Canon Eos Rebel XT

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peterb
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Canon Eos Rebel XT

Post by peterb »

A friend of mine just gave me his old (as in about 2 year old) Canon Eos Rebel XT. I have been doing all of my digital photography with the amazing line of Sony Cybershot point and shoot cameras, capable of incredible results. Now I am about to learn everything I can about digital SLR. I already ordered two books, one in general about digital SLR and the other an entire book specifically about the Rebel XT.

Anyone using a Canon digital SLR or in particular the Rebel XT? Looking forward to the new adventure here.

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majcka
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Re: Canon Eos Rebel XT

Post by majcka »

I bet Peter (hoteidoc) can tell you more. I think he has it. :D
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DaveW
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Re: Canon Eos Rebel XT

Post by DaveW »

I'm a Nikon user myself Peter but you may find these links useful:-

http://www.kevinandamanda.com/whatsnew/ ... -rebel-xti" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://digital-photography-school.com/2 ... hould-know" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://alphatracks.com/dslr-photography-basics" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I presume they gave you the camera manual as well Peter, but if not this may be it:-

http://www.css.washington.edu/w/images/ ... el_XTi.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Any problems you get just ask and I am sure somebody here will try and answer them.
peterb
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Re: Canon Eos Rebel XT

Post by peterb »

Thanks! Looking forward to learning more. First additional purchase will probably be a macro lens.

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Harriet
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Re: Canon Eos Rebel XT

Post by Harriet »

I think that the beauty of a photo is almost as much "in the eye of the beholder" as it is in the camera itself. Since you have been taking some darn good pictures with the Cybershot, I am expecting that you will have no problem at all mastering the new SLR. Have fun!
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peterb
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Re: Canon Eos Rebel XT

Post by peterb »

I agree in general on the precedence of eye over machine, but I am looking forward to exploiting the added fancy cool stuff of a digital SLR. Whenever I get a new piece of tech, I always want to know what it is especially good for.

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DaveW
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Re: Canon Eos Rebel XT

Post by DaveW »

Short macro lenses are OK for plants and flowers (50mm-60mm) and cheapest, but if you want to photograph insects and keep a reasonable distance so as not to spook them go for something around the 100mm-135mm range. Also so called "macro zooms" are not true macro lenses but conventional zooms with a close focusing facility. The difference between a true macro lens and a conventional lens was traditionally the conventional lens was optimised for infinity focus, whereas the macro lens was optimised for around one meter. In theory the macro lens gets worse as you focus to infinity and the conventional lens worse as you focus closer, but you will be hard put to see the difference unless printing very large pictures and both will usually be better optically at all distances than the kit lens that often comes with the camera. The advent of floating elements has helped with infinity to macro focus, but not completely eliminated the difference between a macro and conventional lens:-

http://www.slrphotographyguide.com/came ... lens.shtml" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://photography.timtrott.co.uk/close ... acro-lens/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Don't forget the second-hand market also. Few amateurs abuse their equipment so you can often pick up a good second-hand macro lens from photo shops or EBAY much cheaper than new.
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Harriet
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Re: Canon Eos Rebel XT

Post by Harriet »

peterb wrote:I agree in general on the precedence of eye over machine, but I am looking forward to exploiting the added fancy cool stuff of a digital SLR. Whenever I get a new piece of tech, I always want to know what it is especially good for.

peterb
There is plenty to exploit! That is a good camera with many bells and whistles. But, if it is like my Nikon (or a musical instrument), there are so many bells and whistles that you may have many pleasant hours of practice before you can play them well. Your "good eye" will reduce the time to master considerably.
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SnowFella
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Re: Canon Eos Rebel XT

Post by SnowFella »

Wish I would of gone the way of Canon or Nikon rather than a Sony DSLR, not a bad camera but somewhat held back from the lack of accessories and support. Sure I can still find lenses and others if I look hard but there's a distinct lack of Sony compatible gear if you compare with Canon/Nikon in retail stores.
So now that I need a new short lens I'm somewhat stuck between a rock and a hard place! Either hunt down a new or used lens and still be stuck with the same lack of accessories or go for a new camerabody that I easier can find accessories to :-k
](*,)
DaveW
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Re: Canon Eos Rebel XT

Post by DaveW »

Most camera manufacturers cater for the average photographer and will have all the lenses they need in their range. The problem occurs when you want to do "non-average" photography, which macro photography used to be in the past. In those days it was only really the major brands that catered for the more unusual macro items such as Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Minolta etc, though happily most DSLR camera manufacturers now produce at least one macro lens.

Eventually the newer brands as they grow do introduce the less popular equipment, but it takes time and firms these days are run by accountants not optical engineers as in the past. Therefore many vanity lenses or limited market equipment that never made a profit and were just made to show what the designers could do have now disappeared off the market since "if it does not make a profit we will not make it" has taken hold in business, particularly in a recession.

However SnowFella as Sony bought Minolta I think you may find some Minolta lenses on the second-hand market may fit your Sony:-

http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://reviews.ebay.com/Top-Minolta-Len ... 0007572656" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And Sony's new lenses are probably only really Minolta lenses re-badged. Try EBAY you may find your compatible short lens under the Minolta name there. Sony was really the electronics maker and Minolta the traditional lens manufacturer, hence the fit in the takeover.
GeneS
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Re: Canon Eos Rebel XT

Post by GeneS »

Welcome to the DSLR world Peter.

