Beginner here, I need some advice!

Thor06 · Mar 20, 2007

Hey guys. I always have loved taking pictures, but I've never looked at it for a serious hobby. It started with taking pictures of me with other people and places that I wanted to remember but its been growing ever since. With my new camera (Kodak Easyshare E875) I have been getting into it more and more. I also love to Photoshop stuff whether it be touching up pictures all the way to doing abstract art for skateboards and shirts for my buddy's new skateboard company.

Where my pretty average point and click is excellent for everyday picture taking, I am starting to see some of the limitations particularly when I was taking pictures of my old show choir and my ultimate team... basically action shots. Well, I talked to a guy I met over spring break about his camera. I cant remember what it was, but it was some Minolta SLR with 3 barrels that he got for $40 at a garage sale. This got me excited, I doubt I could find a deal like that, but I thought film SLR's were thousands of dollars and now I find out that they can be on the cheaper side too.

Well, I have been eyeing up some cameras particularly the Cannon E04 T2 Rebel. Is this a decent enough camera? I am pretty novice, but I do have a lot of picture taking experience with my digitals and (what I think to be) a pretty good eye. It would be used fairly frequently, not really a paper weight or out all day every for that matter either. I would mostly use it for action shots of my frisbee team, my old show choir, other misc. sports, and I would probably take a lot of sunset and nature pictures as well. Also, digitals are pretty much out of the question, atleast for now. I definately dont have that much to put towards this.

So what do you guys think? Is that a pretty good camera? What barrels should I be looking for or will the 28-90 it comes with be good enough? Any and all advice would be much appreciated! Also, I will put up an intro thread and post up some of my favorite pictures that I've taken.

Big Mike · Mar 20, 2007

Welcome to the forum.

Yes, film SLR cameras can be had for a great price...especially since so many people are dropping them to go digital.

Cannon E04 T2 Rebel

Actually, it's the Canon EOS T2 Rebel. Canon has several EOS Rebels, any of which would be a good starting SLR for you.

What barrels should I be looking for

These are called lenses. The 28-90 would be a good start but I would also recommend looking at a 50mm F1.8. It's cheap but can make for some very nice shots...especially when you need to freeze the movement of your subjects (sports etc

A good thing about the EOS line of cameras & EF lenses, is that the lenses will be compatible with a digital SLR, if you decide to go that route.

Thor06 · Mar 20, 2007

Right on, thanks for the uber quick response dude! Well I'll start keeping my eyes open for them. Sorry about the typo, I didnt have the window open so I had to go from memory. Ha ha, I thought 'barrel' was the common or slang name for them, thanks for the correction. Lenses are one thing I dont know jack about (well, I know even less about them than the bodies themselves) so I will keep doing some research on those before I bombard you guys with questions about those

. As much as I love digitals for being able to see what I took right after I took it and just keep clicking away for several hundred pictures without changing films, being a broke college student is going to shine through on this a bit and keep me from going all out on it. Anyway, I appreciate the response and any others are welcome!

xfloggingkylex · Mar 20, 2007

we call lenses glass in these here parts. Once you understand focal length (http://www.usa.canon.com/html/eflenses/lens101/focallength/) you can finally start to decide what kind of focal lengths you need. If you shoot portraits and action shots, chances are you wont need a fisheye or even a wide angle lens such as a 12-14mm lens. The higher the number the higher the magnification.

The second part of the lens model is the f/# and this is refering to the aperture, or the opening that lets light in. Larger numbers mean smaller holes, and smaller numbers (1.4, 1.8 on fixed length primes or 2.8 on zooms) are larger openings, allowing more light onto the film and earning the term "fast". for example, the 50mm 1.8 lens (a great lens to have no matter what brand) is a lens that doesn't zoom and the aperture opens all the way to 1.8. We call it fast glass because an aperture of 1.8 is so large a ton of light is reaching the film, and as a result much faster shutterspeeds can be used.

Just some basics to get you started.

Thor06 · Mar 21, 2007

Mmmmm, I see, thanks especially for the numbers explanation! Yeah, I definately know I have a lot of reading ahead of me before I jump in on this. I wish there was a community ed program I could take! I looked through Canon's lenses (planning on getting a Canon camera) and I started to find stuff I like, but the numbers largely confused me. So the '50' part of a 50mm F1.8 means its a 50mm focal length right? And say on the 'stock' lense (the one that comes with the camera, dont know if stock is a good term or not) says something like 28-90 so the focal lenth can be anwhere between 28mm and 90mm? I'll keep looking at those and I'll fire off a couple questions that I havent found answers to in a day or two.

Rmclain3 · Mar 22, 2007

The Canon Rebel T2 was the last film camera I had before I went digital (which I swore I would never do). It's a very good camera body for the price. The advice that you've gotten so far on the glass is good as well.

One of the things that new SLR photographers have to understand is the fact that having a good camera body is only part of the equation. If you put cheap glass on your camera body then your pictures will likely not look so good (and I'm being kind). I initially thought that no one should spend more on a lens that they should on a camera body. Boy, was I wrong!! Good glass can cost some serious dollars, euros, sterling, quid, buckage, Quatloos, you get the picture.......... What I'm trying to tell you is that if your budget allows, get a good lens to put on that T2. You won't repret it!!

xfloggingkylex · Mar 22, 2007

Thor06 said:
Mmmmm, I see, thanks especially for the numbers explanation! Yeah, I definately know I have a lot of reading ahead of me before I jump in on this. I wish there was a community ed program I could take! I looked through Canon's lenses (planning on getting a Canon camera) and I started to find stuff I like, but the numbers largely confused me. So the '50' part of a 50mm F1.8 means its a 50mm focal length right? And say on the 'stock' lense (the one that comes with the camera, dont know if stock is a good term or not) says something like 28-90 so the focal lenth can be anwhere between 28mm and 90mm? I'll keep looking at those and I'll fire off a couple questions that I havent found answers to in a day or two.

correct. numbers will two focal lengths such as your 28-90mm lens is a zoom lens, meaning it can zoom between any of those focal lengths. single numbers are fixed focal length and your feet become the zoom. The link I posted above will help give you a feel for focal length. And as for your questions, ask away.