After looking through all your great photos over the years I have bought a camera to learn how to get really great shots.
The Canon EOS Rebel T2i 550D with EF-S 18-55 IS II Kit, EF 75-300 f/4-5.6 III.
Have it on the charger now and went to Amazon and found a great deal on a Canon DSLR camera backpack,Filters,
Cleaning kit, remote shutter control extra batteries and 2/32gb Trancend class 10 SD cards. Camera arrived today
the rest will follow over the coming week.

Very nice, looks like you'll be having some fun with it. That's quite a few goodies, too.

Thanks Ken, plan on taking my time learning this, since its all new to me. Been a point and shoot camera user
for so long. But I have done my research, took over 8 months of planning before deciding this would suit me
best.

What kinds of things do you plan on shooting most? What motivated you to get a DSLR?

I love taking nature shots and landscapes. Waterfalls to weather. Never was into portrait shooting. I always
felt they kind of dirtied up my shot in landscapes. I have thousands of shots on Flickr to give you an idea
what my tastes are for shooting. I am really looking forward to testing out time lapse shooting in hd with it.
going to try getting night time lapse of the stars. Once I learn how.

Jim

Wow, that's quite a number of photos you have posted.

For me, one of the biggest advantages a DSLR has over a point-and-shoot camera, or a phone camera, is speed. It will focus quickly, and allow you to cycle several photos in a short period of time. Of course that comes with a larger size, so it's not always as convenient to have with you when you want it.

I wasn't aware that camera had any time-lapse video capability in it, so I will be interested to hear how that works out for you.

I still have a lot to learn, reading though the 260 page introduction manual. Downloaded the PDF and found it easier to read on my 42" LED
Monitor. Those small books were making my eyes hurt. Bifocals don`t help.

Had read somewhere about setting up time lapse filming. Use to do it with my 1080P camcorder and compress the video. Worked out great.
The larger size the better, I have all kinds of space for video and big pictures. 4/1tb internal drives. 5 external 500gb/1tb drives.
Even my Dell XPS 17 notebook has it all.

I don't know how into the time lapse stuff you want to get, but I've seen some pretty cool stuff from this company's device:

http://dynamicperception.com/

Here's a sample video:

http://dynamicperception.com/video/landscapes-volume-two

I think it works with about any DSLR that does video.

Ken, I learned quite bit from these guys, even pre-purchased his film so my name will be in it.
Reading through the blog and forums is interesting.

http://timescapes.org/

Very impressive, thanks for the link!

Had the links you provided, I think he helped produce some of the Timescapes scenes. Can`t wait to see the finished movie.
It premiers in Vegas in a couple weeks, Then I hope my download will ready.

Jim,

Any chance you can post more pics in the next week. I'm debating on which camera to get, the Canon T2i or the Nikon d5100. They are both within the same price range. I am leaning more towards the Canon since all the reviews I have read said it is the better entry level camera. Ease of menus, ease of shooting pictures, ect.

I'm looking at taking nature pictures, landscapes and also indoor like Birthdays and such.

Thank you
Terry

Terry, take a look at my latest sets in Flickr from the link in my sig to see some results. I am still
learning its features but so far I really like what I am getting.

Regards,
Jim

Jim,

I went ahead and got the T2i. 2 hour battery charge means no pic tonight


I also found some great videos to help learn the camera.



This next one deals with the Rebel camera



Terry

Thanks for those vids Terry!! I bought a T3i last August as an upgrade from an S1IS, which gave me pretty good insight since it was kind of between point and shoot and what I have now. I'll be watching the vids you posted soon, looks like a lot of info if the 2 hour run time is any indication!

Jim,

Sorry to hijack your thread, but here are 3 photos were I changed the exposure, aparture (depth of field) Camera was in AF(changed to single point) and auto ISO. Other then size all photos unedited.





I can't wait till some birds start feeding. We have a cardinal couple in the area. Will look awesome

No problem Terry, had a chance to get some shots today.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/1001jimk/sets/72157629952892735/show/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/1001jimk/sets/72157629949489423/show/

Having tinkers with my camera alittle I can say after watching the 2 videos I posted they will teach a new person a lot about DSLRs. The bottom one that talks specifically about the Rebel is awesome and a must see for someone who never owned the Rebel EOS.


Terry

Thanks Terry, wish I had more time to watch these videos, I saved the first one and am working on saving the second. Work schedule
is just pure hell lately. living at work has its drawbacks.

Terry, I found a cool site for the T2i.

http://www.cameratips.com/t2i