FINALLY bought a camera. What else do I need? Uv filter, memory, strap etc...

[cantholdanymore]

I can't shoot yet because the camera won't arrive till after April 30, I believe. Do you need photoshop these days? Photomatix? Lightroom? All 3?

Use whatever Canon software is included, once you know what's limiting you then you can upgrade with a more informed opinion. Good think is that since you're shooting raw, you can always go back to you old pictures and re-process.

 

[desura]

Filters:

UV filters are essentially "screen protectors". I never use them. It's kind of like a screen protector for the iphone.

Polarized filters are neat because they reduce reflections

Neutral Density filters allow you to take time-lapse photos by reducing the brightness of a lens.

My personal favorite are macro filters. I've found the sweet spot to be +2. Larger magnifications are too distorted, but +2 is just right.

Other things to consider:

1. Extension tube for macro photography

2. viewfinder magnifier.

3. adapters for vintage MF lenses. I like this approach a lot because vintage MF lenses are really cheap and neat. and because this is digital, you have more leeway in pictures you take, while in the old film days you had to be more economical. Like, I use Olympus and the 50mm f2 Zuiko digital prime lens costs $400, but a vintage MF 50mm prime f1.8 only costs $50.

 

[finbarqs]

this is what you need. A baseball cap that says "photographer" Get yourself some cool sunglasses. hire a couple of assistants, and start getting girls to take off their tops. Remember, you gotta come off fierce!

 

[glen]

this is what you need. A baseball cap that says "photographer" Get yourself some cool sunglasses. hire a couple of assistants, and start getting girls to take off their tops. Remember, you gotta come off fierce!

That is a good idea. However, I don't know if it will fly in a church during a wedding. Might try it anyway if the bride's maids are cute.

 

[shortylickens]

I can't shoot yet because the camera won't arrive till after April 30, I believe. Do you need photoshop these days? Photomatix? Lightroom? All 3?

You'd be amazed what you can do with free software these days. The default Paint included in Win 7 is actually quite useful. GIMP is great.
You can search randomly and probably find decent stuff.
http://www.bing.com/search?q=free+b...=QBRE&pq=free+bitmap+editor&sc=1-18&sp=-1&sk=

Though I recommend GIMP cuz theres a million demos and tutorials all over the internet.

I use the editor included with ACDSee and it does almost everything I need. I used to make use of Corel Photo Paint 8. Bought it a long time ago and it still works fine. But these days its too much hassle to install it with so many good free internet programs out there.

 

[glen]

If the camera will auto bracket, and by that I suppose I mean take 3 pictures right in a row as fast as apossible changing the exposure slightly each time so as to capture more information, then is there free software to combine the best parts of each image besides somethign like Photomatix?

 

[shortylickens]

If the camera will auto bracket, and by that I suppose I mean take 3 pictures right in a row as fast as apossible changing the exposure slightly each time so as to capture more information, then is there free software to combine the best parts of each image besides somethign like Photomatix?

I actually heard the T4i does this automatically in-camera.

As for outside, I dont know which software does it.

 

[desura]

I personally find GIMP annoying. Maybe its the user interface.

I like paint.net more

 

[glen]

I actually heard the T4i does this automatically in-camera.

As for outside, I dont know which software does it.

According to an article I just read after reading your post, it seems you are correct. So, I would assume the SL1 has this feature.

 

[gevorg]

Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM Auto Focus Lens for Canon

Nice! Great investment for many bodies to come.

Do you need photoshop these days? Photomatix? Lightroom? All 3?

Before you spend on paid software like Lightroom, see if the free ones are good enough for your usage:

RawTherapee

darktable

 

[shortylickens]

I personally find GIMP annoying. Maybe its the user interface.

I like paint.net more

Yeah they took the Linux UI and made it a hundred little windows scattered all over the place. For those who came up using gimp on Linux its no big deal, but for everyone else its a hassle.

I think paint.net is probably the best for folks who only know Windows and just need basic functions but more than MS Paint.

 

[iGas]

Nice! Great investment for many bodies to come.



Before you spend on paid software like Lightroom, see if the free ones are good enough for your usage:

RawTherapee


darktable

I found all free image manipulating/sorting software are buggies (except for Gimp), therefore I purchased Win8 just for Lightroom, even those Linux was pretty much my primary and only OS for over a decade.

AfterShot Pro is quite good that run under Linux, but it is not free.

 

[randomrogue]

I can't imagine it not coming with a camera strap. If it doesn't get one but get a real one and not the ones that attach to the tripod screw.

If you need a memory card then there's already enough good information here. Buy one and see if it's enough. I personally have a bunch but only use one since I then transfer the images to my netbook. There once was a time where I traveled without my netbook and filled up multiple memory cards but shooting in raw pretty much requires that you have a computer with you.

A UV filter on each lens is a good idea. It's mostly for protection and it's easier to clean. Don't take it off. Nobody is ever going to notice a difference in image quality.

