Drew’s Daily Deliberations

Over the weekend I have joined the world of DSLR photography. Well, at least I bought some equipment, that is not to say I know what I am doing yet. Costco had a Pentax *ist-D for $550, which got me thinking. After doing some research, I ended up instead going with the Canon Rebel XT w/ 18-55mm lens. In addition I got a Sigma 70-300mm lens, and a Canon 430ex flash. I checked out a couple of stores, and found McBain’s in Southgate Mall to be the best. I had a young chap by the name of Nick help me out. We probably spent a good hour or more talking about options, and he took his time to explain things to me.

Having used numerous digital point and shoots, I was taken back when I started snapping shots with the Canon. Boy is it fast! Even if I was to never take it out of auto mode, I would love using it. So many times in the past, I have missed a shot either because my camera was starting up, or the lag between shots. Mind you, speed alone does not justify this purchase, so hopefully, as I learn, I will start taking advantage of some of the manual modes.

Speaking of learning, there are certainly some well done sites that have been helping me out thus far. Jodie Coston’s site and All Things Photography both are well written in such a way that a newbie such as myself can begin to make sense of apertures and f-stops. It is nice having guides where I can actually practice what they are teaching. It is definitely is the way I learn best.

To be honest, I may actually exercise a stores return policy (only 1 week with McBain, grr) due to the new Rebel XTi being released. It is already out in the States, so it should not be long before it is on Canadian shelves. If it sells at the price point of the XT, then I’ll have the newest technology, and even if it is a bit more, I fully expect the XT to drop in price, so I can re-buy it at a savings. But until that week is up, I plan on getting much use from the gear.

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