Digital Canon Rebel XT and dotphoto.com About This Page:

[MindibellCM]

Hi. I finally talked DH into a Digital Canon Rebel. I love it but have issues with taking pictures indoors. I was hoping someone out there had some suggestions. I don't go much out of the automatic section. I would also like to know how to use the P setting so that I use a fill in flash in some of those outdoor character greetings. Last thing, do I need to get an external flash? Do I need to upgrade lenses? Also, has anyone used dotphoto to get pictures developed. I must say I just started and love them for their color. It's great!

[bradk]

i would get an external flash, yes. it makes ALL the difference in the world. not to mention that unfortunately, with some (perhaps even most) lenses, the built-in flash doesn't quite make it around the lens so you end up getting a shadow on the image.

at a minimum, you should try to have at least 3 lenses: wide angle, normal shooting (which is in the kit already?) and telephoto.

it's my understanding that, at least with Canon, the lens in the kit isn't the best, but it's usable. i bought just the 20D body myself and purchased each lens separately.

[MindibellCM]

[ QUOTE ]
at a minimum, you should try to have at least 3 lenses: wide angle, normal shooting (which is in the kit already?) and telephoto.


[/ QUOTE ]
what's the difference in these lenses?

[bradk]

a normal lens is in the range of about 50-55mm. anything less is considered a wide angle. anything above is a telephoto.

a wide angle lets you fit more of the subject into the image while still being able to maintain a close distance. of course, it can have a visual distortion effect on the image given the circumstances (not to be confused with a fish eye lens):

wide angle example:


telephoto (from outside the gates of disneyland):

[WillCAD]

The 18-55 kit lens is actually quite nice. I used in on my last WDW trip and took some of the best pics I've ever taken.

Instead of buying three lenses, a variable zoom is just fine for most casual shooters. I went with the Sigma 18-125 lens, which gives the same wide angle (18) as the kit lens, but gives a little more than twice the zoom (125 instead of 55). The Sigma 18-125 makes a great walkaround lens for WDW, because it means that you don't have to carry extra lenses with you.

"P" mode is a fully-automatic mode, which you can use with or without the built-in flash. I shoot in P mode almost exclusively. When indoors I pop up the flash and get near-perfect exposure almost every time. When shooting outdoors, simply leave the camera in P mode and pop up the flash; the camera will do the rest.

An external flash has tremendous bennefits. One, it's far more powerful than the pop-up flash. Two, it uses its own batteries instead of the cameras. Three, Canon Speedlite flashes have infrared focus-assist lights built in, which allows the auto focus to work in low light where the camera wouldn't be able to focus on its own.

My Speedlight is the 220EX, Canon's cheapest Speedlite. It runs about $120 these days and is very easy to use.

[MindibellCM]

Thanks for the help. [ QUOTE ]
"P" mode is a fully-automatic mode, which you can use with or without the built-in flash.

[/ QUOTE ] So if I am in the P mode I don't have to worry about anything and I can make it flash if I want right? I have done most of my shooting in the green square and then also in the picture mode. I have gotten great shots but didn't like that I couldn't do a fill in flash. Last question, I have had times where something other than my subject is very clear but the actual intended subject of the picture is out of focus. I have been really trying to make sure I notice which red dot is focusing but what else can I do? Last question for now, if someone else is going to take a family shot of us what setting would you have it on? Okay so one more question, any good places to look for the speedlite flash. I think I am going to do flash and then extra lense.
Thanks again.

[WillCAD]

[ QUOTE ]
Thanks for the help. [ QUOTE ]
"P" mode is a fully-automatic mode, which you can use with or without the built-in flash.

[/ QUOTE ] So if I am in the P mode I don't have to worry about anything and I can make it flash if I want right? I have done most of my shooting in the green square and then also in the picture mode. I have gotten great shots but didn't like that I couldn't do a fill in flash. Last question, I have had times where something other than my subject is very clear but the actual intended subject of the picture is out of focus. I have been really trying to make sure I notice which red dot is focusing but what else can I do? Last question for now, if someone else is going to take a family shot of us what setting would you have it on? Okay so one more question, any good places to look for the speedlite flash. I think I am going to do flash and then extra lense.
Thanks again.

[/ QUOTE ]

When you pop up the flash the camera works the same as it does in the green square mode. When the flash is off, P mode does a much better job than the green square (Auto) mode at determining exposure and setting the aperture and shutter speed.

If the auto focus is not working the way you want, you might have better luck by locking the focus point. As you already figured out, pressing the shutter button half way makes the camera automatically focus; but the choice of what it focuses on is automatic as well. The camera shows you what it's focused on by lighting up one of the focus points in teh viewfinder with a red dot.

However, you can tell the camera not to use the many focus oints but instead to use only one. You do this by pressing and holding the AF Point Selector button (look in your manual to see which one it is, it'll be under your right thumb) and turning the finger wheel. The focus points will light up sequentially in the viewfinder; just stop turning the wheel when you get to the one in the middle, and from then on the camera will only focus on what's in that area.

[bradk]

that only works in certain modes though - and even then, it's such a pain. since i usually shoot in fully automatic mode (unless needed), when it doesn't focus on what i want, i do 2 things: (1) focus on another object the same distance away and then re-frame the shot while still keeping the shutter half-pressed and/or (2) just make sure i take multiple shots and hope at least one of them is in focus.

[thedarksyde]

Your questions are large and have very long answers.

The short answers to your questions, should I get new lenes, and a external flash are of course Yes. But does that mean you should get them now? I don't know. A good 75-300 is about 400 bucks. A good super wide with IS is even more.

Would you know what to do with them if you got them. And what about your external flash, do you know to set it to at least -1 maybe -2 indoors. Do you know what -1 or -2 is?

My point is. I would take the money you were going to spend on that speedlight 220EX and take an informal class somewhere. If you have a universisty, they usually have informal classes, and that could really get you some really good lessons for beginners on learning how to use that rebel, and then deciding what you really need to shoot with.

[MindibellCM]

Can anyone tell me the best settings on the digital canon to take night photos and also fireworks?
Thanks.

[MindibellCM]

Update: I love the P mode once I figured it out. I think my pictures have improved.

My husband bought me a flash and a lense for my birthday but I'm not sure he got me what I wanted. He got me the speedlite 430EX flash and the Canon Ef 75-300mm lense. He's a great man but I wonder if a 18-125mm lense would suite my needs better so that I wouldn't need to change lenses?

Thanks.
Mindi

[WillCAD]

Everybody is different Mindi, but the 18-125 is perfect for me. It's wide enough to get some great landscape shots - World Showcase Lagoon, Seven Seas Lagoon, or shots of large groups of people. But it's also long enough to take good pics of animals on Kilamanjaro Safari from a distance.

I have no trouble carrying just the 18-125 lens all day at WDW.