Newbie Getting a Canon Rebel XS

[mjda]

As the title says, I'm about to purchase my first ever DSLR. I'm most likely going to go with the Canon XS. I looked at the XSi, but figured I'd go with the cheaper body for now and use the $150 difference for accessories. My question is, what accessories would be considered a "must get" keeping my accessory total at, or around, $150-200. Most of my photos will be of landscapes and wildlife during hikes at various local locations. After reading a bit I feel like a polarizer would be something I'd likely want to get, even though I'll have no idea when/how to use it at first. What else should be something I'd want to add to my new camera, keeping in mind I'll just be learning as I go?

[RichardTaylor]

Spare batteries, memory cards. Lens hood. Possibly a small bag (holster?) to put it in.
Polariser and for those times you are shooting in hostile environments a UV filter. Optech rain sleeve for shooting in bad weather.

[mjda]

Originally Posted by RichardTaylor

Spare batteries, memory cards. Lens hood. Possibly a small bag (holster?) to put it in.
Polariser and for those times you are shooting in hostile environments a UV filter. Optech rain sleeve for shooting in bad weather.

Thanks! A few of those things I wouldn't even have thought of!

[Bluenoser]

I'd recommend a good tripod and wide angle lens if you're doing a lot of Landscape.

[mjda]

Originally Posted by Bluenoser

I'd recommend a good tripod and wide angle lens if you're doing a lot of Landscape.

Thanks for the suggestions. I do plan on getting a tripod for sure. Any particular lens you would suggest that would fit somewhere in my low budget?

[BCampbell]

+1 on the tripod, spare battery, spare memory card. You could also use a remote shutter release and a good bag. What are you using to process your photos? It can be useful to spend some money on your hardware and software (can never have too much RAM and a good monitor is priceless).

Don't worry about wide angle lenses, your kit lens goes plenty wide. Going wider than 18mm on Rebels for landscape is actually fairly difficult and you need be really solid in your composition techniques to do so. You'll actually want a good telephoto for woldlife before that. But any extra lenses are really out of your budget right now.

[Bluenoser]

Originally Posted by mjda

Thanks for the suggestions. I do plan on getting a tripod for sure. Any particular lens you would suggest that would fit somewhere in my low budget?

Can't really recommend a lens within your budget, sorry.

Are you purchasing just the body or does it come with a kit lens, usually the 18-55 I believe? If so, then that is a good lens for starting out in landscape. Down the road if you ever go fullframe you'll probably want to look at other options, but then if you go there your budget will have to increase dramatically.

[mjda]

Originally Posted by BCampbell

+1 on the tripod, spare battery, spare memory card. You could also use a remote shutter release and a good bag. What are you using to process your photos? It can be useful to spend some money on your hardware and software (can never have too much RAM and a good monitor is priceless).

I actually have Photoshop CS4 already, and a custom computer that I built just this year, but have never used it for "photographs". I've only used it for web graphic creation. It'll be fun getting to play with some of the toys that I've never even looked at before within Photoshop.

Originally Posted by Bluenoser

Are you purchasing just the body or does it come with a kit lens, usually the 18-55 I believe? If so, then that is a good lens for starting out in landscape. Down the road if you ever go fullframe you'll probably want to look at other options, but then if you go there your budget will have to increase dramatically.

Yes, I'll be getting the kit lens with it. I guess I'll stick with it for a while until I can get something better. I'm hoping this will turn into something fun that I'll be able to do with my entire family on our hikes and trips. If that happens, I'll likely think about spending more money on it.

Thanks to both of you for your input. It's greatly appreciated.

[BCampbell]

Originally Posted by mjda

I actually have Photoshop CS4 already, and a custom computer that I built just this year, but have never used it for "photographs". I've only used it for web graphic creation. It'll be fun getting to play with some of the toys that I've never even looked at before within Photoshop.

Sounds good. You might want to look into a monitor calibration device, but you don't need that right off, it can wait until you start printing a lot. Investing in some books might not be a bad idea, something that covers CS4 for photographers, and if you're interested in nature photography, my girlfriend has this Audubon book and it's a really, really good intro.

[inkista]

It would eat up most of your budget, but the ~$100 EF 50mm f/1.8 II is not a bad starter piece of gear, either. Particularly if you're interested in low light photography, or blurring the background--the stuff a P&S can't really do. But for the subject matter you're talking about, the kit lens is probably better for now. (18mm is actually wide angle on a crop-body. When most people say "wide angle" lens these days, they mean an ultrawide, like the 10-22).

But yeah, extra cards, batteries, a card reader, and a bag tend to be the first supplementary purchases.

If you wanted to be a big spender , blowing the budget on Photoshop Lightroom when version 3 comes out might also be worth considering. LR and PS complement each other. Right now the LR3 beta is on the Adobe labs website for free download, so you can see what it does that PS doesn't, and vice versa.

One other low-cost newbie purchase you'll see recommended on a lot of photography boards is the Bryan Peterson book, Understanding Exposure.