You shouldn't buy anything else until you know what you need. Just practice. When you need something you'll know. That 35mm lens of yours will keep you busy for a while. When you feel like you want to shoot wider, longer, macro, etc you can start a new thread and we'll help you then.

 

[randomrogue]

Oh have 2 batteries right away. No point waiting on that purchase. Number one mistake people make with their cameras is not having any juice to actually take a picture. Maybe that's number 2. Number one is not taking the camera with them. You have that covered with the backpack.

 

[gevorg]

I found all free image manipulating/sorting software are buggies (except for Gimp), therefore I purchased Win8 just for Lightroom, even those Linux was pretty much my primary and only OS for over a decade.

AfterShot Pro is quite good that run under Linux, but it is not free.

any software can be buggy, free or paid

 

[glen]

Sounds like there is no real downside to putting a cheap uv filter on the lens for protection.

 

[Kanalua]

Sounds like there is no real downside to putting a cheap uv filter on the lens for protection.

Yes there is. A cheap filter will negatively affect the image quality. Spend some money and get a circular polarizing (CP) filter, if you're going to put a filter on at all.

 

[Throckmorton]

Sounds like there is no real downside to putting a cheap uv filter on the lens for protection.

Even a good filter will cause some flare. It also won't protect your lens from impact. Scratches yes and dirt (although my primes all have the front lens sunken way into the lens body). I use filters in place of lens caps

 

[Scooby Doo]

Avoid UV filters, useless on digital cameras and will even worsen the image quality. Also if the lens is dropped the filter can actually damage the len's glass if it breaks and scratches the glass.

As for tripod, you can always go for a decent cheap model and upgrade latter.

 

[Throckmorton]

Here is something you might want to get... a wrist strap. I hate keeping a strap on my camera because it's always in the way, so I got rid of mine, but then I kept wishing I had something in case I dropped it. So I found this thick wrist strap that's made in the USA.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...rap_Black.html

 

[iGas]

any software can be buggy, free or paid

I agree, but so far Lightroom 4.2 & 4.4 gave me no trouble, unlike the other freebies but not as in free beers.

I tested AfterShot Pro under Linux and Win8 and it is damned good. It is by far the quickest of all, however it lacks some features that Lightroom & Darktable have.

 

[AkumaX]

Plan to alway shoot in RAW.
Not too sure I will use burst much.
I do plan to try using HDR, does that involve burst shooting?

I found an excellent video that demonstrates the limitations of the Canon Rebel's buffer size, against different write-speed cards.
Links to RAW tests (he tests JPEG, but its shown that JPEG performs very similarly between all the cards)

EyeFi C6 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTcDFMItwiI#t=68s
Transcend C6 = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTcDFMItwiI#t=121s
Transcend C10 = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTcDFMItwiI#t=142s
SanDisk 45 = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTcDFMItwiI#t=168s

 

[Syborg1211]

Oh have 2 batteries right away. No point waiting on that purchase. Number one mistake people make with their cameras is not having any juice to actually take a picture..

I've seen several people recommend this already. Am I the only one who finds a single battery is all you need? The batteries in all my DSLRs last for a TON of shots. If you charge the battery after every long shooting session, you should never run into a problem. Even when the camera tells you the batteries are low, there are still a lot of shots left. I've gone through three DSLRs and never thought a second battery was required. I've never once gone from full charge to running out in a single day after hundreds of shots.

 

[Paladin3]

I've seen several people recommend this already. Am I the only one who finds a single battery is all you need? The batteries in all my DSLRs last for a TON of shots. If you charge the battery after every long shooting session, you should never run into a problem. Even when the camera tells you the batteries are low, there are still a lot of shots left. I've gone through three DSLRs and never thought a second battery was required. I've never once gone from full charge to running out in a single day after hundreds of shots.

I've only got one battery for my D80. I can shoot a ton with it and have never had it go dead on me. I use it to shoot Santa, Easter Bunny and Halloween photos at the local mall. On the Saturday before Easter I made ~600 images with the camera tethered and an external strobe. Even though the tethering software kept the camera on for 4+ hours, no going to sleep, I still had at two bars left when I was done. That's with zero chimping since the LCD stays off the entire time I'm tethered. I'm guessing that's a huge part of why my battery lasts so long. Plus I'm in a climate controlled mall, so no heat or cold to sap the battery.

I'll get an extra battery sooner or later. It's never a bad idea to have spares, especially if you have VR lenses and/or use the on-camera flash a bunch.

 

[blastingcap]

I've seen several people recommend this already. Am I the only one who finds a single battery is all you need? The batteries in all my DSLRs last for a TON of shots. If you charge the battery after every long shooting session, you should never run into a problem. Even when the camera tells you the batteries are low, there are still a lot of shots left. I've gone through three DSLRs and never thought a second battery was required. I've never once gone from full charge to running out in a single day after hundreds of shots.

Yup. This is one common advantage of DSLRs vs mirrorless. Without an EVF/LCD to keep powered so often, most DSLRs can do exactly this. It saves money on having to buy spares, so long as you remember to charge them overnight every time, and on weight if you would otherwise have to carry multiple batteries.