L series….
Ready to trade it for a 1.5 Ghz, 1.25GB RAM, Windows running PC ? 😉
(just kidding)
Ray
Oh dear … you do make me laugh. Ray the 300D manual is tiny I have read it twenty times so far … not understood any of it yet …. but its still early days. I had expected a larger manual but it seems to cover everything ….
I have been out for most of the day and yes the camera came too … anything that was around I have photographed … flowers, clouds, churches, fields, cows, our cat … and even my husband 🙂
So far I am impressed BUT the strap is awful it cuts into my neck …. so which one do I need to buy? I have a Lowpro bag (a Nova 3AW? kindly donated by a friend who has upgraded to a Lowepro rucksack) but any points to bear in mind about a strap?
Next question … with the camera came an invitation to subscribe to the EOS magazine is it worth taking up?
Thats about all the questions (for now) but watch this space 🙂 and thanks for all the help so far …. 🙂
Wendy
Wendy,
For the EOS magazine, it wasn’t offered with my 10D. Can you find an issue on a newstand somewhere before subscribing to it? As for me, I’m a magazine addict.. So I wouldn’t mind. If not only for the adds (sometimes, you find cool stuff in there).
The Strap : My criteria was rather specific, as I needed something that wouldn’t move up on my neck. I had a car accident several years and it weakened my upper spine. So anything I carry needs to be either on my shoulders or below the neckline. For this reason, I chose the Lowepro, which has a series of rubber pin (soft), that permits it to stay where I place it (below the neckline). I’m sure there are other straps that will do the trick as well. It cost 20$ (Canadian funds), a fair price for my well being 🙂
The bag : I have a Nova 1. It was ideal for me. I carry a Speelite 420EX in it, as well as sun shading ring (I don’t know how else to say that in English), a couple filters (circular polarizing and alike), on extra battery, 7 memory cards (they’re not all 512Mb, I whish they were..!), a wired remote control, 4 – AA batteries (LR-6) for the flash, the tv out cable, a small blower brush, a few cleaning cloth, a bottle of cleaning liquid (just in case..), a pear shape blower (for the ears..) that I got at the drugstore. This is quite handy when you realize there are spots on the sensor, which sooner or later you’ll be faced with.
And, almost as important as all the rest, a pink eraser. Just for those who would be asking why, a pink eraser is abrasive enough to remove dust and corrosion on battery connectors without damaging the connectors like sanding paper. It’s especially true for AA type batteries, but also good for the proprietary battery of the 10D / 300D. Since there’s always a battery in my camera, chances are that corrosion, if it ever occurs, will be on the spare battery. And if it ever happens that I need it far from home, and it’s corroded, then I’d be toasted!
I said the bag was ideal… That’s because while I was at the camera shop last week, I discovered those new bags. My bag opens from the outside (facing the world) to me. So, the cover is always on in way. My friend bought a new bag, which covers is opening on the reverse way. I mean, it opens from her body to the world. I don’t know if I’m making any sense here… Anyway, since the cover is opening on the opposite of my current bag, it can stay opened without my body forcing it to close down.
So, I may be tempted to buy, again, a new bag!
Ray
Hi Ray,,
Thanks for all the info and tips … WOW you do have some kit maybe one day I will have so much. For the moment I just have the camera, bag, 2 lens, 2 skyblue filters, an air canister, 2 cards, 2 batteries and one big headache from trying to work out which button to press next 🙂
My next shopping list was a new strap and I sort of fancied the remote control BUT I have now just added a pink eraser to the list 🙂
Wendy
Wendy,
The air canister… Just a word of caution… Never use it to clean the interior of the 300D. The pressure is enough to damage the sensor, and the I believe I read it on dpreview that there’s a chemical present in the gas that can damage the surface of the sensor. I too had one, but I now use it only to clean the exterior.
Also, to avoid as much as possible dust getting on the sensor, remember to change your lens with the camera facing the floor. It won’t completely prevent dust from getting into the camera (and on the sensor), but it’ll help much.