You will experience a new world that can be both amazing and frustrating at the same time. The modern P&S camera can produce wonderful results, primarily by taking the creative tools out of your hands. The DSLR puts those back. Results will be mixed until you discover and become familiar with the tools that best suit your situation and style.

My advice is take lots of images!! Experiment with everything until you see how it effects the end result.

Then invest in some good photo viewing/editing tools. The Canon Utilities like DPP, EOS Utility, Zoom Browser etc that come with the camera are very good and free. If you didn't get the disk with the camera, it is a free download from Canon.

The XT is a good step because you are now in a "system". Most Canon EOS bodies and lenses interchange freely so that means a lens purchase can be useful for years. DaveW's advice is very good in that there is a constant trade in used lenses. Helpful if you buy something and find that is just sits in your bag as it will always have value to someone. Always buy good glass. It is money in the bank if you decide to change or add bodies to your kit.

That said, don't throw away the P&S. They will always have a place. In my case, the "shirt pocket" size Digital Elph is a constant companion.

To add to DaveW's list of handy sites, I would include:
http://www.canon-europe.com/Support/Con ... index.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - updates, manuals, utilities
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/index.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - good forums
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - more good forums
http://www.photo.net/equipment/canon/30 ... enses.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - good review of Canon lens systems
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - source for anything you need and can't find elsewhere

Looking to see the results ... GeneS
DaveW
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Re: Canon Eos Rebel XT

Post by DaveW »

In addition to Gene's I'll add the EBAY links for Canon macro and also for Sony/Minolta:-

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid= ... &_from=R40" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=Ca ... o&_sacat=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=Mi ... o&_sacat=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Make sure you get the correct bayonet mounts and automation links though as some makers changed these over the years.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Will_any_Cano ... non_camera" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://alphatracks.com/archives/836" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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tumamoc
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Re: Canon Eos Rebel XT

Post by tumamoc »

peterb wrote:Anyone using a Canon digital SLR or in particular the Rebel XT? Looking forward to the new adventure here.
I have one, but it is a bit older than yours. It is a fine camera, but the standard stock 18-55 mm lens kinda sucks. If I could justify the expense, I would get a lens that shot macro and had an image stabilizer. Shooting RAW images (set to "P") gives you an incredible range of post processing options, although the files are pretty huge. To be honest, I have not taken the time to learn how to use it proficiently. I even bought a book on it, but I guess I am lazy...and maybe need some inspiration.
DaveW
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Re: Canon Eos Rebel XT

Post by DaveW »

Kit lenses are usually built down to a price to let you into the system cheaply. Some are very good and some not so, some are not even made by the camera manufacturers themselves but bought in from independent manufacturers who can make budget lenses cheaper and then just badged with the camera makers name. Once you are hooked into the system they hope you will then start to buy the better quality more expensive lenses the camera manufacturers make themselves.

You don't need image stabilisation for macro work and some even recommend it should be switched off really close up. Image stabilisation will only mitigate camera shake with a hand held camera, it will not freeze subject movement so can therefore lull people into using too low a shutter speeds to freeze any subject movement. It does not matter if the camera moves or the the subject moves say in the wind, you will still get a blurred picture even with image stabilisation because you are not using flash or a fast enough shutter speed to freeze subject movement.

Think of it this way, we never manage to hold a camera any steadier whatever shutter speed we use therefore there is always movement blur on the film or sensor, so all a faster or slower exposure does is records that amount of movement during the exposure. Very fast shutter speeds or flash simply reduce the amount of blur on the image to below that the human eye is capable of distinguishing, but it is still there to a certain degree no matter how fast the exposure.

As said earlier, look on EBAY and you will find plenty of un-stabilised macro lenses that will fit your Canon. People were taking pin sharp macro images ever before image stabilisation was invented, so there's no reason you can't. Also a lot of the manufacturers supposed gains in stops for image stabilisation are usually calculated with the lens at infinity, the closer you focus the less stops of shake free images you usually get, hence the suggestion to turn it off when you get really close.

http://photographylife.com/lens-stabili ... bilization" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://photo.stackexchange.com/question ... es-unsharp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/41879017" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There is really no substitute in macro work for a really sturdy tripod, which beats image stabilisation every time. However we do often have to hand hold cameras for insects etc but even in those cases since insects tend to move slightly it is important to use a fast enough shutter speed or flash to freeze subject movement because image stabilisation will not do so. The old rule used to be for 35mm film cameras not to use a shutter speed lower than the focal length of the lens. That meant for a 100mm lens a shutter speed no lower than 100th of a second and for a 200mm lens a 200th of a second, but the rule fails for shorter wide angle lenses since for hand holding about a 60th of a second is the minimum hand holding speed for shake free images.

This is hand held with available light (not flash) using a non image stabilised lens. If a geriatric like me can hold a non-stabilised lens steady, you youngsters have no excuse:-
hover-2010-4.jpg
hover-2010-4.jpg (39.49 KiB) Viewed 7248 times
As said earlier, if you are buying a macro lens for use for other than just plants go for one of 100mm-135mm focal length rather than the 50mm-60mm range since it gives you more working room, since getting too close may spook insects.
Ron43
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Re: Canon Eos Rebel XT

Post by Ron43 »

Check this fellow's site and how he shoots closeups. He uses a bean pole to stabilize his camera. He had some awesome photos.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lordv/7590 ... 4293307036
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