First time SLR user looking for advice on lenses/accessories

[EricFiskCGD]

Goodness me, everyone has forgotten the golden rule...

What's Troopers budget ! He just bought an entry level camera, I'm not that convinced he's going to be out shopping for L lenses this week :-/

Budget? What is this budget thing you speak of? My wife has told me legends of this "Budget" but I think it's a myth!

Essentials are...
$100 - Lightroom and shoot in raw

By far some of the best advice! Must shoot in RAW format and use either Lightroom or Photoshop.

 

[JPAZ]

Before you start spending $ on lenses, I'd work on getting very familiar with the camera. i know the trip is coming up soon but try to shoot alot between now and then and carefully critique your own work. Even after years of shooting, I still learn and modify my techniques as I use my camera.

As far as lenses are concerned, decide what is your "must have" range. Again, if yo find yourself always wishing you could be closer, you need something longer than the 18-55. Or, if you wish you could step back farther a lot, you need something wider (although a panoramic technique can make do).

While certainly things like optical quality and faster apertures are considerations, I'd consider adding the EF-S 10-22 for wide and any of the 70-200's for longer. Tripods are nice if you use them and are willing to carry one, but given the size of your setup, something like a small Gorillapod or a bean bag might make as much sense. Then, get an extra battery, some extra memory cards, and finally figure out how you'd like to carry all this and you are good to go for a long time.

 

[gshocked]

Hi,

There is a lot of great advice here!

Just an insight to how I started:

My first DSLR was a 500D and I didn't have a lot of money to start with so I had to priorities my purchases.
I had the same kit lens, which did my justice for my general use for a bit. I knew I was going OS at the end of the year so my purchase priorities were as follows.

1. Wide angle lens
2. Memory cards
3. Filters - uv and circ polarizer
4. Battery grip
5. Telephoto lens
6. Camera bag

 

[scyrene]

I'd also buy a remote shutter release, which will allow you to not have to touch the camera right before a picture, which can then include vibration in the image, especially in low light or slow shutter speeds. Something like this is effective and cheap: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/765666-REG/Vello_RS_C2II_RS_C2II_Wired_Remote_Switch.html

I'm not much of a landscape photographer, so maybe that explains why I think remote releases are the least useful things I've ever bought, but even though they're cheap I think they're generally a waste of time. Apart from fireworks and certain astrophotographic cases (and maybe extreme macro), I've never missed them when I left them at home. You can always use the timer release if you need to let the camera sit without vibrations.

edit: I notice I'm in a minority here. Without wanting to hijack the thread, what are people using the remote release for? I must be missing something

 

[John Strung]

I am with Scyrene. I have a remote release and it stays in the bag. I just use the timer on the camera when I use the tripod.

 

[Jim Saunders]

edit: I notice I'm in a minority here. Without wanting to hijack the thread, what are people using the remote release for? I must be missing something

I have used one for bulb for fireworks. There are no doubt other ways of doing that but that has worked for me.

Jim

 

[scyrene]

edit: I notice I'm in a minority here. Without wanting to hijack the thread, what are people using the remote release for? I must be missing something

I have used one for bulb for fireworks. There are no doubt other ways of doing that but that has worked for me.

Jim

Oh sure, they're pretty much essential for that. But it's a pretty minor pursuit...