First Weekend w/ My New DSLR

[KingBlingTx]

Well, Friday I went and bought my first DSLR camera. I chose the Canon EOS 7D and I'm extremely happy!!! Before Friday, I've never actually taken a pic with a SLR style of camera, so I still don't know what 95% of the buttons do. LOL. Please feel to critique. I'm going to take some photography lessons in the next couple of weeks and I'm happy to learn anything I can.

Here are some of my favorite pics of the weekend. (It took like 150 shots to get the pics of the little buggers in the crack in focus. I think I only got 3 worth keeping)

Swim Meet Pics

 

[KingBlingTx]

In The Backyard

On the Nature Path

Under The Bridge- omg, getting focus into a pitch black crack is almost impossible!! LOL

 

[jmik26]

Red to black, venom lack... Looks like your putting the camera to good use.

 

[KingBlingTx]

LOL. As soon as we saw the snake, my daughters started chanting "Red next to black, a friend to Jack. Red next to yellow will kill a fellow!"

 

[IPT]

looks like you are off to a great start. Focusing in dark areas requires a lens with a large aperature (like F2 or even F1.4) to let what little light there is in.

 

[Rhizo]

Looks good, bump the ISO and shutter for the swim scenes

 

[KingBlingTx]

Thanks, Rizo. I was playing with that at practice tonight. I went up to 1/5000 on the shutter speed (in the bright sun) and it seemed to really sharpen the pics. (Like I said, I'm a total noob at this so any suggestions are welcome!!!)

 

[KingBlingTx]

Example at 1/5000 sec

 

[jbanks]

Were these shots taken withthe kit lens? Im on the fence right now between the 7D and the lower priced Rebel T2i.... Pockets are burning. LOL..

 

[KingBlingTx]

Were these shots taken withthe kit lens? Im on the fence right now between the 7D and the lower priced Rebel T2i.... Pockets are burning. LOL..

I went to a Canon workshop this weekend. Based on what I've seen/heard there and others I've spoken with, I don't think you'll see much difference in the pics from the T2i vs 7D. (The biggest difference between the cameras is probably more related to the HD video function and a couple of additional settings options.) The "package" deal I bought included a 28-135mm lens and a telephoto EF 70-300mm f4-5.6 IS USM. Most of the pics above were taken with the 70-300MM lens.

My suggestion (as a complete novice) would be to buy the less expensive frame and spend the extra money on the best lens you can buy. I have already placed an order for the 70-200mm f/2.8L II IS USM Telephoto Zoom Lens and wish now that I had not spent the money on the "package". (Although, the 70-300mm lens is pretty darn decent IMO).

 

[reefcrazyme]

bro these are very nice shots. i have a rebel XT and had it for 4 years now. i only have the 18-85mm IS USM.
You're shots came out very clear even with the fast shots. they're amazing. If you compare the 70-300 and the 70-200 which one do you think would take a better photo when closeup shots are concerned like when you take a pic of corals where you can really see the details of the polyps?

 

[KingBlingTx]

I'm expecting that the 70-200mm would do a better job of that; primarily because of the quality of the lens. For true close-ups, I just bought the 100MM macro lens. I took it out of the box last night and snapped a couple of shots. (These were done by hand, in auto-mode so they are the best. However, I'm sure you can tell the difference in close-up detail.)

 

[j-dizzle]

nice macros. i cant wait to get mine!