My New Toy
It’s here! My new toy arrived yesterday, via Amazon, and a friend visiting her sister in the States. I wasn’t expecting to have an opportunity to get it this quickly, but the Easter break proved to be perfect timing.
So, what did I get?
It’s the most popular camera (or one of) on Flickr, Dpreview and Digital Photography School and got good reviews there. It’s also soon to be superseded by a model with 12MP which meant there were some good deals around. I figured going from a 4MP Point & Shoot to a 10MP DSLR would be a big enough jump, I didn’t need to wait a few months and pay a lot more for those extra 2MP. I think I was always going to get a Canon. Most people seem to particularly like one of the big brands and they tend to get hooked on it. I guess you get used to the way they work so it’s easier to just upgrade the same system. Certainly once you’ve got one brand it’s cheaper to stay with it since your lenses and other accessories will probably fit a new camera if you later upgrade it. I briefly considered looking at Pentaxes since we have an old film SLR and the lenses would fit, but they are all manual focus and I don’t think I’m at the stage of wanting to do that yet! I’ve got a few lenses and accessories on my wish list, but might need to save up a bit more for them.
So, there’s lots of buttons, dials and settings to get my head around. I also bought a guide book to go with it, which I’m hoping will get me started on how to use it all.
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Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi/400D Digital Field Guide by Charlotte K. Lowrie |
Now the pressure’s on to produce quality photos from it! Here’s one of my first attempts. Nothing earth shattering, just me clicking away in the backyard. 
I hope you don’t mind sharing my photography journey with me on the blog - with any luck I’ll have a record here of how I’ve improved over the coming months and years…
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Wow I think the photo is good! Chiq looks like she has is up to some mischief perhaps?!?
I am so jealous! I really really really want a DSLR but can not afford one before I go back to Australia and I know I won`t buy one there knowing that I could get it cheaper once I return to Japan!!! I think I want a nikon but look forward to hearing more about how you find the canon!
Do you use something to edit your photos? I never have but have photoshop to install when I have time and am looking forward to having a play around!
Have loads of fun with your new toy!
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I’ve got the model before that camera. Love it. I just wish I knew how to get the most out of it.
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Ohhh.. I am so very jealous! I have have this very same camera on my wish list atm, but have to wait a little longer
Look forward to seeing more of your beautiful pictures
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ooooh a new toy! There will be no stopping you now!
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Oh - you will love the 400D. I have the 350D - and I adore it. The jump from point and shoot to 10MP is fabulous!!!! Looking forward to seeing some great photos!
I love getting new toys - its so much fun. Good luck learning how to use everything that it has to offer - I am still not using my digital point and shoot to its maximum abilities.
And the photo of Chiq is gorgeous, but she looks like maybe she got sprung doing something she wasn’t supposed to be doing
Looking forward to seeing more photos
I have the old 300D but its still fabulous and I splurged and bought an awesome 17-85mm lens a few years ago which makes all the diff. I can’t wait to see your photos! I have a great little program from PhotoCleaner to do quick resizes, colour boosts, vignettes, borders and copyright info but have also started using Photoshop recently. I am always on the look out for bloggers working on their photography skills, its amazing what you can learn! Please share!
Thanks all for visiting.
Lulu - She does have a cheeky look doesn’t she! Definitely worth saving up for a DSLR (from my 2 days of experience!) and I bet they are cheaper in Japan. They are so much cheaper in the States than in Australia. I use Photoshop a bit for editing but I find it quite complex. I really need to do some “study” on how to get the most out of it.
Kate - I have been clicking away ever since I got it, now I feel like I’ve got to deliver! 
Kylie - Thanks for visiting. I’ll be using your photos for inspiration!
Sarah - I’m already thinking about the lens I want to save up for - a nice zoom would be great for taking photos of the kids. Thanks for the tip on PhotoCleaner - I’ll have to check it out. I use photoshop too but for simple resizes, crops etc it’s much easier to use a simple program.
M - Thanks for visiting! That’s my mission to at least find out SOME things the new toy can do.
Leigh - Thanks. Seems a lot of people are lusting after this camera.
Gemisht - I am having fun with it, and I do think Chiq was up to something cheeky. Probably planning to spread pegs all over the backyard again.
The photo is stunning, the ‘model’ cuter than ever. The image is very sharp and love the soft background effect.Oh, and I am so jealous.
I have a new Canon camera on my wish list -thanks for the tip about a new model I will keep my eye out for a run out model bargain too.
Please share the journey …I have so much to learn.
Thanks for visiting me and your comments on my twins birth story… I know what you mean about the conflict.
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Thanks for your thoughts.
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ooh! pretty! we’ll upgrade one day - when my skills improve enough to justify the cost
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With subject matter like little madam, how can you possibly go wrong?
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Oooh enjoy! I have the same camera
Have fun practicing!
There are plenty of websites out there to help with photography, I’m sure there are plenty of blogs as well!
I haven’t bought any extra lenses (I got the twin lens kit, find the zoom lense hard to use because of camera shake) but I am hoping to get the 50mm 1.4 when I have the money (its a portrait lense, fixed ‘zoom’, but great for indoor/low light shots, which is perfect with kidlets :))
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Gorgeous photo!!! Well done you. I am jealous. I still have to wait until September for my new baby… maybe I can talk Dave around for Mother’s Day? What do you think?
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[...] know that I’m a bit obsessed with photography at the moment - taking photos with my new baby and playing around with post-processing on the computer. A huge part of taking a great photo is [...]
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