OK, I have lost my mind and..............

[MJTinNH]

purchased a Canon Rebel T1i with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens. Sam's Club has it for a good price if purchased on-line and the shipping cost added in was still less than I could get it at Amazon.com.

I also have the Canon Rebel T1i Guide for Dummies; as that does denote my experience with SLR Cameras. Does anyone have any good reference materials that I should look into to help out?

My plan is to take it to WDW for a very short trip in December to see the Christmas decorations that Phyllis and I missed last year when we left early. :) If any of them turn out well, I will post them when I return.

[WDWNJ]

Congrats on the purcahse MaryJane, That's great!

I don't have any reading material suggestions, but I think you are off to a good start with the guide you bought.

My only suggestion is play, play, play. Take lots of pictures and experiment. And most of all, have fun!

Don't be afraid to ask questions.

[zakerdog]

Since I won't be there this year to see the decorations I'll be looking for those pictures. Take lots :clap:

[MJTinNH]

Congrats on the purcahse MaryJane, That's great!

I don't have any reading material suggestions, but I think you are off to a good start with the guide you bought.

My only suggestion is play, play, play. Take lots of pictures and experiment. And most of all, have fun!

Don't be afraid to ask questions.

Thanks John, I will probably be bending your ears all the time. I should receive it by next week, so it will give me some time to learn at least the basic operation of the camera before December 3. I hope!

[MJTinNH]

Since I won't be there this year to see the decorations I'll be looking for those pictures. Take lots :clap:

Carol, I will do my best!:)

[Mariby]

Oooh...in the running for my next camera (gee, and I distinctly remember thinking my last camera was going to be 'last' camera :rolleyes: )

Looking forward to seeing your best first shots with this camera. :)

[dinkybean758]

How nice to get such a great camera!!! :D

...and you'll be visiting WDW with Phillis in December??? I happened to be (LOL) there from 3rd. I wonder if we can get together, ;)

[MJTinNH]

How nice to get such a great camera!!! :D

...and you'll be visiting WDW with Phillis in December??? I happened to be (LOL) there from 3rd. I wonder if we can get together, ;)

Masayo, that would be great to meet up in December! I will pm you our dates and then maybe we can enjoy some of the decorations together.

[TominPok]

Very nice, Mary Jane, congrats!!! As for reference materials, take a look at the book "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. This book takes a more creative approach towards explaining how the settings on your camera interact to capture various types of photos.

Looking forward to seeing the results of your efforts!

[MJTinNH]

Very nice, Mary Jane, congrats!!! As for reference materials, take a look at the book "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. This book takes a more creative approach towards explaining how the settings on your camera interact to capture various types of photos.

Looking forward to seeing the results of your efforts!

Thank you for the suggestion Tom.:)

[WillCAD]

I'll second Tom's suggestion of Understanding Exposure, and add a more basic book as a pre-read: Digital Photography for Dummies.

Understanding Exposure is an excellent book, but it might be a little too daunting to read right at the beginning. Starting with a more basic book, then moving up to UE, will probably make the transition easier.

This is a post I made on the Passporter boards recently that I think applies here:

For me, buying my first SLR was not about "taking better pictures" or even about "owning a good camera." For me, it was about learning photography, which is far easier with an SLR than a P&S.

Buying a better camera will not make you a better photographer. It will not improve your composition, it will not improve your exposures, it will not eliminate shots where people have their eyes closed or where you can see the half-eaten Twinkie rolling around in their mouths. It will give you better tools with which to do these things yourself, but like any tool, it will only work well if you know how to use it properly.

Using a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being garbage and 10 being the Pulitzer Prize - If your skill level is 5, and you have a camera that's a 3, then upgrading to a camera that's a 5 will improve your pictures to level 5. But if you're a 5 and you buy a camera that's a 7, you will not get pictures at level 7 - you're still a 5, so your pics will not go above 5, no matter how good your camera is. The camera doesn't take pictures - YOU take pictures. You just use a camera to do it.

Basically, buying an SLR is not about improving your camera. It's about improving yourself. It's about learning new things, developing new skills, and deliberately creating images with your own skill and talent. If you want to do that, then go for the SLR. But if all you want to do is get a camera with more automatic thingamadoohickeys and more megapixels, and all you want to do is get pics by pushing a button without putting any thought or planning into the shot or developing any photographic skills, then the SLR is not what you want.

[ddindy]

I'll put in a plug for the forums at The Magic In Pixels (http://www.themagicinpixels.com/forum/). There are a bunch of really nice Disney photography fanatics there and many of them are Canon users.

[MJTinNH]

I'll put in a plug for the forums at The Magic In Pixels (http://www.themagicinpixels.com/forum/). There are a bunch of really nice Disney photography fanatics there and many of them are Canon users.

Thanks Dennis, I will check them out.:)

I'll second Tom's suggestion of Understanding Exposure, and add a more basic book as a pre-read: Digital Photography for Dummies.

Understanding Exposure is an excellent book, but it might be a little too daunting to read right at the beginning. Starting with a more basic book, then moving up to UE, will probably make the transition easier.

This is a post I made on the Passporter boards recently that I think applies here:

For me, buying my first SLR was not about "taking better pictures" or even about "owning a good camera." For me, it was about learning photography, which is far easier with an SLR than a P&S.

Buying a better camera will not make you a better photographer. It will not improve your composition, it will not improve your exposures, it will not eliminate shots where people have their eyes closed or where you can see the half-eaten Twinkie rolling around in their mouths. It will give you better tools with which to do these things yourself, but like any tool, it will only work well if you know how to use it properly.

Using a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being garbage and 10 being the Pulitzer Prize - If your skill level is 5, and you have a camera that's a 3, then upgrading to a camera that's a 5 will improve your pictures to level 5. But if you're a 5 and you buy a camera that's a 7, you will not get pictures at level 7 - you're still a 5, so your pics will not go above 5, no matter how good your camera is. The camera doesn't take pictures - YOU take pictures. You just use a camera to do it.

Basically, buying an SLR is not about improving your camera. It's about improving yourself. It's about learning new things, developing new skills, and deliberately creating images with your own skill and talent. If you want to do that, then go for the SLR. But if all you want to do is get a camera with more automatic thingamadoohickeys and more megapixels, and all you want to do is get pics by pushing a button without putting any thought or planning into the shot or developing any photographic skills, then the SLR is not what you want.

Will, I think that your point about buying finally learning photography is what I am looking to do. Point and shoot is great and I will keep the Kodak Easyshare. But I want to take some photo's with some more techniques that can't be had with a point and shoot. Try different focusing techniques, control the foreground image vs the background image etc. I also want to take some great landscape and outdoors images. So I look forward to this camera!

[DizzneeMomma]

I'm so envious. I hope to lose my mind just like you someday!