Ray
Wendy, congratulations on your new toy. Now you belong to the Big Boys in the Major Leagues! 😉
There are two ways to get used to it: the Ray way and learn the manual by heart, but I prefer the way Grant proposes. Start with the things you know and work your way through the manual on a strictly need to know base.
About bags and straps: there has been quite a discussion on these topics this week in the Adobe Photography Forum.
Leen
John … Thanks for the links to the two straps. I do need something as the Canon one really did hurt my neck.
Ray … Glad you told me about the air canister. The camera shop suggested using it on the interior each day I use the camera.
Leen … I have been playing all day long, at the moment I am still using the basic setting but am very please with the results. Will check out the forum now.
Wendy
Wendy, often these basic settings are all you need, provided you know what you are doing. When I am not in the studio, where I work completely manual, I have my camera 99,9% of my images on aperture priority, although I often check the outcome with a handheld meter.
The only settings I use are over- and underexposure settings.
Leen
Leen,
I have had a couple of days of taking photographs of anything and everything I can find … mainly using the automatic settings … and I am amazed at just how good the camera is.
In the past my main use of a camera has been holiday photographs and more recently background images for use in Elements. Its a bit of a culture shock at the moment and I have set myself the task of looking at things from different angles … but I’m really enjoying it.
Thanks for all the info … it is a big help to me as I know so little about photography.
Wendy
Wendy….
Am I right in guessing your a brit, like me? I base this on the fact that I’ve also just migrated from the Kodak DX4330 to the EOS-300D, which I think you have. Absolutely no contest. I thought the 4330 was good but the Canon is streets ahead.
I’m staying away from the automatic mode just to get used to the ‘what happens when I do this’ mode.
And yes, the flowers in the garden are now thinking about charging me a fee for each shot!
Web page very much under development but…..
<
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/colin_w/>
Colin
Another 300D user ?? Wow! The Canon family is really getting bigger and bigger. Soon, we’ll need to move to a bigger house 😉
Congratulations Colin!
Ray
Wendy,
"Its a bit of a culture shock at the moment"
Welcome to the new world you discovered. Can you imagine how lucky I am to live in this world?
Ray,
"we’ll need to move to a bigger house"
We, Jodi and I, are living happy together in our spacious Fuji house. Plenty of room to swing a cat!
You should have joined us instead of going with the crowd. 😉
Leen
Leen,
I had a traumatizing experience with a Fuji camera once. I’d say one is enough in a lifetime (considering mine is about to change tomorrow, I might just subject myself to a new Fuji when the time comes).
Hey, btw, there was no "war of the brand" involved in this. It’s just that lately, we heard several people buying Canon. So I thought my comment was funny, nothing else
Ray
wrote in message
: Wendy,
:
: We, Jodi and I, are living happy together in our spacious Fuji house. Plenty of room to swing a cat!
: You should have joined us instead of going with the crowd. : 😉
:
Biting lip and smiling.
Grant
Leen, yupper, happy to be in Fujitown with ya. I like the extra space …. I hate crowds anyways. 🙂 The path less traveled is always more enjoyable…..and much less ‘trash talk’ at your feet 😉
Leen, yupper, happy to be in Fujitown with ya. I like the extra space …. I hate crowds anyways. 🙂 The path less traveled is always more enjoyable…. lots of true to life colour and overall satisfaction here to capture. Fujitown is a great place to be.
oops, lightning and thunder closed my dial-up connection…had to start over…don’t know why the first got posted. Oh well.
Canons to the left, Canons to the right…etc
At least we all use Photoshop. Must be something in that.
Colin
Hi Colin,
Yes I am another Brit … well an exiled Lancastrian currently living just north of Nuneaton. Funny we should both take the same route with cameras … when did you change to the Canon?
Just been to visit your website and the photographs are really good .. I have some webspace at Webshots but as yet have not had time to put any photographs from the new camera on it. Far too busy taking photographs 🙂
Where abouts are you in the UK?
Wendy
Hi Wendy…..
I’ve only had my Canon a couple of weeks. The camelia was the first shot ever, just on automatic, straight out of the box. Not even adjusted in Elements. The second camelia was cleaned up to remove some of the offending (to me) stalks that cut across the flower head.
