Finally went DSLR

thesupe87 · #1 (**permalink**) 04-03-2008, 07:17 PM

Ok, I'm now on the dark side. I nabbed a great deal on ebay on a used Canon 20D and battery grip, so I ordered a 50mm f1.8 lens to start out, a CF card, and two new batteries to go along with it.

Guess what happens...I get everything yesterday in the mail, still waiting for the batteries. THIS IS TORTURE!!

My lens and CF card from Adorama.com (just $100 shipped for both) came next day. That's freaking amazing. Highly recommended. Even the camera shipped priority from the west coast to the east coast, took just a day to get here. Amazing.

helix7 · #2 (**permalink**) 04-04-2008, 02:51 AM

Well it's about damn time.

Have fun with it.

thesupe87 · #3 (**permalink**) 04-04-2008, 01:54 PM

still no batteries.. DHL dished it off to USPS, and it's been a state over for the last 24 hrs. Come on, snail mail lets go I don't have all day. I have a very expensive paperweight right now, that's about all. I'm going crazy, I want to try it out and make sure everything works. UGUGGGGGHGHGHGHG

e-person · #4 (**permalink**) 04-04-2008, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thesupe87

Ok, I'm now on the dark side. I nabbed a great deal on ebay on a used Canon 20D and battery grip, so I ordered a 50mm f1.8 lens to start out, a CF card, and two new batteries to go along with it.

Why did you get the 50/1.8 instead of a zoom? Are you planning for some low light portraits?

thesupe87 · #5 (**permalink**) 04-05-2008, 03:18 AM

I'm still not sure which zoom or wide angle lens I want to invest in just yet. I have been narrowing it down, but in the meantime...the 50mm f1.8 is a great starter lens. It's cheap, and it's one of the sharpest prime lenses you'll ever strap onto a body. Everyone told me they loved theirs, so I figured hey why not.

thesupe87 · #6 (**permalink**) 04-05-2008, 04:36 AM

Friend of mine called me up, said I could come over and borrow one of his batteries - what a pal! I am thrilled to say that everything is working just fine. I LOVE the shutter sound on the 20d, it's really loud.

First pics with my new 20D - a photoset on Flickr

Here are some sloppy snapshots I took around the house, mostly of the dog and my wife. A lot of these have issues like DOF being way off, and I still need to learn how to use the cam. Maybe one or two here could be cleaned up and sold as stock.

My initials thoughts - man, what a difference a DSLR and a sharp lens makes! The quality blows away my Canon point and shoot. Now I just need to get a wider lens...

sharpshot · #7 (**permalink**) 04-05-2008, 07:23 AM

I remember the feeling when I bought my 300D. It came with a battery though, so no frustration. I bought a cheap spare battery off ebay. The generic ebay battery lasts much longer than the Canon one.

e-person · #8 (**permalink**) 04-05-2008, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thesupe87

My initials thoughts - man, what a difference a DSLR and a sharp lens makes! The quality blows away my Canon point and shoot. Now I just need to get a wider lens...

Welcome to the world of real photography. :-)

I agree that the 50/1.8 would be sharp, although of very limited use on a APS-C camera, hence my previous question.

thesupe87 · #9 (**permalink**) 04-07-2008, 02:47 AM

My generic batteries from ebay are working awesome. $14 for two!? And 600 mAh more than the factory ones? It's win-win. As long as they don't blow up in 6 months...

Like I said though, I figured I'd just start with the cheap 50mm while I continued to read reviews on zoom and wide angle lenses. I only had a few days to figure out what I needed to order, otherwise it wouldn't have gotten here at the same time as the body. I wasn't ready to drop $400+ on a lens that I wasn't fully educated on. 50mm is limited on a crop body, but hey - I've been able to get plenty of use out of it so far. I need to practice my portrait shots anyway.