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Thinking about getting some goodies for my camera. Thoughts?

Dec 18, 2013

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    1. Hiya! I have a Canon Rebel XS DSLR and I loooove it. I currently have $120ish to toss around and I can't decide what to get for my dolls so I figure I can get camera stuff instead.

      So I currently have a cheap crappy macro lens thing and it's fun to play with. I'm glad I got it. I have a cheap crappy fish eye somethingrather lens I used for one day and that's it. Boring. I have an ND filter, a warming filter and another filter that came all together in a set from Hoya. I forget what it's called. I use them off and on. Good to have. I FINALLY have a tripod. I have a red filter that I love but I have to use a... step down ring? also my camera seems to have built in color filters for B&W photography so I guess I shouldn't worry about using it anymore.

      I'm thinking of getting (from Amazon because I'm a junkie):
      A ring flash
      A set of macro extension thingies
      A speedlight flash
      A flash reflector set and/or
      Some sort of fun toy lens like a Holga lens

      If I bought all that right now it would be about $170. Not much in camera bucks but I'm happy with the reviews on these things. Alls I'm trying to say is please don't give me crap for not buying top notch stuff :)

      Of course my focus right now is on doll photography but I enjoy macros of bugs and plants and such and I like to photograph events, and I'm interested in people portraits but it's much easier to stick to dolls. I enjoy the crap out of fiddling with my camera and things I can use with it. I prefer to try to get neat things going on with my pics without the use of image editing programs (Hooolgaa, Lensbaaaby). Oh and I love black and white, if that helps any. And I'm indoors a lot.

      So yeah. Is there anything else I should add to my camera wishlist, something amazing that I don't know about? any ideas whatsoever? I'd link you to the products themselves but I'm too lazy haha.
       
      #1 kittydorkdork, Dec 18, 2013
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    2. Personally, I wouldn't start with "What can I afford right now?" but with "What do I need to do the things I can't do yet?". Photography is an expensive business, but you can get buy with just a few, well-chosen bits.

      What do you want to do with your photographs that you can't do at the moment? Start with that one and you will likely make a better choice of additional kit.
       
      #2 MadamMauMau, Dec 19, 2013
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    3. Do you have a 50mm f/1.8 yet, or are you using the 18-55mm lens? If you don't have the 50, I would get that before a more novelty lens like the lensbaby. Both of the following are good buys right now:

      http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/12142-USA/Canon_2514A002_Normal_EF_50mm_f_1_8.html ($110)
      http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/870179-REG/Canon_40mm_f_2_8_EF_Pancake.html (Currently on sale for $129 down from $199)

      While the 18-55 kit lens has the 40-50mm range covered, it's f/5.6 @ 50mm, so shooting with a wider aperture prime lens is a completely different experience. The 50mm f/1.8 is also a good candidate for experimenting with extension tubes. Tubes on an f/5.6 zoom are not going to be usable (very low effective f-stop). The 40mm, while f/2.8 rather than f/1.8 makes up for this by having a nice 7-blade aperture, giving good bokeh. It's wider, so better for shooting bigger dolls, and it can also focus very close (~12") as compared to ~18" for the 50/1.8, giving it overall a slightly higher max magnification than the 50.

      No speedlite in the $120 price range is going to be better than what comes built into your camera, and there aren't any ring flashes in that price range either, only ring LED lights which best for product shots, but not really what you want for bugs and flowers since they are not bright enough outdoors nor quick enough in flash duration to freeze insect wings.
       
      #3 adam, Dec 19, 2013
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    4. So I was really itching for a gadget and got the ring light and I LOVE it. It works on dolls just fine, it's perfect for my cave-like apartment and soooo much better than my camera's flash.

      I'm going to order the 50mm next since it's so damn popular haha. I found this one here for $106.51. Probably ordering tonight.
       
      #4 kittydorkdork, Dec 20, 2013
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    5. my 50mm lens came in tonight. having fun shooting with it :) thanks for the recommendation!
       
      #5 kittydorkdork, Dec 23, 2013
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