Some questions; kind of long

[StillLearning]

A few years ago for Christmas, I got a Canon EOS Rebel XT with an EF-S 18-55 lens. I've been taking pictures with it using the automatic options on the dial.

I have no aspirations to turn pro or photograph for pay at any time. I do hope to take clear, crisp pictures in manual mode and am trying to learn how to do that. I want to photograph my kids candidly at Christmas and at their sporting events, etc. and am wondering if there is a better lens for that type of thing.

I spent several hours on the forum last night searching for the right way to take pictures in manual mode in low light. Is my lens capable of that? I'm thinking ahead to Christmas morning and all those pictures are dark because our living room is fairly dark.

I'm a complete novice and should probably stick to a simpler camera or the pre-programmed options on the dial. But, I have the camera and want to make the most of it.

Oh, and I stupidly bought myself a Canon 75-300mm lens because I never felt my lens got close enough (in instances where I couldn't physically get closer). Is there a smaller, lighter lens that I could use for simple pictures? The one I have is too heavy and the pictures are blurry partly because I can't stay still. I do have a tripod, but it's not really feasible to use it for what I'm interested in doing.

One more question -- is there a section of this forum for novice dSLR users who are not professionals? You all take phenomenal pictures but I don't want to waste your time with my mundane questions. Thanks to anyone who can/will help.

[Jonbar18]

A great place to start: interactive exposure triangle
For kids and sports, a faster SS (shutter speed) is needed/recommended, to freeze the movement and remove blur. For darker locations, you want to use as slow an SS you can, open up the aperture all the way (lower f/number), and raise the ISO as far as your camera can handle (I wouldn`t go higher than 800 on a rebel).

As for the lens& blurry pictures, I haven`t heard anything bad about the 75-300. You might be getting blurry photos because you`re SS is too slow. The basic rule of thumb is to use 1/focal length (so if you were shooting at 100mm, you would use a SS of 1/100) BUT, because you have a smaller camera, you have to account for the crop factor (1.5x i think for Canon), so 100mm would actually be (x1.5) 150mm, so a SS of 1/150.

[RichardTaylor]

You may want to have a look at this intro to exposure.

Exposure (1) A balancing act


and the into to lenses.

Lenses #1 - Introduction to DSLR lenses.

Especially the section on fast lenses

Lenses #6 - Fast lenses

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@ Jonbar18

Ask anybody who has owned the Canon 75-300 (it gives you reach, but that is all). Almost everybody has replaced it with a better lens.
I own one.

[Ambrosia76]

I too have the 75-300mm lens and it is quite heavy, at least to me, I also have mobility issues and issues holding my hands steady as it is, so I had some issues with blurry pics also. I do use my tripod some which works fine for landscape shots but not so great trying to take pics of action. Instead of using my tripod I have found a different trick that works for me I have my hubby stand in front of me and I balance the lens on his shoulder and am able to move back and forth and get the shots I want. Increasing the shutter speed also helps.

Of course most people's husbands are taller than them so might not work for everyone, perhaps an older child or have the other person sit or kneel...LOL

[Shawn7656]

A great site that I've been learning a lot from lately is KenRockwell.com

He is VERY much so a Nikon man when it comes to dSLRs, but he's a lover of canon point and shoots.

Anyways, here's his site,
KenRockwell.com: Photography, Cameras and Taking Better Pictures

And here is a link to a list of his "How to take better pictures" articles (there are a LOT of articles with a LOT of info).
How to Take Better Pictures
He has a lot of knowledge and I appreciate all that he has put up online. Google is always your friend when it comes to learning new things. Let's say you want to know what the "AV" mode is on your camera: Google "AV mode Canon DSLR" and the first site explains that and more
Canon DSLR camera icons explained - DSLR Handbook - Digital SLR Photography

Youtube has also been a pretty easy way for me to learn stuff as well, as you can actually see what's going on on how to do things.

Good luck

[StillLearning]

Thank you both for your responses. I truly appreciate it!

[prince]

For indoor Christmas shots, movement will not be your challenge but lower light will. In that case you will need at minimum 1/100 or above shutterspeed if handheld, ISO of 400 and above, and widest aperture (I think your lens will have 3.5 at 18mm and 5.6 at 55mm), but unfortunately those are not enough for low light.

For sports in good light conditions, you will need shutterspeed of 200 and above.. ISO as low as it can go and aperture may be f11 and above..

The lenses you have are good for situations when light is very good..

Also, there is no section for novice DSLR users because you need advise from the pros so don't worry. People are good and very helpful on this forum as long as you know what you want to learn

[StillLearning]

Guess that should've said thank you all; I didn't see the other responses when I replied.

I will take a look at those links in the morning. I was playing around a bit taking pictures of stuff in my living room and got no decent shots when I set my aperture to 5.6 (lowest it would go with the 18-55 lens). I took a picture in what I believe is automatic mode (the green rectangle on the dial) and then checked the settings. The results shown were 5.6 aperture with a 1/60 SS. I went back and did that in manual mode and it looked in the viewfinder and on the screen as though the picture would've been completely underexposed. It was not and looked just like it would've looked in the automatic mode.

It's frustrating for me and reading a bunch of stuff tends to confuse me (especially when I see people contradicting each other on what's good and what's not), but I'll trudge along. I've seen a certain 50 or 55mm prime lense with a 1.8 (I believe) aperature setting recommended numerous times. That's in my budget so I may consider buying that and playing around a bit.

[Shawn7656]

Manual mode is hard to master. Maybe you'd have an easier time learning to do one or two things at a time first. Instead of going full manual, try Aperture Priority mode (A, AV, etc on the dial) and learn how the aperture effects the photo. While doing this you can start doing your ISO settings manually as well. Then try switching to Shutter speed Priority (S, TV, etc on the dial) and learning how that changes everything. Pay attention to the settings that you aren't controlling when taking pictures on those two settings to give you a better idea of how they interact. Once you master the two, try manual again and it should be much easier.

[ik631]

Get the 50 f1.8!!!! Best lens for the money I ever bought. I use it whenever light is low. The only problem I have with it is that on a crop sensor 50mm can be tight indoors since there is not always room to back up and it can have a hard time focusing in low light without the help of a flash. It forces you to be creative some times. Try zooming your kits lens to 50mm and seeing if you will be able to get the inside shots you want or not at that focal length to see if the 50mm will be right for you or if you might want to step down to the 35mm.