I finally took the dSLR plunge - Advice welcome

[MJWeb]

I'm a decent photographer but was stuck in DP&S after abandoning film. It's always been about $ to me. Amazon (who else?) finally met my requirements.

"Canon Digital Rebel XSi 12.2 MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens (Black)"
Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras"
"Transcend 16GB SDHC CARD (SD 2.0 SPD CLASS 6) with Compact Card Reader"
"Tiffen 58mm UV Protection Filter"
"Crumpler 5 MILLION DOLLAR HOME Shoulder Photo Bag (Dark Brown/Oatmeal/Light Olive)"

$781 - That's like 42% off list price factoring in no tax! I love Amazon!

Haven't got it yet. Can't wait! Your professional advice is welcome.

[Noel_Carboni]

Sounds like a good price.

Is the photo bag really named "Crumpler 5 MILLION DOLLAR HOME Shoulder Photo Bag"?

-Noel

[MJWeb]

Originally Posted by Noel_Carboni

Sounds like a good price.

Is the photo bag really named "Crumpler 5 MILLION DOLLAR HOME Shoulder Photo Bag"?

-Noel

Yes, Noel.
Cool looking bag, too!
http://a1472.g.akamaitech.net/f/1472...ei=249&wid=249
My presumption is this kit will meet my immediate creative requirements. Should I shoot RAW, JPEG, or both? Do I need a Aperture or LR? Is old glass better than new glass when it comes to buying a prime? Any good free tutorials?

Happy holidays and thanks,
MJW

[Noel_Carboni]

My general advice is to shoot JPEG or Raw+JPEG until you're used to the camera, and can begin to anticipate how things will come out. The modes including Raw will, of course, make larger files and give you more to do at the computer.

I don't have Aperture or Lightroom myself. I get by with Photoshop.

-Noel

[Dennis_Vied]

Originally Posted by MJWeb

My presumption is this kit will meet my immediate creative requirements. Should I shoot RAW, JPEG, or both? Do I need a Aperture or LR? Is old glass better than new glass when it comes to buying a prime?

I think that's a very good starter kit for you.

I recommend you shoot RAW. It's much more flexible in what you can do with it. I use LR, and I'm sold on it. Haven't had a chance to use Aperture. I still use PS CS3, but LR is a very good front end for it.

I don't know that you can quantify "old" glass as better or worse than "new" glass, except that newer glass is generally designed with digital requirements in mind. The glass in the kit looks more than adequate. Good glass is good glass, regardless of whether it's old or not, but the the EF-S glass is optimized for the Rebel. A good prime will perform well, old or new, but you'll need a shorter focal length for the smaller sensor for the angles of view you need, in general.

[MJWeb]

Originally Posted by Noel_Carboni

My general advice is to shoot JPEG or Raw+JPEG until you're used to the camera, and can begin to anticipate how things will come out. The modes including Raw will, of course, make larger files and give you more to do at the computer.

I don't have Aperture or Lightroom myself. I get by with Photoshop.

Thanks, Noel. Do use use Bridge or iPhoto? Do you archive all your RAW and JPG keepers after editing and conversion? I could see where you would as a pro but I may have different needs as an amateur. Luckily, I've got hundreds of free gigs at my disposal.

[MJWeb]

Originally Posted by Dennis_Vied

I think that's a very good starter kit for you.

I recommend you shoot RAW. It's much more flexible in what you can do with it. I use LR, and I'm sold on it. Haven't had a chance to use Aperture. I still use PS CS3, but LR is a very good front end for it.

I don't know that you can quantify "old" glass as better or worse than "new" glass, except that newer glass is generally designed with digital requirements in mind. The glass in the kit looks more than adequate. Good glass is good glass, regardless of whether it's old or not, but the the EF-S glass is optimized for the Rebel. A good prime will perform well, old or new, but you'll need a shorter focal length for the smaller sensor for the angles of view you need, in general.

I use PS CS3, too, and will test LR and Aperture in addition to Bridge and iPhoto before settling on a workflow solution. I wasn't aware EF-S lenses were optimized for the Xsi (I hate calling it Rebel ) but I'm here to learn. Thanks for your encouragement, Dennis.