by pixculture

Camera 450D – Excellent Beginner Camera, Not So Great Lens

THE BODY

this is the first slr camera I have owned myself despite having used others. without going into too much detail the body is very good quality with well laid out and easy to understand buttons. I would have like the grip to be a little more chunky particularly when using the exposure lock and AF selection as it can be slightly awkward although I do have large hands and I am probably being a bit picky.

the body of the camera is light and has more than enough features for someone who is just getting into slr photography.

it has several point and shoot modes such as portrait, macro, sport etc as well as a full auto I guess is ok if you happen across something you need to shoot quickly. however you should really try to avoid these auto modes.

luckily the camera has many program modes including shutter and aperture priority modes which once you master will dramatically improve your photos (particularly the aperture mode)

THE LENS

Unfortunately the lens that comes in this kit is not all that great. it is light and it does seem well built (I dropped mine just the other day and its fine) however its a lot slower to focus than the USM lenses canon offers and that can cause problems at times.

photos can appear a little soft unless shot at the narrower aperture (f16 and above really).

the thing that lets the lens down most in my opinion is the ability to knock the background out of focus. you really have to work hard to get a good amount of blur in the background, your gonna struggle to get good results at anything less than the full 55mm focal length at the widest aperture making it a little poor for macro shots, whilst being just ok for portraits. this lens would be satisfactory if you don’t wanna take photography too seriously but it does limit your results.

CONCLUSION

In my opinion the body is well worth the money and comes in cheaper than some of the equivalent nikon cameras.

as for the lens I would suggest buying the body and choosing a separate lens. I have only owned this camera 3 months and I am already wanting to replace the kit lens. look for a canon USM lens or one of sigma image stabilizer lenses

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This is a compilation of tips and hints for beginners, if you’re intermediate or above, then it’s likely none of this is of use to you, but read it
anyway and comment

- When doing the text, don’t try to over complicate things. Simply use the eye drop tool to grab a colour from your render (or background if there’s
no render) and use that colour with TNR (Times New Roman). Once you progress to the stage where you’re creating your own techniques, you can
go crazy!

- It’s advisable to use a simple 1 pixel, black, border when you’re starting out. When you get the hang of photoshop, you can start using a ‘frame’
border, where appropriate. This is done by doing New Layer (3 pixel black) > New Layer (2 pixel white) > New Layer (1 pixel black).

- Lighting; you ‘can’ use curve layers but when you’re starting out it’s easier to use this method. New layer > Apply Image > Filter > Render >
Lens Flare > Select a setting > Place it on your sig and set the layer to soft light. Nice and simple

- This border is particularly good with abstract images. Use the rectangle marquee tool to draw a rectangle at the top of your signature, going from
left to right. Fill it black, then copy the layer and move it down to the bottom of your signature.

- If you like to have your name and a word or phrase on your signatures, try laying it out like this.
Gothir (size 14-16)
Forgiveness (size 10-12) Sizes shown are examples.

- If you’re resizing a render or image, be sure to hold down shift whilst doing so. This will hold the proportions of the image.

To view the full list of tips and hints, you can visit this page; http://signatureshelf.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=13

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Digital cameras are one of the greatest inventions of modern times. We are so fortunate to have this modern convenience called Digital Photography. To be able to capture a precious moment or beautiful scene at the click of a button, is something we should not take for granted.

Many beginners find digital photography rather challenging and rightly so. Today, more and more digital cameras are being created and it seems like the more digital cameras they make, the more difficult they become to use.

I own a Canon Powershot S3 IS. I purchased this digital camera about a year ago and I still haven’t utilized all of the awesome little features this camera has to offer. Now you may not want or even need a camera with tons of features. It really depends on the type of pictures you plan on taking.

Regardless of the camera you own or are planning to own, you should have a well rounded knowledge of digital photography. I hope the following 20 tips for taking digital photography will prove to be useful in your quest for taking better photographs.

1. Know your camera. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is not taking time to learn about the features of your camera. Don’t be lazy. Read your instruction manual.

2 – When shooting sunny outdoor shots, try adjusting your white balance setting from auto to cloudy. The auto setting will make your shots appear too cold. When you change it to cloudy, it will increase the warmth of your pictures.

3 – If you are looking for superior image quality, the ability to use a variety of lenses and print large high quality photos, then considering a Digital SLR Camera.

4 – Use your flash outdoors. Sometimes, even on a sunny day outdoors, there is still a need for a flash. If the sun is directly over head or behind your subject, this can cause dark shadows to appear on the face. The flash will help lighten the subjects face.

5- Sometimes simply turning your camera and taking vertical shots can make a world of difference. Experiment more with vertical picture taking.

6 – Do not put your subjects directly in the center of your shot. Move your subject off center to inject more life into your photos.

7 – Learn how to hold your digital camera. One of the most common problems beginners face is the shaking of the camera because they are not holding it properly. Of course, the best way to avoid shaking the camera is to use a tripod. If you don’t have a tripod, then you should be holding your camera with two hands. Put one hand on the right hand side of your camera where you actually snap the photo and the other hand will support the weight of your camera. Depending on the camera, your left hand will either be positioned on the bottom or around your lens.

8 – Learn about the “Rule of Thirds”. This is a well known principle of photographic composition that every beginner should become familiar with. Do a search online and you will find many tutorials on this subject.

9 – Look at other photographers work. Just spending time studying the work of other photographers can provide loads of inspiration.

10 – Join online photography communities. Get active and ask questions.

11 – Do not compare your photography to anyone else.

12 – Do not copy the work of other photographers. Try and develop your own unique style.

13 – Do not leave your batteries in your camera if you don’t plan on using your camera for long periods of time. Some batteries run the risk of leaking and this can damage your camera.

14 – Subscribe to a good photography magazine. Read books on photography.

