I picked up a new camera today. It is a canon rebel xt eos 350D. It came with a EF-S 18-55 lens and I also picked up a EF 75-300 for it. With the extra lens and the 2 gig memory card I paid just under 600 before tax. I have always enjoyed photography and finally decided to take a step up from the 3mp camera I have had for about 6 years. Any one familiar with this camera and have any tips for me? I will bring it to work with me in the morning and take some shots of the wind turbines we are putting up and hope to be posting some pics on here soon!

Hey sfg:

Good for you! That's a nice body with a sensor that can produce gorgeous photographs. I've shot that body a lot.

Three pieces of advice are to (1) take your camera manual with you in the field and study it at home, too, so you you can learn all the features and how to use them, (2) develop a strong steadying technique so your telephoto images are not blurry because of camera shake, and (3) become familiar with whatever type of software you are using so you can get the most out of your images.

As you experiment and shoot more and more, you'll get to know how everything works, and it's a lot of fun to boot, especially when you learn the controls well enough to photograph in the modes that aren't fully automatic.

Don't forget to share some images with us here, and don't be shy about asking for advice when you do.

Congrats on the new camera SFG!....I see some images coming from the Forbes Dam next spring ...Glad to see you've joined us!....Looking forward to your images!...Photography,just a great way to spend time in the outdoors!

If your EF 75-300 lens doesn't have IS keep in mind the rule to keep the shutter speed up at least 1/(focal length) or even 1/(focal lenght *1.5) or use a tri/mono pod to help keep you steady. Without some kind of image stabilization, either in the lens or with a brace, it can be hard to hand hold at the longer end at slower shutter speeds.

DSLR photos often don't look as sharp or have colors as saturated as a P&S as the pictures come out of the camera, don't get disappointed if your first shots aren't quite what you're used to seeing, some post processing or tweaking the camera settings will do wonders.