Quote: Originally Posted by blalor (original)
Congrats on the new camera, Armen, and I'm glad you got the picture that Canon is the One True Camera.
Where'd you buy it? Sheena said something about a "mall"?
If you're not already familiar with them, check out Hunt Photography in Melrose. Only been there once, but they were very helpful, and their prices were reasonable, if not rock-bottom low.
You're off to a good start with the filters and the long lens! Josh and I both have the Sigma 70-300mm lens (which also doubles as a macro lens between 200 and 300mm). I paid about $200 for that. You're welcome to borrow it if you'd like to compare it to your Quantaray. Quantaray rings a bell, but I can't say I've come across the brand recently... Get a remote release, and a tripod if you haven't already. I've got several pieces of Bogen/Manfrotto kit and am very happy with it. They're not the cheapest on the market, but far from the most expensive, and are well-built. I'm fairly certain I could jack up my MINI with the tripod... I've become something of a quick-release plate addict; Bogen makes a $30 quick-release adapter that screws onto any support device that screws into the camera. I've got two of those and will probably add a third; they're that handy. Get a handful of CF cards and at least two batteries. I've seen lots of people recommend against getting one or a few *really* big CF cards, so you don't have all your eggs in one basket should one card crap out. I've got three 2G cards and that's a good fit for me.
Crumpler makes nice bags that don't look like camera bags. Find a good way to clean your filters, and then let me know what it is; all of mine are now smudged and I haven't been able to clean them satisfactorily.
Check out Practical Photography. It's a British magazine and very good (and very expensive...). Why is it that the UK mags are so much better than ours??
My current lens arsenal consists of the 18-55mm kit lens, the Canon 50mm ƒ/1.8 "nifty fifty" (a steal at $70), a Sigma 70-300mm (the newer APO DG one), and the Canon 10-22mm super-wide angle lens. I think the 18-55mm range is a really nice one, and I've toyed with the idea of getting the 18-55mm ƒ/2.8 IS lens (to the tune of a cool grand) because I think I'd use it more than any of the others. I'm happy with all of them, but have been using the 10-22 the most lately. The Sigma seems quite good for the price.
Thanks Brian! I ended up making the purchase at Ritz. At the time, they were the only real vendor that I felt purchasing a camera through (plus, I picked up an additionally warranty just in case) The salesperson was really thorough and gave me reasons (albeit his subjective ones) to make the purchases that I did. So far, I'm quite happy with the entire kit, although I'm starting to notice the limitations with the Quantaray glass. I had trouble with AF while using it, but once switched to manual, the results were respectable. I'm going to play around with it for a couple more days though to see what I plan to do...
It's funny that you mention Bogen. My parents have at least one Bogen unit that they really like, and have been using for years (they have a K1000 that still takes great photos even after 20+ years in the family, and traveling through 15+ countries in that time). I have a small unit that I use when taking pictures of my models, but I'm definitely going to need one when doing night shots, or track events. ;-) I just have to select one that will stand up to my abuse.
I checked out the Crumpler bags last night, and they look great! Are they as functional and easy to use? If so, I'll definitely look into picking one up. Thanks for the suggestion.
It seems as if I'm diving into another hobby that's going to cost me an arm and a leg in the long run, but will provide quite a bit of enjoyment. I'm really looking forward to learning and sharing with all of you.
