Good grief! One of the premier online camera stores (like B&H maybe) has this camera (T3i) with 2 lenses (18-55mm and 75-300mm) and an SD card for a buck cheaper.
Not much of a buy here.
All a UV filter does is degrade the image and hurt the photo. It’s 100% useless. Polarizing filters are sometimes nice, but with any filter, you have to spend quite a bit of money on one. The cheap filters will reduce sharpness and contrast.
T3i iS amazing… I have it and switched from Nikon after 26 years of shooting Nikon. I have to say the 18mp shots I am taking are really crisp and clear (even with just the pop-up flash) Haven’t bought a 480EX yet…
The T3i doesnt seem like a good deal. That how much it seems to priced on almost all websites.
I got the T3i with a crap ton of accessories and a photo printer on sale from aSavings.com for $810 plus $400 mir. Just received the $400 prepaid card, so that means I paid $410 for the T3i kit, accessories AND a printer. The $400 mir deal is over now, but this deal sucks in comparison!
One of the best accessories is knowledge. And knowledge does not have to come at a huge price. Check in your area and you will probably find one or more amateur photography clubs. Dues if anything will not be much but you will find members from complete newbies to some very knowledgeable. You will also find those in these clubs love to share what they know. You can have a great time, learn a bunch and have fun at the same time for little or no money at all. For those of you that make the journey, welcome to the world of SLR.
Lenses, lots and lots of lenses…
Really, a non-zoom wide angle to normal is sharper, faster and lighter. Also relatively inexpensive.
Amazon has the amazing (for the price) Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens for $96 shipped right now (you have to select Amazon from the “More Buying Choices” list on the right for some reason to get that price): http://www.amazon.com/Canon-50mm-1-8-Camera-Lens/dp/B00007E7JU/ref=lh_ni_t
They’re listed for $15 on Woot. Plus shipping? Amazon has them for $16.95 WITHOUT shipping cost.
I worked in a store that sold lens pens maybe 5 or 6 years ago. The rubber tip would come apart on the glass and live bits of black behind. I used canned air to blow away the black bits after cleaning the customers’ lenses with them. It was ok, but inconvenient to keep canned air in a camera bag for travel. I have better luck using lens paper and some liquid lens cleaner. The brush was fine though. I still use the brush on my lens pen.
B & W has a nice line of filters; I like them better than the Tiffen filters I’ve used. If you don’t like “UV” filters there are “clear” filters out there (I’ve never had a problem with UV filters, but cheap ones will change the image). They even make slim filters for wide angle lenses to minimize seeing the filter on the edges of images. We’ve been using some of our lenses for more than 20 years. We keep filters on the lenses that take them and the glass on those is as clear at it was when we bought them. If you take care of them, lenses are a longer term investment than cameras that get replaced every few years.
I received the 6600PG tripod today. Looks solid and a little heavier than my Manfrotto but I didn’t get the carrying case as shown in the picture. Was that an item to be included? Any bags fall out anywhere? They’er nice to have when I carry the tripod on my motorcycle.