Got a new camera.

[the converted]

So I'm now stepping into the dslr world. I picked up a Canon 30D body and a Tamron 28-200 lens last week. I haven't had a chance to get out and take any good pictures with the crappy weather and just being busy, but so far it takes very nice detailed pictures. Hopefully I'll get a chance to take some good pictures in a few days to post up.

[ESP]

Nice. The 30D is a wicked body. I much prefer it to the newer 40D and 50D....now let's see some pics!

[the converted]

Still haven't really had a good day to take pictures but took some night pictures in Boston. Feel free to critique, I'm definitely still learning.

[ESP]

Well, first of all...THANK GOD YOU KNOW HOW TO USE A TRIPOD (...or some other stable surface...). I don't know how many times I've been asked "why aren't my night shots turning out right? They're all blurry...I though having an SLR was supposed to fix that..."

.......idiots.

Lookin' good matey!Here's a neat tip: Try stopping down your aperture to f16 or higher...that way all the street lights will have that neat-o-saurus starburst effect!

[the converted]

Thanks, I'll have to play with that some. One thing that I have noticed is that some of my photos the colors seem to be a little flat. Is that something that I'm going to have to learn photoshop to fix? They don't seem to be under or over exposed just a little lifeless. I've had no problems with night shots, this was a hand held one from a point and shoot from when I was in Chile.

[Warped161]

check your dynamic range settings or change the color profile to vivid, but these are things you can with software as well. i have an A100 myself, i want to bump up to the A700 but i dont have the bucks right now.

[critic]

photoshop can fix that quickly or you could try looking for polarizers

[Looneybomber]

I too have the Canon 30D body, but with a Tamron 17-50 f/2.8. It's a pretty good indoor lens, but it's certainly no prime. The wide angle aspect is great especially when trying to get a shot of all of the family...but I really need to get a hot shoe flash.

I rented a 100-400mm L lens for this week and I think it takes sharper images than my Tamron does...it also retails at ~$1700 It works very well as a zoom lens on these crop bodies. Because it's an EF lens, the built in 1.6x multiplier effectively makes it a 160-640mm.

For your night shots, I second the request for stopping down your lens. Give yourself some nice long 5sec or longer shutters and watch those car lights blur.

For your colors, go into your menu and check your settings. I notice a difference when I select portorait (sp), landscape, neutral, ect... You can also adjust your hue too. I don't know where you can adjust your dynamic range though. I think it's all sensor dependent.

As for the 40D, it is a little better than the 30D, but I wouldn't go for the 50D. It uses the same sensor as the 50D but because they force 15MP out of it instead of 10MP, the image quality is actually degraded.http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos50d/
Modified by Looneybomber at 6:30 PM 8/2/2009

[the converted]

I actually found the solution......RAW. I've been using a ton of different lenses lately. This weekend I was using a 24-105L 100-400L, and the tamron 17-50. I was primarily shooting with a 5D and my 30D in the bag as a backup body. I've had my eyes on the Canon 70-300 DO lens and think that might be my next purchase.

[Dittoz7]

What Are You Planing To Shot?

70-200L F2.8 IS

Is What I'm Shooting For.

The 1,500+ Price Tag Is The Only Thing Stoping Me.

LOL

[the converted]

I've actually come to appreciate the 100-400 L. Until I find a new job, I'm not getting anything.

[ESP]

What Are You Planing To Shot?

70-200L F2.8 IS

Is What I'm Shooting For.

The 1,500+ Price Tag Is The Only Thing Stoping Me.

LOL

IMO, the IS isn't worth the extra $500 unless you have a very specific need for it. I grabbed a used non-IS version for $1000 (CAD) and it's served me very well. The key is to practice being steady... I've taken some incredibly sharp images at 180mm+ at shutter speeds all the way down to 1/15th. That being said, I'm using a FF so it would be a bit harder to do that on a crop sensor body, but still...

[the converted]

shooting at 200mm @1/160th of a second and panning to follow a car pretty much necessitates IS. Plus it isn't to hard to find one of them for under $1000 used in great shape.