What do I need to get started?

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danprice

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Dan
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Hi there,

I'm brand new to the world of DSLR cameras and my first purchase, a Canon 450D, should be arriving today.

I am just after a bit of advice as to what else I'm going to need. So far I have the camera which comes with the standard kit lens and I've bought an 8gb SD card. I appreciate I'll need a bag but what about anything else?

The guy in Jessops reckons you should always put a UV filter on the lens to protect it. Is this correct? If so are there any tips for picking a decent one, without breaking the bank?

Thanks in advance. :thumbs:

Dan

(Mods please move if this should have gone in the Equipment section)
 
You don't need anything more than you've already got to begin with. Just a little patience and a willingness to experiment.


If you really want to spend some money though, buy the book Understanding Exposure by Bryan Peterson.

Opinions are mixed over UV filters for the lens, the idea being that you should put one on to avoid damaging the front element of the lens, there's also the opinion that they degrade the images and affect the expoure (even thouh it's just a piece of glass) . It's a personal thing, I don't use them, some do, depends how likely you are to put the lens at risk. If you choose to, buy the best you can afford.
 
danprice said:
The guy in Jessops reckons you should always put a UV filter on the lens to protect it. Is this correct?
Click to expand...

Hello Dan ... good question, and one that always divides opinion on here (or any photography forum) 50% will agree, 50% will disagree.

Personally I always use a lens hood, I never use a UV filter.

As to what else you will need ... editing software, Photoshop Elements will do everything you need at a reasonable price.
 
Hi Dan and welcome to the forum - for things to get, firstly i'd get a rocket blower which you can use to clean dust of your lens,viewfinder , body etc then just use you kit and see where you go from there . As for UV filters theres people who say Alway others say never and some people who say when needed, personally i'll use one on the beach in wind but most of the time i dont bother as i've had issues before which have been caused by filters.
 
Given the cost to replace the kit knes is quite small, I'd give the UV filter a miss if I were you. A lens hood might be a good idea, but it's quite shallow on the 18-55 so I'm not sure how much it actually does.
You just need to get out and start taking some shots and getting to know the camera. Play about with all the settings and see what they do, you can always do a reset if you muck something up.
There are a whole load of tutorials on here that explain shutter speed, aperture and ISO and how they all affect each other, have a read and then practice.
Once you get out taking shots, you'll see where you need to invest in more kit (eg. If you find your lens isn't letting you zoom in enough for stuff like motorsport you'll need to get a longer zoom, or if it's not wide enough for landscapes you'll wneed to get an ultra wide (UWA) lens etc...). Buy it once you know you need it though, rather than buying it for the sake of it.
 
I use UV filters because I'm a bit careless.
however, if I was doing a studio shoot I would remove it for top quality
for the outdoor walking, papping and touristy stuff I do with my camera, it remains in place
 
Brilliant. Thanks for all the help guys. Really useful.

Think I'll give the UV filter a miss for the moment and get out there taking some photos!

I'm hopefully getting a couple of photography books for my birthday so they should give me some tips etc.
 
Hi Dan and welcome to TP.

Can I suggest the book 'Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi/450D for Dummies'. It tells you so much in plain english about how to use your specific camera and shows you what happens at different settings. Well worth the investment.

The Canon cameras come with some very good starter software or you can download Gimp for free which gives you a bit more fexibility.

The UV filter is a difficult call. I dropped my camera on it's lens, it broke the UV filter but the lens was fine.

Good luck and have fun.

Gordon
 
Don't need anything more than you have. Get out there, get shooting! The thing I would say is learn about shooting in RAW rather than JPEG and learn about how aperture and shutter speed work can alter how your image looks.

As long as you don't rely on auto and learn the modes of your camera you will be having fun in no time. Enjoy.
 
Hi

#1 Lens hood.

I still sometimes carry around an old jumper tied around my waist, if I need to get a steady shot I just roll it up to put on walls, fences, grass etc and rest my gear on it, really helps, and don't forget you need to get close to your subjects.
 
lightroom 3 is free atm in beta form so could be worth an experiment (might be a bit buggy but its free)
 
Thanks for the extra advice.

Camera arrived yesterday and managed to have a quick play round with it, just shooting random objects round the flat etc.

Really pleased with it so far. Hopefully will get a chance to use it more over the weekend and also will look into downloading the Lightroom 3 beta.:thumbs:
 
Photoscape is also a good FREE editing program.

If you start going out and really taking a lot of shots you might also consider getting a couple of cheap batteries of Ebay - I got a pair for my 450D for about £12-£15.

Get the highest Mah you can.

But check how easy they are to fit - mine were quite tight - I had to reduce their size with some caorse emery paper - not recommended but it worked fine - now they just slip in and out.
 
The less you get at the start, the more time you will spend on the basics, and the basics will back up everything you learn in the future :)
 
danprice said:
.I'm hopefully getting a couple of photography books for my birthday so they should give me some tips etc.
Click to expand...

If i were you i would make sure you get Understanding Exposure by Brain Peterson, i've purchased 12 different books since starting out and this was the most helpfull to me by far.
 
I remember, when I was starting.. I didnt have any high tech state of art camera, just a will and I was patient.. taking tons of photos and finally I ccaught the right skill :)
 
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