New Camera, New to Forum, New DSLR Rookie

[Picrookie]

Hi
I've been reading alot of your posts before joining, and the information here has been extremely helpful. About 3 weeks ago, after I had a point and shoot Olympus Sp350 stolen, my wife decided to surprise me and for my birthday she purchase a new camera based on advise from her photographer friend who apparently thought I was well beyond my current camera knowledge. So, she purchased the Canon 7D with the Canon 28-135MM 1:3.5-5.6 IS kit. WOW - what a camera, I almost know how to turn it on and off...lol I've read the manual (works like a sleeping pill) several times and this being my first DSLR, I'm way over my head, but hoping to learn the basic's, not worrying about having to upgrade anytime soon....as according to this group, the 7D will pretty much do anything I could want or understand for a quite some time. I've ordered a len protector and screen shields as that seems to be one of the first items to get according to this group. I've also pickup several books on Digital Camera 101, but I thought it would be good to get hooked up with a "Real" forum for questions that the books just may not make clear. Just in the three weeks trying the camera I've had a ton of fun and like all new hobbies, I've got a ton of studying and work ahead of me to see some decent results - but I'm looking forward to it. I live at the end of the Grand Canyon here in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area (by Las Vegas, Nevada) so I've got lots of opertunity to shoot a multitude of areas. I look forward to further conversations with you all.

Thanks

[OsmosisStudios]

Enjoy it! The 7D is a fantastic piece of kit, and you'll be set for quite a while.

Keep the camera in the P mode (programmed Auto). It does most of the heavy lifting but lets you adjust things bit by bit.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask us.

[GadgetRick]

There are some books specific to the 7D. Not a bad idea to pick one of those up.

Learn exposure first--and the things which affect it--then focus (no pun intended) on one aspect (e.g. aperture) and take lots of photos and change that setting a lot to understand what the changes do to your exposure. Expand your knowledge as you understand each setting.

At that point, start worrying about the other aspects of photography--depth of field, composition, etc.

Makes it much easier to break it down to individual parts. Easy to be overwhelmed by everything if you don't.

[Elmo]

A small addition to shooting "P" set ISO to 400 as a good starting place.

[Picrookie]

Thanks for all the advice - lots to pick up. Is there a specific book on the 7D or basic digital photography that starts off with "This is a camera etc" that any of you have read or know about that you could recommend? I've looked locally for a evening Photo 101 Class but it looks like I'll have to wait for Sept to start. Any help would be appreicated.
Thanks

[starryj63]

For my 2cents worth.......... there are a LOT of online tutorials you can watch that start at that basics and work up from there.

Canon actually do some for each of their cameras.

I personally have the 450D and have found these most useful. You don't have to pay for them either so that's a bonus!

Lastly......... I was wondering if you could get your wife to explain to my partner the importance of encouraging hobbies! lol A 7D! You are one lucky person!!

Have fun and I hope you enjoy your new "toy".

[Krusty79]

What kind of "lens protector" did you get? No one on these forums recommends getting a UV filter. Most recommend a lens hood instead.

You'll want to get a good tripod (bubble level helps) and circular polarizing filter also.

[RLucas]

I don't think I have anything to add that hasn't been said, except welcome to DPS!
And I think I just fell in love with your wife!

[vconti]

my wife & i retired about 18 months ago,(married 40yrs. this nov.) she knew i was interested in photography a few years ago, so in lieu of a big retirement party for me she bought me a 1DsM3 a few months ago after i purchased the D5M2 about 8 months earlier, never knew about her purchase, it was a complete surprise, big big investment, i'm so unqualified to use these cameras at the present time, but i certainly have the time to learn the advantages of both . the one good thing is i'm sure i don't have too worry about upgrading for years to come . so thats why i joined this site for some helpfull tips or advice when i need it, which i will deffinately need !! lol

[ednorm]

The 7D is complex and a lot of fun to use too. I have never used a lens protector. I had an old Minolta X700 film camera for twenty years and the lens is still pristine without ever using one. The UV filters with a digital slr camera seem pointless to me. Canon has some very neat video tutorials at their site specific to the 7D, they take a while to download but are very informative, you can also download them to view onscreen of your cameras viewfinder, which seemed like a lot of work too me. Here is a link to the site. Canon Digital Learning Center - EOS 7D: On-Camera Tutorial Videos

ed