I've recently begun to focus increasing attention on photography. I'm still very green but I study incessantly and practice till my eyes are sore. In other words, I'll get there.

I've got a gallery at PBase which I am expanding rapidly - go there now, I command thee!

Recent History: Film to Digital

I started-out about a year ago with the cheapest Vivitar 35mm body available. I studied and practiced - when I got my images back, I would compare them with my notes and learn from my mistakes.

This worked well, but processing was becoming a bottleneck : The delay between taking the photos and understanding the results greatly lessened the effects of practice. At this stage one generally blocks-off a room with a sink and enters the world of the darkroom.

Enter my wife's "say cheese" 3MP digital camera: Fixed viewfinder (with bonus parralax error), automatic aperture, no manual anything.

"This thing pisses me off," I huff, disgusted, "I'll keep my 35mm."
"Oh that reminds me, the photo shop called, your prints are done. Hah!" says she.

Sometimes she says the simplest things at just the right time. :)

I like digital photography. I don't care about Photoshop or quicktime vr or After Effects: I care about getting my results as soon as possible so I can learn from them. Not having to pay for each frame is just icing on the cake.

I tried a Fuji 602Z, the cheapest 3.1 with some manual control - it was okay but it never felt like my SLR and I was usually trying to trick it into doing what I wanted. I drooled when the Digital Rebel was announced and I have not been dissatisfied. Well okay I've got a few peeves and I'll probably make a section for them later, but overall you could not wish for more digital SLR for the money.

As I've stated, I'm very much still a novice in both photography and digital SLRs. I have, however, taken thousands of shots with the Rebel already and so I will give you my own few tips, some of which are likely to read like my pet peeves of the 300D.

1. PDA Screen Protector
Fellows and several other companies make screen protectors for PDAs that are perfect for protecting the LCD display panel on the back of your Rebel. All the PDAs have bigger screens so most any would do. If you put one on right-away, you'll never have to worry about scratching your display!

2. Canon f/1.8 50mm (80mm)
This lens is fast and it's Canon glass - it's a bit cheaply constructed but for under $100 you will get some great pics out of your Rebel in lighting (or action) conditions that the kit EF-S zoom can't touch.

3. Mode selection in the the dark
Sadly, there's no definite indication in either the status window or viewfinder as to what shooting mode you are in. In dark conditions, it's impossible to see the printing on the dial. Menus and displays change but in several modes the displays are the same.

To set the shooting mode in the dark, I have an imaginary TV show called:

Ape : This is Automatic depth-of-field mode
Man : This is Manual mode
hAVe : This is the "Av" aperture-priority mode
TV : This is the "Tv" shutter-priority mode
Program : This is the scene "Program" mode

It might be a little hard to remember what "Ape" is but since I never use that mode this mnemonic works fine for me. It also ignores the automatic modes but who cares. For awhile I remembered "Ape Man's Cave TV Program" - that might work better for you.

It helps if you imagine Will Farrell saying it.