kja

I'd probably go the twin kit set - they cover a nice range, give a lot of options, are very flexible and will give her a great start to figuring out which focal length she likes the most. Both options are good, you can't go wrong

In case anyone wants to check it out - linky. I have never used this company, but who knows - and for $23 it's probably worth the risk.

I haven't been able to start work this morning because of this guy. - he freaks me out - I am compelled to take photos of him - I decided to play with my 1.4 teleconverter - I feel the need to share it with the world All adding up to not being overly productive LOL

You have the 600D right? I can shoot my much older generation 40D to 1600+ if I expose properly. No reason you shouldn't be able to do the same. And yes, it's very common to freak out about "noise". Some software really seems to show it (Lightroom does this but you get used to it and realise it's really fine) and sometimes we view at 400% and freak ourselves out. You can have a lot of "noise" in a photo on your computer monitor and then print it good sized and not see it. Frankly, I don't worry about noise too much anymore on a good exposure as I know it will be fine. Nailing focus and exposure is far more important than pixel peeping for me. yesterday in bright sunshine I was shooting ISO400 and above so I could keep my shutter speed high for the breaching whales and moving boat.

Just up your shutter speed (and your ISO if need be). A tripod for action is far more trouble than it's worth, imho :D Action is all about practice - expect to toss far more than you keep.

Anything by Kelby. There is zero difference in shooting RAW or jpeg. Just flip the switch and start shooting. If you use Lightroom, there's no difference in how you edit either as everything works the same way no matter what type of file. Don't be intimidated by Lightroom - just import your photos and start moving sliders. Stick with the basics first: white balance, exposure, contrast, brightness etc. Also note that once you have imported your images into Lightroom, in the develop module you can select an image, then run your cursor down the supplied list of presets on the left-hand side while watching the changes in the little window on the left above said presets. You don't even have to click anything at that stage - gives you a great (and fast) insight into how a particular preset will look on that image. All presets can be completely tweaked and every thing you do can be undone with a simple click - so you can never make a mistake.

Try Brilliant Prints, I've always had perfection from them and no fading or warping or anything at all negative. Oh, and if you're going to sell stuff, might pay to look into dedicated shopping sites/carts & labs because from what I've seen RB screws the photographer pretty badly on prices really. They aren't that expensive to set up and there are a ton of reputable labs out there to work with - most drop ship directly to customers or you can have the products sent to you and then onship them.

There should be a disk with your camera. On that disk should be video software that you need to download onto your computer. If you stick the disk in the software should self-install (you may need to click "I agree" and "yes" a few times). Then when you plug your camera in to your computer, that software should automagically launch and prompt you on how to get stuff from camera to computer.

Wohooo!! congratulations!! Can't wait to see some images ;) Have fun

Thank you Loving all the entries for week 40 (and makeup photos, too!)

+1 for CrazyCresties suggestion. So many options!

He's wrong. Hopefully coz he's just clueless and not because he's a Nikon pusher. Ignore the sales people - they are going to tell you what you want to hear and what they want to sell.

Don't listen to all the techno-speak - especially from salesmen. I don't understand the shorter video comment - there are very few people or times when you are going to shoot more than 29 minutes & 59 seconds (the max per CLIP) at a time. Each time you stop recording, that time resets - it's not like you can only shoot 30 minutes of video in total ;) A thirty minute clip would make people jump into oncoming traffic it would be so relentlessly boring!

Exactly the way you shoot in jpeg (assuming you are doing OK on your exposures, of course) :D

yes, the sigma is a fantastic lens and very good bang for buck

the 70-200 lenses are awesome. I personally think the IS is very much worth it and wouldn't own a lens in this range without it. But choosing a zoom for action is also dependent on how far away you will be. The most versatile for me with shooting my dogs on the beach etc is the 100-400L. I don't lose much on the short end over the 70-200 and I gain a significant amount so I can shoot them further away or zoom in for close ups. As with all things, expect a trade off. It's heavier and its widest aperture isn't as wide as my 70-200 which means in lower light I have to a) up the ISO and/or b) lower the shutter speed. Once you learn to use the bulk & weight (of any lens) you should be able to push the boundaries of shutter speed - I can hand hold the 100-400 extended to 400 at 1/15 while shooting a stationary object, for instance. If you are going to get nice and close to the action, something even wider than the 70-200 could work, too. It really all depends on your distance and what else you like to shoot to get the best bang for your buck. there are also good lenses like the 18-200/250ish range out there. They again don't have quite the aperture range, but they do a very good job and are an excellent all purpose walk around lens. Whatever you get, remember that action shots are not easy and you will throw away about 100 shots for every one you keep. It takes time and patience and practice to start nailing shots - especially when you start experimenting with nice wide apertures. I don't want to hijack this thread but I may be selling my Canon 70-200L 2.8 IS next month.

40/52 The story is here

DPP that's the one I was thinking of I didn't remember that you used those, Kirislin - good to know!

Lightroom. Adobe has a 30 day free trial. The software that comes with Canon cameras is also meant to be very very good. I have quite a few mates who do use it (not as many as rely on LR, tho) and recognize that it is powerful and fairly easy to get around in. I've personally never loaded it as I'm a LR Gal all the way and have no need to learn one more bit of computer stuffs :D

The 18-200 range is a really nice range and the Canon version does a very nice job.

Or check out the thread I put up the other day :D

cat - never come across the won't let you update problem. if in doubt, ask the manufacturer before you buy.

Rappy - again, any of the current dslr models by Canon or Nikon will do the trick if your current camera isn't giving what you need in performance or growth potential. You should easily be able to find something in your budget. As for lenses, it's impossible to suggest lenses without an idea of what you like to shoot. I have found the best place to look is over at POTN in the lens archives as there is a wide variety of subject matter and technique displayed in dedicated threads so it's a matter of cruising around and putting some time in to narrow things down. Spending money on quality glass - doesn't have to be top of the line - is money well spent imho. Usually you want to stay away from the cheapest/slowest glass and take the second or third tier to get great bang for buck.

You seriously don't need to worry about that IMHO - every current camera is more than capable of capturing motion.

I know nothing about it but a friend sent me this link - check it out, read the fine print and enter at your own risk ;)