First impressions with a DSLR

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Written by: Jed

My Rebel XS came in the mail. So far, so good – for the most part.

One complaint I have of the XS, is its limited use of  its screen for live view shooting. It seems to disable auto-focus, and is only usable in the more programmable/advanced settings for shooting. Ironically, the person needing to use live view, would probably be a point-and-shoot owner, shooting on auto.

Of course I’m still learning. I only recently realized that the minimum aperture setting is dependent on the focal length of the shot. Shooting in Aperture Priority, I was wondering why the largest aperture I could get ranged between 3.5 and 5.6. And working on an assignment that required max aperture, this was a bit concerning.

But as good a quality of pictures I’ve been getting – there still isn’t anything like putting an image through Photoshop and/or Camera Raw. It’s amazing what playing with the RGB levels can do to a photo. Prior to this, my experience with the program involved cropping; resizing; and the magic lasso tool. Learning how to properly adjust colour levels this past week in class, was mind-blowing.

Accessory-wise, it’s an expensive hobby. My camera came bundled with a camera bag, and it shouldn’t come to a surprise that it isn’t a particularly good one. It’s part of the Canon Golla series. You’d think Canon would get it right? The main compartment is locked by magnets and a Velcro strap on one side, yeah one side. I’m not sure how it would fair in heavy rain – nor do I want to find out. There’s also its prominent branding. It may look like a lunch bag from afar, but the Canon branding screams, “there’s a camera in here!”

My bigger problem with the camera bag is, it’s another bag I have to carry. Having to lug around a bag for my books, and a bag for a camera doesn’t make rush hour commutes on public transit any easier. Looking into the world of camera bags, I was immediately hit with two things: 1. sticker shock – they start at $100; and 2. the realization that none are designed to hold books. DSLR backpacks, are just as they sound: a bag for your lenses, flashes, body, any other accessory; and laptop in some cases. I may consider them if or when I get more serious with this hobby, but as of now, my Canon lunch bag will be just fine.

Yet, I did make my first accessory purchase; a lens hood. I decided this after plenty of reading into the filters vs. lens hood debate (ask Google). I wanted some extra protection for my lens, and learned that a filter would just harm picture quality – unless I opted for the higher quality and more expensive. I couldn’t justify spending $50 on a filter for a sub-$100 kit lens. I went with the hood. One bit of advise to those looking at the same solution, buy a 3rd party brand. I went the eBay route, and got an official Canon EW-60C hood for just over $20. After getting my shipment, and seeing that it was just a piece of plastic, this $10 knock-off would have been just fine. As a result I went the knock-off route in ordering a battery. I wanted to keep it authentic, but $80 for a second battery, I’d rarely need? I couldn’t do it. I ordered this set for $7. The reviews seem great, especially at that price. I’ll be sure to give my take on it, after it arrives.

As mentioned in my last entry, photography is growing on me. This first week with a DSLR only made that clearer. (Or maybe it just filled the void in my gadget-spending habit?)

Though I have to say, I’d love it more if I were snapping photos on Pokemon Island.