Any help for this noob? :P

[Bluegem74]

Hi,
I'm new to the world of dslr's ( I miss the point and shoot I used to have). I hope you can bear with me here.

I just got myself a Canon 1000D/rebel Xs, in the shop I was tossing up between this and the 450D/rebel Xsi. I said ti the guy I wanted to do alot of close up macros of flowers and also probably animals and landscapes. This camera I got came with a 75-300mm lens thats what mainly attracted me to it as my understanding was that it was more for your closeup shots. Although this didn't have IS (Image Stabiliser) it wasnt really a big deal as I am always using a tripod, it was the lens which attracted me. The 450D/xsi came with a 55-250mm lens (i think it was) but also alot dearer although it had IS. It was a tough decision but the 75-300mm lens won me over.

Now this is where my dilemma comes in. I was trying to take a flower macro, with no sucess. I read the instruction manual (i have everything in my camera bag ) it said:

When you want to photograph flowers or small things up close, use the @-'- (close-up) mode. (lol @ my flower icon attempt). To make small things appear much larger, use a macro lens (sold seperately). (I thought I could do that with this 75-300mm lens)
Shooting tips
Move to the subject as close as possible.
Check the lens for its minimum focusing distance. Some lenses have indications such as <@-'- 0.25m/0.8ft> (I figured out what they meant here by checking out the normal lens which came with the camera, the 75-300 lens said {@-'- 1.5m/4.9ft}). The lens minimum focusing distance is measured from the (focal plane) mark on the camera to the subject (I found this too, on the 75-300 it says 58mm). If you are too close to the subject, the focus confirmation light will blink. (I must say nothing showed up, not even on the display).
Under low light, the built-in-flash will fire. If you are too close to the subject and the bottom of the picture looks dark, move away from the subject.

The book didn't have great instructions really and I was somewhere where I didnt have access to a computer to check out the tips here, i still havent yet but will soon.

Ok so to my understanding, the minimum focusing distance is 58mm, there was no way I could get that close it was just a blur. Or am I mistaken. Did I read the instructions and understand them wrongly(it wasn't only me though, I had my fiancee trying to help me too), the 58mm is not the minimum focusing length but rather the @-'- 1.5m/4.9ft is? (omg i hope not, getting that far away from flowers in some situations will be a pain).

No focus confirmation light blinked at all, although I'm not sure where to look for it.

IDK (sigh) have a made a wrong decision in the camera in which i bought? Was I given a bumsteer from the guy selling it? Is this lens one in which I can't do macros with? I hope to hell that I don't have to outlay costs for a macro lens as that wont be able to happen for ages.

I realize I have a long way to go into understanding and learning this thing but I really really miss my point and shoot, but it had an unfortunate accident (a gust of wind cropped up when it was on the tripod in powersave mode, but with lens out, and I wasnt quick enough to grab it, was in between shooting so wasnt right there, wind toppled the tripod over right onto its lens . geez how i miss that easy to use camera.) oh well no use cyring over spilt milk. I've learnt now, I remove the camera from the tripod with the quick release feature, no more leaving it on there for a horrible act of nature to occur, this camera is way to dear for anything like that.

Looking forward to your feedback.
Thanks,
Gayle.

[kencaleno]

For a start, the 58mm you read is the diameter of the thread at the front of the lens to take filters-the closest distance of that lens is 4.9 feet.

The manual will not teach you photography-it will only inform you what each knob and button on the camera will do. -They are written by engineers, not photographers

you can take flower shots with that lens,but you would have been better off with the 18-55 kit lens.

If you send me your e-mail address, I will send you my guide to using a DSLR. Regards, Ken

[freybear3]

KEN - Can i get a copy of that as well? ROMANTIKNIGHT4U@GMAIL.COM



BLUEGEM - I have the same camera, it is a very nice camera
I bought it with the 18-55 kit lens though, and bought an extra lens, 75-300 promaster lens.
I had better luck with macro shots with the 75-300 lens. I had to use the "close up mode" on the camera. But i also had to stand like 5 feet from the subject, which is weird considering i was doing macro, LOL. But the 75-300 lens is good for the macro shots, you have to put the lens into the macro settings though. Once the lens is in macro setting, then your set to go. And use MANUAL focusing.

