Absolute beginner needing help please!

  • Thread starter Thread starter boxman2000
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boxman2000

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Hi all

Well after years of wanting to get into photography I had the opportunity to purchase this (thanks to TP for convincing me it was a good deal!)

1 Canon EOS 30D
1 Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 DC HSH EX
1 Battery Grip BG-E2
2 Canon Li-ion Battery packs plus charger
2 1GB CompactFlash memory cards

Anyway I have loads of questions but initially I was wondering for an absolute beginner where I should start?

I can't find courses locally and haven't had much luck on the net either. I have heard the OU have some good courses but again would they cover as back to basics as me! :shrug:

The most I've ever done is use a point and click so I probably know less than nothing - although I do know what picture styles I like and the direction I'd like to go in (landscapes and motorsport pics mainly!)

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Thanks for your time
Pete
 
Best thing to do is to go out and practise. Get used to your kit, figure out what you like doing best, and give everything a go.
For portraits? Get friends/family to pose for you.
For landscapes? Go down to the local river.
For sports? Go to some sort of organized event, for example a rally, or up the woods and take pictures of the guys doing downhill mountain biking.
There are many chances, and mostly everything you'll get from a course can be got from practise and foruming.

Also, picking up on andrew's point.
The 10-20 is specifically a landscape/architecture lens.
50mm is the standard, and is what they eye is supposed to see. Anything less is a wide angle, and anything more is a telephoto.

You'll need around 200mm for motorsport, 300mm+ for wildlife (dependent on what the wildlife is :p), about 40mm-120mm for portraiture, and around 60mm-180mm macro lens for taking pictures of bugs/flowers.
 
andrewc said:
You'll need a long zoom for motorsport and a medium one for everyday use - 10-20mm is ultrawide - landscape and architechure only really.
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Yea, been looking around a bit but as I said have not much clue. Motorsport am I right in saying a 100-400.

What would be a good everyday lens?
 
Pete - what are you actually asking for here?

Irespective of question, if you're new there is no alternative to getting out with your kit and start taking photos. Decide what works and what doesn't work. Take notes. Read Understanding Exposure. Take photos. Understand your own style and adapt it. Read. Process.

There are a number of resources linked to this site which are very good. http://www.luminous-landscape.com/
 
Initially Pete I would say the best thing you can do is experiment. Try different f-stops and shutter speeds and see the difference they make. Read the manual, it is actually very good for helping you to get familiar with your camera. As you get going, ask questions here - there are plenty of folks here only too happy to help with advice.

Looking at your new kit list, is the 10-20 the only lens you have at the moment? It's just that it is ultra wide and you might want to look at a mid range lens which would be more "general purpose"

EDIT: Just noticed you're a Channel Islander :D I was born and bred in Jersey :wave:
 
motorsport - depends on what sort of motorsport, and which circuits. For most UK circuits, a 70-300 will be OK, Silverstone and a few other needs longer.

good everyday - something in the 17-85 range is good. I use a 24-105
 
A 24-105 or 17-85 would be perfect everyday walk-around lenses.

70-200 f/2.8 with a 1.4x extender would be good for motorsport and also offer the versatility of portrait and landscape and possibly even wildlife work.
 
Grendel said:
Just noticed you're a Channel Islander :D I was born and bred in Jersey :wave:
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Yup, true Guern is me! Hello fellow CI'er!

Sorry the questions are a bit vague, guess it's a bit easy to try and get tips and hints before actually knowing a few basics first!

To answer your question Grendel, yes that is the only lens I have and I would be in the market for a general purpose lens - which I have no idea. Guy at local shop said a 50mm but I'm not sure.

Motorsport would be local hillclimb and possible trackdays, mainly hillclimb (about 10mtrs away from moving vehicles).

Cheers all for comments.
 
boxman, a "nifty fifty" EF 50mm f1.8 wouldn't break the bank (£70 ish on the mainland, probably cheaper where you are!) and is a great lens for the money. You can probably pick up kit EF-S 18-55s on fleabay for little cash as well, however IMHO the nifty takes nicer pics.

Ben
 
How much have you got to spend, on lenses?

if you tell us it will help.
 
I'm no help on the technical side, but echo getting Understanding Exposure, and another book that I found good was Collins Digital SLR Handbook by John Freeman, very basic and it explains about cameras lenses how they work and how to take pictures which helped a lot.
 
visualisetheworld said:
How much have you got to spend, on lenses?

if you tell us it will help.
Click to expand...

Well, at the moment all I want is something like the nifty fifty but if/when I decide to go down the long range action shots then I guess £7-800 or so (bearing in mind as Ben implied we don't have VAT here so that'd probably get better lenses into my budget!)

Thanks Ben and Susie, heard of that lens and the book sounds good too. Any particular shops on ebay you've had any good experience with Ben?

I'd be looking for a tripod as well - read a few posts on here and can't really find a general consensus on which is a good make/model to go for. Probably around £100 to spend on that, maybe a little more.

Thanks for the replies, very much appreciated. :thumbs:

Pete
 
best advice I can give, is to put the camera setting on Manual, it forces you to learn how to set the F-stop/shutter speed/iso. The learning curve for me was huge. I went to donnington park for the motoGP without knowing ANYTHING about the above settings, or even how to change them on the camera. I took the pocket guide instructions, set the camera to Manual, and by the end of the weekend I knew how to change everything, and how the different combinations effect the image.

I still suck quite badly at photography, but my point is that I learnt how to use the hardware in 1 weekend on the manual setting.

go take photos
 
Boxman, that is a cracking startup kit, it should give you some great results once you start to get to grips with it all. However if you dont like the 10-20 you can always send that to me and I will give it a loving home.....!!!!!!! good luck and welcome to the best hobby in the world!
 
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