Phoenix Gold Phorum

Well, I bought a DSLR. Finally! Yay!

It was prompted by the fact that we've now booked tickets to Europe for September and I wasn't going to accept using the shitty Olympus 5MP P&S from years ago to document this trip!

The reason I bought the XS is because Tom said he'd give me his XTi kit lens, for free and there was a guy on CL selling an XS for a decent price w/ warranty card and receipt and all. Not bad.

I looked long and hard at other models from Nikon to Pentax to Olympus to Sony but I basically ended up with the feeling that any of these models would probably work out well for me. The free lens from Tom sealed the deal above anything else I could get at a store or even as a package, used.

I've been wanting a camera for a while. Me happy!

I'll let you guys know how it works out. Tom will be bringing the lens with him to Portland so I'll have it in almost exactly one week. After that, I'll be the new Mr. Tibbs on the phorum. Just you watch, just you watch...

Uhh yeah about that lense...

I sold it for crack.

oh snap....................

YAY!!! Another Photo guy!!! Do you know how to use it?

mr tibbs wrote:YAY!!! Another Photo guy!!! Do you know how to use it?

I'm no expert but I have some previous experience with SLR cameras. It'll take a while before I'm really truly comfortable with all the functions but I don't feel intimated.

Very cool man! I don't think I'm in any position to hand out advice but I'm going to. Shoot a TON of pics, and do it in manual. That was the best advice I got. Because I shot stuff in manual at first it forced me to learn, and still does. Now that I am using fully manual lenses I'm learning even more. It's frustrating at first, but I think it made me a better photographer (like that was hard!).

It's fun as hell, just stick with it. And ask questions if you need to. Bret, Tom, and others here have been a great help to me. I also joined a Pentax forum to ask questions, but I kinda feel intimidated over there. The guys here don't make me feel stupid for asking stupid questions.

And post up your pics!

Here you go you lucky bastard... even comes with a brand new Canon UV filter (I took it out of the packaging just for these pics). I've got less than 25 pictures on this lense!

Mounted it to my camera for a second and I am amazed at how fast it focuses compared to my megazoom in low light conditions.

Mannn...you guys are killing me with camera gear...I KNOW nothing...but want to know more! I have a Canon Rebel ...something rather 10point something megapixel......
Ya.....thats the extent of my knowledge of cameras....
And some cheapy lens on it...I need a good lens but know nothing....maybe a good two lenses...I think I will start my own thread in a bit...but thought I'd vent first!

That must be a digital specific lens, I don't see an aperture ring.

mr tibbs wrote:That must be a digital specific lens, I don't see an aperture ring.

Yep. Zoom only. You can manually focus by turning the front rim, but it's pretty much useless since there are no visible focus guides. Not to mention the viewfinder in most DSLRs is too damn small to bother anyways. Would need something like a D80's pentaprism or better for me to bother with that.

I almost always keep aperture wide open unless I'm shooting architecture and landscape, so meh!! I am a function over form shooter though