15 – Find experienced photographers to go out on shoots with.

16 – Post your photographs in online forums. Learn to accept criticism.

17 – Try taking your pictures in RAW format. RAW is a powerful option available in today’s digital cameras where no in-camera processing takes place. This allows you to do all processing using your favorite image editing software.

18 – Don’t buy the most expensive photography equipment right away. Practice and learn about photography using cheaper equipment first. After you have been taking pictures for a while, you will then know what kind of equipment you will need.

19 – Invest in a tripod. Some of us have very shaky hands. If you can’t stop the shakes, then get a tripod. It will make a world of difference.

20 – If you are not able to carry your equipment with you everywhere, make sure you have a note pad handy. This way if you find a nice shot, you can write it down and visit that location at a later date.

I purchased this product as a present for myself for Christmas including the 18-55 IS kit lens. I have owned numerous P&S cameras – Casio, Canon, Nikon, etc, but decided it was finally time to upgrade to a DSLR – and at a great price. I have taken about 500 pictures so far – with flash, with manual controls, in auto mode, pretty much everything already.

The Camera body - very solid build. I had read some reviews which were critical of the use of plastic over metal but I really think that the plastic is great. I’m sure a drop would damage it in some way, but the plastic feels very sturdy and has no flex in the body at all. Every compartment opens and closes tight and with some resistance, which gives a very stable feeling. The buttons all feel great to press. The shutter feels very sturdy and has great feedback when you press it. The camera body is a good size for me. I am taller than average but not giant and my hands are pretty good sized and even the smaller body on this camera (compared to the 40,50d, etc) feels fine. My only complaint is sometimes tiredness which I get in my right pinky finger from the grip on the camera. I’m sure in the coming weeks I’ll work this out as I experiment with new ways of holding the camera most comfortably. Overall, the camera body is sturdy and feels very well made.

Features - Wide spread. I am coming from a Canon G9 which already has a pretty full feature set, but the ultimate manual controls on Canon XSi Rebel just lets me feel much more connected to this camera. The Auto mode seems to work fine. I’m not experienced with any bigger or fancier DSLR’s, so this mode seems fine to me – autofocus, flash and everything. Manual mode allows for the ultimate control of pretty much everything. I love taking nighttime, long exposure shots and the Canon XSi Rebel allows for up to 30seconds of exposure or a BULB function. The results are great out of the box, though I’m sure with post processing some of the graininess that results can be cleared up.

Specs – The images are crystal clear with the kit lens compared to my G9. Even though they are both 12MP, the Canon XSi Rebel at a 100% crop is so much clearer. I now don’t worry about zooming in as far as I can – knowing I will be able to crop out a larger, closer image in the future if I want to. The built in flash is sufficient and has a pretty quick refresh time. I also have a Canon 220Ex which is a bit more powerful (not much though) but does have a much quicker refresh time. In burst mode on the Canon XSi Rebel I can shoot twice as long and 1.5x as quick with the 220Ex which could really come in useful. I would invest in an external flash unit but for everyday shooting the built in one is fine. The autofocus is quick in my experience so far and is pretty accurate. It is much quicker than the G9, even in low light. Low light does slow it down a bit, but not bad at all.

Kit Lens (18-55) - As I have said this is my first DSLR so I don’t have much knowledge of lenses, but this one is pretty GOOD, not great. The zoom is pretty basic – less than my G9 but wider angle to begin with, which I find more useful. I will eventually invest in a probably-Canon longer range zoom but for now, this is fine to be begin on. It is a quick lens and the Image Stabilizer seems to help so I can’t report completely on that. I do miss the focus distances on the manual focus ring (infinity to close, etc) so it is sometimes confusing to see what distance I am focusing at. Overall, a good lens and definitely worth the kit price if you are just starting out.

Battery - The battery is great. I have taken almost 600 shots on the first full charge still, many of which have been flash, and the battery is only down one notch. Obviously this will go down with time, but it seems great.

Complaints:
1. Body size is good but takes some getting used to. not really a complaint, but just saying it will take a while to find a completely comfortable grip.
2. Live view sucks. I love shooting through the eye piece, but in just using live view even for fun, it is bewildering and slow and bad. If you have a tripod it will be fine, but otherwise, do not buy this camera if you MUST have live view. I wanted the Canon XSi Rebel because it did have live view, but I now realize I much prefer using the eyepiece. It is nice to know live view is there if I need it, but I cannot really see myself using it more than 1-2% of the time.
3. Battery door almost impossible to open. I don’t know why – it could just be mine but I’m thinking it is the way it is designed. I have to use a pencil tip or a butter knife in addition to my finger to slide it open and out.
4. Lack of movie mode – I know, I know – its an SLR. But I have seen that Ashton Kutcher ad for Nikon with their HD movie mode, and I have to say that would be pretty cool to have on here. I have a feeling on the 500D or whatever the new Rebel is, Canon will install that. But I wish this one had it.

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I have no experience in photography and would like to take it up as a hobby. What’s a good camera for me?
I’ve heard people say that the Nikon D40 or D3000 is good, but are they?

I have been interested in photography since I was very young and I would really like to get into it, but I just don’t know where to start. I had a Canon PowerShot that cost about $250, but it’s broken now, and I guess that I expected too much of it, but I was disappointed in it from the start.
Thanks for the help!

I am a beginner in the field of digital photography and I need to buy a good wide angle or wide-zoom angle lens with the following specifications:
- Dedicated for Canon EOS Rebel Xti (400D).
- Less than ($400 US).
- The minimum focal length must be equal to or less than (17mm).

If you will suggest any other entry level wide lenses, I will be so thankful for your help.

I want to get into photography, but I need a good and decent camera first. Of course nothing too high-tech or expensive. But something suitable for beginner photographs.