I am sure you probably already did all of this, so my best advice is keep practicing.

Yes, it is weird standing 5 feet from the subject, LOL but well worth the shots

[zomie]

Why don't you pick up a dedicated Macro lens? They are much better for such things...

Check into the Sigma 105mm, Tamron 90mm, Canon 100mm, Sigma 150mm....

They will likely have a faster f stop then any telephoto, and will give you much better detail. Also when you are zoomed out without IS it is very very difficult to get a sharp photo.

I have been in a similar place for a while with a super zoom 28-300mm Macro lens, but the shots are not that crisp. I just picked up a 50mm sigma macro, and the details difference is amazing.

[sherryva]

I bought a set of Kenko extension tubes for macro work, which allow me to focus alot closer to the subject. I use them mainly on my 100mm canon macro- but they work just as nicely on my telephoto zoom lenses also, and with my 70-200 I get the added benefit of the great bokeh of my 2.8 lens. They arent too expensive. Just an another option....

[Gonzo13]

Bluegem I believe that you might be able to do macro with the lens that you have. It will be more zooming than getting close to the flower. It is 4.9ft from where the film would be not from the front of the lens. I am not even really sure if you would need to use the macro setting either. I did some quick testing with my camera, 400D, and I didn't see any difference in focusing between the macro setting and an Av setting. Basically place the subject 4 feet 11 inches away from the sensor or about 4 feet 10 inches away from where you attach the lens, focus on the object, then zoom in on the subject.
I personally think that the 55-250 lens would have been better, being matched with the 450 it probably would have been more expensive. The manual has just technical info it's not really about technique.

~Gonzo13

[Bluegem74]

Thankyou all for your help.

I took your advice and used the normal lens and I'm getting there. I am still uncertain as to which mode to use (I swap and change between macro and av and a-dep), I still don't understand settings etc I'm just a basic user atm (just winging it), I'll get there one day when I have the time to read and understand shutter settings etc. I'm having fun and that's the main thing, Take loads of pics and surely one will be somewhat ok lol.

These are a few of the ones I'm happy with. Hopefully I've resized and done everything ok according to forum rules, apologies if not.

I like them all but the 1st pic I'm so happy with. I held the camera above my head as the rose was up high. Was happy with the outcome. Taken in program AE shooting mode.
The 2nd pic was taken in Program AE mode.
The 3rd pic was Program AE mode too.
And I was quite pleased with the 4th too, just a shame the close lavenders were a little blurred but I was focusing on the bee. Was taken in Macro shooting mode.

Thanks again for your help. Sorry it's been ages for my reply, hopefully those that helped and gave me advice will be able to see the outcome.

Thanks again.
Gayle.

P.S These photos apart from being resized smaller have had no post processing (I think that's what its called) as I wouldn't know what to do. They're as they were, taken straight from the camera.

[Bluegem74]

Oops the 2nd pic was uploaded by mistake, was supposed to be this pic. The stamens are a little clearer in this photo. Taken in the same Program AE shooting mode.

[mike1187]

I would also reccomend the extension tubes if you are looking for a fairly inexpensive route. I have been quite happy with mine. I have the 55-250mm kit lens, and I've taken some great macro shots with it using tubes. I think the minimum focusing distance on my lens is 6.9 ft, but with a full set of kenko tubes on it, I can get to within about 2 ft with the lens at 250mm, and within a few inches with the lens at shorter focal lengths.

[dharmit]

Hi,

Just a short advise from my side.

1. Use your tele-photo lense (55-250 for me) 70-300 for you.
2. Use it at the maximum zoom (250 for me) 300 for you
3. Set your camera to aperture priority mode (Av on your camera)
4. Set the aperture to maximum open (smallest f number, I think for me it is f5.6 @ 250)
5. Set Iso as per your requirement of speed, if it is windy as in my case for the attached photos, use high ISO like 400 or 800, if it is not windy use less ISO like 100 or 200
6. You should stand at a distance where you can take good shots and what your camera allows.

OR

If you feel confident using Manual mode the steps remain the same but you have to set shutter speed and ISO to get the best exposure as I had done with the shots below. As it was windy I used some high speeds like 1/2000 and so on.

These are some of the shots taken by me on my trip to Kutch (a district in Gujarat, India)

Cheers