Anniversary gift for my wife: a new DSLR

[jhh979s]

This will be her first SLR camera of any type. Her current camera is a Canon a630 8MP I believe. She has been into photography for as long as I've known her, and as far as I can tell she is pretty good at it. She has been asked to do a few senior picture sessions and all of her clients have been happy with the results. I've encouraged her to get into more but she is embarassed to bring a P&S to a photo shoot, with good reason I suppose. I've done a bit of research and the XSi seemed to be a decent beginner DSLR. What else would compliment this camera well? She loves to take pictures at random, trying to "catch the moment" as it were. When the occasional party arises she whips out the camera and takes tons of pictures. We also go on walks with our dog and she brings the camera along. She doesnt take as many landscape pictures as she would like, the a630 just does not perform too well.
Thanks for the input.
Josh

Link to her flickr page

 

[jpeyton]

The 18-55IS kit lens is good for taking random pictures. For portraits, she needs a faster lens. By faster, I'm talking about the maximum aperture (the "f-number"). The smaller that number is, the faster the lens is. For portraits, f/2.8 or faster is best. A longer focal length is also nice for portraits as well.

If your budget is small, the answer is easy: get her this.

If your budget is higher, let us know.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

I would think that a flash would be very useful for senior pictures.

 

[jhh979s]

Originally posted by: jpeyton

If your budget is small, the answer is easy: get her this.

If your budget is higher, let us know.

Budget is somewhat flexible, but that looks like something good to start with.

Most of the senior pictures are outdoors in moderate/high sunlight, a flash would not be too useful then I would think.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Originally posted by: jhh979s

Originally posted by: jpeyton

If your budget is small, the answer is easy: get her this.

If your budget is higher, let us know.

Budget is somewhat flexible, but that looks like something good to start with.

Most of the senior pictures are outdoors in moderate/high sunlight, a flash would not be too useful then I would think.

That much sunlight can easily cast shadows on the face - under the nose, under the eyebrows, etc. In this case flash would help because it fills in these shadow areas - fill flash.

A nice cheap prime lens like the 50mm f/1.8 linked above and a decent flash would do very well for portrait shots. And flash is something that requires practice to get right, so it's good to get used to it early on.

 

[jpeyton]

Indeed, a fill-flash is pretty much required if she's shooting portraits in direct sunlight.

I need to get around to practicing with fill-flash one of these days. Until then, I try to shoot portraits in the shadows, shade, cloudy days, sunrise/sunset, etc...anytime when nature diffuses the harsh direct sunlight for me.

 

[jhh979s]

Originally posted by: fuzzybabybunny

Originally posted by: jhh979s

Originally posted by: jpeyton

If your budget is small, the answer is easy: get her this.

If your budget is higher, let us know.

Budget is somewhat flexible, but that looks like something good to start with.

Most of the senior pictures are outdoors in moderate/high sunlight, a flash would not be too useful then I would think.

That much sunlight can easily cast shadows on the face - under the nose, under the eyebrows, etc. In this case flash would help because it fills in these shadow areas - fill flash.

A nice cheap prime lens like the 50mm f/1.8 linked above and a decent flash would do very well for portrait shots. And flash is something that requires practice to get right, so it's good to get used to it early on.

That makes sense. Is a flash a flash or are there different types?

 

[jpeyton]

If you're buying a flash, the one you want is the Canon 430EX II.

 

[soydios]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
If you're buying a flash, the one you want is the Canon 430EX II.

Concur.

Good broad starter kit is 18-55IS + 50/1.8 + 55-250IS.

 

[akugami]

Some sort of quick access bag? Maybe along the lines of a Thinktank holster? That way she can have easy access while not having to hang the darn thing off of her neck all day. While cameras may not seem heavy, we are not used to them and the average person will definitely feel it after a while.

Battery grip. Easier taking photos in portrait mode. While I don't have a grip yet on my 50D (I'm still learning!), I have played with my brothers Rebel and a battery grip makes a huge difference as far as comfort goes when taking pictures in a portrait orientation. The extra battery also means you can go longer without needing a recharge.

 

[jhh979s]

Originally posted by: akugami
Some sort of quick access bag? Maybe along the lines of a Thinktank holster? That way she can have easy access while not having to hang the darn thing off of her neck all day. While cameras may not seem heavy, we are not used to them and the average person will definitely feel it after a while.

Battery grip. Easier taking photos in portrait mode. While I don't have a grip yet on my 50D (I'm still learning!), I have played with my brothers Rebel and a battery grip makes a huge difference as far as comfort goes when taking pictures in a portrait orientation. The extra battery also means you can go longer without needing a recharge.

That's a nice bag, bit pricey though. Battery grip sounds like a good idea.

 

[oogabooga]

Originally posted by: jhh979s

Originally posted by: akugami
Some sort of quick access bag? Maybe along the lines of a Thinktank holster? That way she can have easy access while not having to hang the darn thing off of her neck all day. While cameras may not seem heavy, we are not used to them and the average person will definitely feel it after a while.

Battery grip. Easier taking photos in portrait mode. While I don't have a grip yet on my 50D (I'm still learning!), I have played with my brothers Rebel and a battery grip makes a huge difference as far as comfort goes when taking pictures in a portrait orientation. The extra battery also means you can go longer without needing a recharge.

That's a nice bag, bit pricey though. Battery grip sounds like a good idea.

I've heard pretty good things about the Opteka grips, and they aren't that expensive either (especially compared to the Canon grips). the Grip + 2 batteries for the Xsi is 80 bucks on amazon (through 47th street photo)

I have a crumpler 5 million dollar home (it's messenger bag style) and carry around a Xsi and a combination of 55-200mm f4-5.6 IS, 50mm 1.8, 18-55 Kit lens (one on the camera, two in the bag) and a few misc things like a memory card case, the manual, etc. It's kinda pricey though at a retail of I think 80? I used my REI 20% off coupon to get it for around 50 though (with member dividend as well).

I've not been in want with the current setup I have. My lenses have covered been able to be used for any shot I want to take (the shots sucking are more my bad...). The only things I feel I'm missing sometimes is either a tripod and/or a flash. I don't particularly need either of them since I'm still pretty new at the DSLR thing and they were outside of my initial budget. I'd love lens upgrades but know I'm probably not at that point yet.