1st Digital SLR

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

Hey everyone,

Ok....so after being a member for two month's-ish I have finally decided to go for it and buy my first digital SLR....I just need a few pointers...I was thinking of getting the Canon 400D, is this a good choice of camera or not, I mainly take flower pictures with the occasional dragon/damsel fly and am looking at getting into bird photography too. Is the 18mm-55mm lens good enough to cover all these or will I have to shell out for a new lens to cover all my demands?

Also is a flash-gun a necessity or can I cope without?

Any pointers much appriciated.

[glsammy]

Originally Posted by Scarlet Pimpernel

Hey everyone,

Ok....so after being a member for two month's-ish I have finally decided to go for it and buy my first digital SLR....I just need a few pointers...I was thinking of getting the Canon 400D, is this a good choice of camera or not, I mainly take flower pictures with the occasional dragon/damsel fly and am looking at getting into bird photography too. Is the 18mm-55mm lens good enough to cover all these or will I have to shell out for a new lens to cover all my demands?

Also is a flash-gun a necessity or can I cope without?

Any pointers much appriciated.

Yes,No,Yes!

The kit lens is a decent everyday lens but it's not a macro lens, which you'd need for damselflies, nor is it a telephoto lens which you'd need for birds.
You'll soon discover that the camera is one of the cheaper parts of your kit!
The 400D is a fine camera, I know quite a few people that have it and they all rate it highly.
As for lenses, it really depends how deep your pockets are, and how strong your are! Sigma do a fine range of macro lenses, I have the 150mm which I rate very highly, others have the 105mm which optically is just as good. Either of these would cover your close up requirements. There are loads of other macro lenses on the market, that's the beauty of DSLR's!
As for telephoto work for birds, you'll need something around 400mm minimum. I have the Sigma 50-500mm, which again I rate highly, being a zoom makes it a very versatile lens.
All of this of course costs a lot of money, so it really depends how much you wish to invest.

Flash guns are nice but not essential, especially initially. The built in flash works well with macro lenses, but not so good for telephoto use.

[Fourwings]

I bought a 400D earlier this year to act as a back-up body to my EOS 20D and I am highly impressed with it, its a superb little camera.
I must say that its small size was a bit of an issue as I have large hands but the addition of the Canon BG-E3 battery grip makes it a joy to handle.
As for lenses, you will need a macro for insects & flowers and a long range zoom for birds etc.... but if you invest in good quality lenses from the start you won't feel the need to keep upgrading as your images will be of an excellent quality.

Steve.

[Blackbrook Eye]

I would agree with Scarlet Pimpernel an all the points made and would like to add another, I use the 17-55 lens for closups combined with a 32mm electronic transfer extention tube and this is O.K. for the few macro shots I take, however if you use this type of setup combined with the built in flashgun, the lens is in the field of the flash and produces light cut off to a lot of the frame, It is even worse if a lenshood is fitted, accessory flash units sit much higher on the camera and so eliminate this problem, some units even point downward a few degrees to line up with the subject, so be prepared to cough up for a seperat flash unit or a macro lens, or even both if you intend to do any amount of macro photography

[galanthus]

I've got the 400d and i luurve it I use all canon lenses and find that I'm completely covered with a 10-22mm wide angle, 24-70mm 2.8L lens, 70-300mm IS lens and a 100mm macro. I'd say to start the 70-300 IS is a fab walk around and general wildlife lens along with the macro. Tho I agree a 400mm is better for birds but am working my way up to a prime for that one, one day
I have pics on my website if you want to click the link, they're all taken with the above lenses.

[Hobjob]

Nothing much more to add, but I'd emphasize ++++++++++
all the others advice about buying good glass. (and covering it
with a good UV filter!!)