If your looking for a quick way to post pictures to your web site try Jalbum at Jalbum.net. It’s free and easy to use. Includes FTP client to allow you to upload.
I’m based in Letchworth…the first garden city as it happens.
Let’s give those Nikon folks a run for their money….:-)
Colin
Just took a look Leen. Good article although the link to the hack comes up empty. either too much traffic or….
Dick
Hi Colin,
Nice part of the country to live in … and must be good for photography.
I must admit to being amazed at the Canon … it seems to take such good photographs … I have to pinch myself to make sure that I was the one pointing it 🙂 So far all I have used Elements for is a little cropping, adding frames and my copyright symbol.
Jalbon sounds quite good I will check it out thanks for the link .. I use Webshots which is also free but for the last few days I have been more interested in taking photographs than uploading them 🙂
Wendy
Leen,
There has been quite a lot of interest in the "hack" over at dpreview … not sure that I would risk it but many seem to have done so. It appears to have originated in Russia ….
Wendy
It sounds interesting indeed.
Nevertheless, if I were a 300D owner, I wouldnot take any risks. But, that’s just only my opinion.
Leen
Leen,
I would dare take the risk … knowing me I would end up with a black and white film camera 🙂
Wendy
Wendy
And what pray tell is wrong with that. It worked for Ansel Adams!
Grant.
There’s also the possibility that installing a hack
could void the warranty?
Cliff
There’s also the possibility that installing a hack
could void the warranty?<
Cliff, I’ll bet it’s more than a possibility.
We have had several people on the DP Review Forum send the cameras back for unrelated warranty work and they have all been fixed with no charge and the original firmware reinstalled by Canon. I’m still not willing to do it.
—
Have A Nice Day, 🙂
James Hutchinson
http://www.pbase.com/myeyesview http://www.myeyesviewstudio.com/ wrote in message
There’s also the possibility that installing a hack
could void the warranty?<
Cliff, I’ll bet it’s more than a possibility.
I’d certainly not be willing to try anything like this. In fact I’m loath to even do updates from the manufacturer. My motto…’if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.
It’ll be some time before I’ve outgrown the 300D….if ever.
I guess it raises the question about how soon will it be that we see viruses attacking our cameras?? They’ve penetrated mobile phones already.
Anyone tried RAW images from the 300D? Can Elements handle these?
Colin
Colin, a lot of 300D users shoot RAW. Elements does NOT handle these directly. Use the (free but frustrating) Canon File Viewer Utility or C1 Rebel to manipulate and convert your RAW files to TIFF.
For me, the chief benefit of the RAW format is better/extended control of shadow and highlight areas. I almost never shoot in any other mode.
Hello Colin. I shoot RAW exclusively with the exception of sports mode on fast moving insects. I have the old ACR plugin that allows me to use Elements or PS7 for conversion. I find C1 software to be superior to ACR 1 and ACR 2 which comes with CS.
—
Have A Nice Day, 🙂
James Hutchinson
http://www.pbase.com/myeyesview http://www.myeyesviewstudio.com/ wrote in message
Anyone tried RAW images from the 300D? Can Elements handle these?
Colin
Thanks John….
I also have CS which I know is supposed to handle RAW. I’ll give that a go one day.
Colin
John C1 Rebel is no longer being sold as of 06/01/04. C1 LE, SE and Pro all support the Rebel now. Canon File Viewer Utility was replaced by EVU as of the 28 of last month, a few improvements were implemented. Canon is soon adding support for the Rebel to Digital Photo Pro which should be a vast improvement over EVU or FVU.
—
Have A Nice Day, 🙂
James Hutchinson
http://www.pbase.com/myeyesview http://www.myeyesviewstudio.com/ "John_Burnett_ (JNB)" <@adobeforums.com> wrote in message
Colin, a lot of 300D users shoot RAW. Elements does NOT handle these
directly. Use the (free but frustrating) Canon File Viewer Utility or C1 Rebel to manipulate and convert your RAW files to TIFF.
