D-SLR Photography, here I come!

[KevinJB88]

Well I went ahead, after all the troubles with getting the 350D, I have now gone and blown it all on a lovely Canon 400D! I am still messing around at the moment, got some okish photos yesterday, which I now need to upload to my new flickr account, that I have now got due to alot of you having one! , also added a new title to my name, "DF Canon 400D Owner", and a new photo taken my moi for my avatar lol. This is what I have so far, and where I have got them from:

• Canon 400D + Origonal Boxed Bits (£429) - http://www.jessops.com/Store/s35964/...s.aspx?&comp=y
• 2GB Sandisk 2GB Ultra II Compactflash Card (£12.49 )- http://www.jessops.com/Store/s485/0/...s.aspx?&comp=n
• Case (£16.98 - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=320199227750
• 2 High Capacity Batteries @ 2000mAh! (£10.99) - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=190185499305

And these are on order!:

• Macro Lenses, probally going to be shit, but for the money, worth a try! (£14.90) - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...MEWN:IT&ih=007
• Hama Star 75 Digital Tripod (£10.90) - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...MEWN:IT&ih=002

So after all of this spending, a debt of £478.27!!!, I think I am ready to start my hobby of photography lol! Also, big shout out to elephantsoup for sending me a CD full of ebooks and a 400D tutorial video, and everyone helping me out over the whole scam thing on Ebay involving the 350D camera!

Thanks everyone,

Hopefully you will be seeing my work soon!

Kev

[liveseytowers]

Happy days, i was going to post how much it costs for a decent DSLR and you've answered all my questions. Looking forward to seeing the pics from a new user Get taking some pics and posting

[DB]

Welcome aboard mate, get your self shooting and uploading.

Theres a lot of members on here with vast amounts of knowledge, and dont be afraid to ask stupid questions. I should know ive asked enough

[BertRoot]

Good move mate. Get some shots took and a Photoshop tutorial or two and you will be flying!!

[ant3b]

Yeah welcome mate.. start shooting im gonna have to actualy use mine. (i know i know i always say this i will get round to it)

[KevinJB88]

Yea, think I am going to try and get a photo worthy of being put up for this months competition lol.

Kev

[DB]

my idea is embedded now, all i need to do is manage the shot, its a bloody tricky one.

[KevinJB88]

Lol, well its a hard one, may get the missis onto it, as she is the thinker in the relationship lol.

Kev

[{{909}}]

Big spender!

I think your budget is a little low on the tripod though Kevin. A 400 quid camera balanced on top of a 5 quid tripod? My bro has the same tripod and only a tiny lightweight camera and the wind blew it over the other day, luckly it was only on grass.

Id definetly get something better, the one you bought is too low and doesn't have a removable base plate, something thats pretty essential.

[KevinJB88]

Argh crap lol. Well its only to get going with, when I get my wages through, I may look into something a bit better lol. Any ideas m8?

Kev

[{{909}}]

go for a branded one mate, velbon seem to be the most reasonably priced decent ones. make sure its about 150cm high and has a removable plate part so you can take the camera off the tripod without having to unscrew it every time.
To be honest I think the one you got will be absolutely useless with the weight of the 400D on it. One small knock and its going to go over.

You should be able to grab one off ebay for 30 - 40 quid, theres some decent ones on amazon too that arnt too pricey Second hand you can get some bargains too as its something I imagine alot of people buy but then end up not using very much and well made ones usually last for years.

If the seller hasnt dispatched the tripod yet, see if he will let you pay the price upto this one, its not brill but its miles better than that other one :http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-Hama-Star-...QQcmdZViewItem

[ZX7R]

Nice purchase Hope you have mucho fun with it!
(need to use mine more!).

[TomCrute]

Ive just recieved my Hama Star 75 Tripod which i bought before reading the warning above that i shouldnt go for it.

It does indeed have a quick release plate on it. Unsure if this is a recent redesign. It isnt the most substantial piece of kit but for my first one and a first go with a DSLR i reckon it will be fine for now. Cheap and cheerful but i would suggest not too bad for a first go.

Give me a few mins and i will get a few photos of it so you can see what its like.

Edit: For anyone thats interested

Spoiler:

[{{909}}]

thats fine then, its not the one pictured in kevin's ebay auction though, hence my ramble. still a bit low, unless you usually take photos at chest height or are 3ft tall

For a tenner its pretty good.

[TomCrute]

Yeah the highest point of it is about half a foot to a foot lower than i would be totally comfortable at, im in the process of sirtin a method of hangin my bag in the middle of it so it wont topple as well, it fits nicely in the top of the Orion Trekker i just bought so all is good for a start off kit