New camera (my first SLR) and my new bike

[kiwisfly]

damn damn fart & bugger you all
Am in the market for a camera, thought I'd narrowed it down to the Canon A700 deal via Mr Norman but you've gone & bloody upset the process!!!
The Canon 350D is pretty nice really eh, yeah, pefect...what problem with decisions! Awww shit.

[Kendog]

Not sure how much Panasonic FZ30 is but I've seen one of those pretend slrs before and for the price they are, I would pick an SLR over them any day. The thing is as I understand their sensor size is like normal point and shoot cameras, I believe half the reason SLRs are so good are for their sensor size which minimises noise, etc... also, you can keep upgrading lenses!!! I say, if you're going to spend decent amount of money, get a SLR

[edit] - remember, it's not all about zoom, etc... it's more about the quality of the sensor, lens, etc...

Well, after much procrastination, I opted for the 350D as well.

Sticking with the bike & bird theme, here are some first day efforts.

[bobsmith]

Nice pics, which set did you get? (the basic kit with one lense, the body only with other better lenses or the twin lens kit) I got the twin lens kit and they are plenty good but after trying out some night shots I'm starting to think about better lenses already... Here are a few first time attempts at night shots by me.

[Kendog]

Nice night shots.

I Went for the twin lens kit, wanting to learn first, see if I enjoy myself before spending too much money (pretty sure the better half thinks I have already crossed that line )

Seeing this thread kicked me into gear, looked at http://www.dpreview.com/ and made the choice. The 350 was something I had been eyeing up for ages.

This photo was the final motivator, I want to take pictures like this.

After having a quick play I can see there is much to learn.

[bobsmith]

Seeing this thread kicked me into gear, looked at http://www.dpreview.com/ and made the choice. The 350 was something I had been eyeing up for ages.

Yes, I found that website just a few days ago, and it was a big eye opener, great website for info on photography especially in the forums... (the actual forum layout and functions lack compared to kb but the people there are very very helpful and quick!)

I wound suggest any "would be" photographer to check out the website first.

Oh and I've found that the telephoto lens that comes with the twin kit isn't too bad, and It's a EF lens (not EF-S) which I think means that it can be used with 35mm canons as well (EF-s lenses can only be used with Canon digital slrs which has sensors that are smaller than 35mm I believe)....