Hey guys, I've finally broke down and upgraded to a DSLR. The Powershot S2IS is a great camera but it's taken me as far as it can take me. I purchased the Canon Rebel XT because I wanted to see if I can better my photography skills. Got it with a 1 Gig card for about $900.

Initial impressions:

My first impression was, "How the hell do I turn on the LCD so I can use it as a viewfinder?" Apparently on the Rebel, and possibly all SLR's (not sure bout that), you can't use the LCD as a viewfinder. You actually have to look through the small viewfinder. Well, that just made my "low to the ground" angles a bit harder to compose. It's all good though, I'm willing to get down and dirty, literally. It's just that the S2IS's pull out/swivel LCD spoiled me.

What I liked off the bat was the manual focus and the zoom. Instead of buttons you have to turn their respective rings on the lens. Way more precise.

Another thing I noticed from my first test shots was that perception of depth of field was increased (Subject in focus/background blurry). With the Powershot, I had to be a lot closer to the subject to get that blurry background effect. This limited the composition of the picture.

Also, I liked that the Rebel's widest angle was noticably wider than that of the Powershot. I can fit more into the frame and at a closer distance.

Shooting is a little bit more complicated. If I wasn't so accustomed to using the Manual Mode on the Powershot I think I would've been a bit overwhelmed with the Rebel. With the Powershot, after you adjust the aperature and shutter speed you could half-press the trigger and you would get a little preview of how the image would be exposed on the LCD. Not that easy on the Rebel, no LCD shooting remember?

All in all, the Powershot is an excellent camera and if I had to do it all over again I would still have purchased the Powershot first. But seeing as I want to keep improving my photography skills, it was time to upgrade. I took a few shots last night. (look below) I didn't wash my car because it was going to rain. Hence the strategically positioned pics. Stay tuned for some more great shots

 

Welcome to the wonderful world of DSLR. You are correct in saying that you can't "preview" images on the LCD. The Rebel XT is actually better because you can get a better sense of how your photograph will turn out with the DOF preview feature.

I strongly suggest shooting in full manual mode from the start. It will make for some crummy photos in the beginning but it will really get you to pay attention to the different aspects of photography (Exposure/Composition/Lighting). Also, try reading this book "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson. I found that book to be very informative.

I like your steering wheel shot a lot!

 

oh and I hope your wallet is ready for all that $$ you will spend on lenses.

 

Thanks Pete. Yea, I don't believe I've shot in anything other than Manual mode since I've had this camera. I'm definately getting the hang of this camera. And thanks for that suggestion, I'll look into that book.

 

Just an update for everyone,

I've got my own domain name for my gallery now.

www.ob-photo.com

The other one still works but I got tired of saying http://morenor.home.comcast.net

In other news I've added a few more pictures to the gallery, here's one.

 

shoot mine, i just PMed you

 

If you ever make it up to Sac I got 100.00 for ya.

 

Very tempting man. I've actually had another person wanting me to go up to the Bay. I might setup a weekend where I go shoot the hell out of some some cars up there. I'll keep you posted.

 

Sounds good keep me posted.

 

wow, best shot i have seen in a while, let us kno if you come to central florida you'll have PLENTY of cars to do

 

Thanks man. I'll keep that in mind next time I'm in the area

 

Few new updates.

- Some awesome shots of mpaige22 should be up pretty soon. There's a couple on my site to wet your whistles.




- yummm....motion shots. You should see a few more of these when the sun comes out. Another one on my site





Who wants a photoshoot, [evil laugh] muhahahaha [/evil laugh]

p.s. I've added a guestbook in the contact section so you guys can leave me some comments.
www.ob-photo.com

 

Here's another one of my experimental motion shots

 

Shot balla last night. Good to meet ya. Beautiful ride. Keep up the great work. I'm sure he'll be posting another thread with his pictures but here's a few of my favs from the shoot.

 

great work, you got a lot of talent. keep it up and it can only get better.