BogeyDope

a DSLR, a Sony Alpha 200. What are some necessities that I should buy for it to ensure it's safe and enduring operation [i.e. is a UV filter necessary]?

Was it a good investment? I still have 2 weeks to take it back and exchange it if I want to, i.e. switch it for a two lens D40.

Any insight for this newbie would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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labob

Hi Mao,

If you could provide a little background before I answer your initial question...

1. Is this your first DSLR?

2. What were the deciding factors in choosing the A200?

3. What do you want to do with your camera? i.e, landscape, nature, or macro photography, family moments, sporting events? All of the above?

The reason why I ask is that each type of photography is going to have a specific set of requirements.

For example if you're shooting sporting events you will need a decent telephoto lens to get a close shot, or if you're shooting landscape photography you'll be well served by a polarizing filter and a wide angle lens.

__________________
"A man's only as old as the woman he feels"

-Groucho Marx

BogeyDope

1. Is this your first DSLR?

Yes. Although I have quite a bit of experience with DSLR's, I've never actually owned one. All the equipment I used was borrowed.

2. What were the deciding factors in choosing the A200?

Too my knowledge, from what I have heard and read through a few months of research, the A200 [which in itself has been in the market for a few months] is the best bang for the buck. From what I hear, you also have a wide range of lens and other optional tools to add on.

3. What do you want to do with your camera? i.e, landscape, nature, or macro photography, family moments, sporting events? All of the above?

I plan on doing a good mix of night photography, scenery/landscape, and portraits [although I'm not going to doubt that I will be using it for other things]. I go hiking quite a bit, and enjoy taking pictures of the places I go and things I see, although it's a good mix of everything.

__________________
Focus. Control. Conviction. Resolve. A true ace lacks none of these attributes. Nothing can deter you from the task at hand except your own fears. This is your sky.

*Nikki*

You now own my dream camera.....someday *sigh*

I am interested to hear how you like it.

allaboutmusic

The UV filter is a good idea - protects the eye you use to frame your pictures as well as protecting the front element of your lens and any coatings on it.

Make sure you have a good case or bag for it. Ideally you want something that will carry all the accessories you will need (lenses, memory cards, batteries), but compact enough so you don't get sick of hauling it anywhere.

I'd say you'll want to get a memory card reader if you don't already have one, extra batteries and charger, and a tripod. If you are planning to take it on long trips with you without taking a laptop, some kind of archiving device could be handy... alternatively you could buy lots of memory cards or just take a laptop! I once took 1500 photos in a week and was very glad to have a backup device to rotate my cards into.

There are thousands of handy accessories out there, but you don't really NEED anything else at the moment, you'll discover what you need as you go along.

labob

First off, you've picked an excellent camera to start your journey into DSLR photography. The A200 is a camera with a great set of features.

To the necessities,

• Read - Know your camera. The better you understand your camera the better your photographs will be, it's that plain and simple. Photography is about capturing moments & if you know how your camera operates that is one less obstacle in your way of capturing that moment.
  
  
• Join a photography specific forum. TFP's a great forum but, there you'll have a multitude of peers that have the same equipment as you & their experience to benefit from. I'm a member of a couple of different forums & I can't tell you how much I've learned from the discussions there.
  
  
• I'm going to assume that you shoot in RAW. If you don't already, start making the transition by shooting in RAW+JPEG. You will have a much greater flexibility with your photographs in post-processing & you'll be much happier that you did down the line.
  
  
• A good bag - One I can recommend would be a
  Crumpler
  Crumpler
  or a comfortable backpack (if you do a lot of hiking)
  
  
• A comfortable Neck Strap. It's such a small thing cost-wise but it has been an investment that has paid dividends many times over for me.
  
  
• Extra batteries or maybe the battery grip accessory later on.
  
  
• Lots of storage, and instead of buying one 8gb card go for two 4gb cards. That way if one of the cards fails while you're out you will still be able to shoot and you only (potentially) lost 50% of what you've already shot.
  
  
• Filters - Ultraviolet to start and then Neutral Density and Polarizing as you need them.
  
  
• Tripod if you're doing any type of long exposure shots.
  

Have fun out there & be sure to post some of your shots here. I'd like to see what you find out there with your camera.

If you want any reading materials relating to digital photography, PM me & I'll hook you up with a zip of all the e-books I've got on the subject.

__________________
"A man's only as old as the woman he feels"

-Groucho Marx

robot_parade

fwiw, we just bought a Nikon d40 dslr, and I'm totally in love with it. The sony alpha 200 seems a bit of a step up, but in the same range. The best thing about it is that I can take pictures of the kids when they aren't *absolutely* still, which of course is never.

BogeyDope

I'll be sure to upload some pics soon.

What are some absolute necessities for now? The number one thing I'm looking for is to protect my camera. Correct me if I am wrong, but right now I'm looking at buying a:

1) UV Filter to protect my lense

2) LCD protector [to my knowledge, the films do not work so well, especially against scratches].

3) A decent sized/small sized bag for now.

4) Lens cleaning kit
I've seen those bags/kits on amazon.com, does anybody know if they are any good?

Is there anything else I am missing?

I plan on investing in a battery grip and extra memory as soon as I have enough money, then a new lense, etc. I believe I should add in that I am [now, once again] a broke, unemployed [for now] college student. So I hope you can see why it is imperative for me to protect my investment, then add extras as I save money again.

Feel free to add in any extras that anyone feels is necessary/helpful in my endeavors.

And onto another question that was addressed before I could ask, what are some good [by good I mean responsive, relatively big] photography/camera forums that I could use as a resource?

I appreciate all the help and comments. I look forward to being a very active member of this specific forum

Yay, some of the first pictures I took yesterday!



I promised myself that when I finally bought my camera, she would be the first thing it sees...I think it came out quite nice



The blue mark is from a marker lol.




And Nikki, I LOVE THIS CAMERA! Then again, I have two loves in my life, photography and astronomy [yes, I plan on getting into astrophotography later on in my life].

__________________
Focus. Control. Conviction. Resolve. A true ace lacks none of these attributes. Nothing can deter you from the task at hand except your own fears. This is your sky.

allaboutmusic

You have a most beautiful model to practise on.

I got heavily into the dpreview forum when I first started out, some really knowledgeable folks out there. Your equipment list looks fine to me and more than enough to start with. I'd invest more time into learning about technical aspects of photography like apertures and shutter speeds, and artistic aspects like composition.

freelod

if i were you. i would go for canon

labob

Great shots! It looks like you're well on your way with your new DSLR.

The photography forums, allaboutmusic mentioned dpreview, it's a great site and they have a deep forum section. Another one that I've found to be useful is photographyreview.com, again the depth on the forums is good.

I don't know of any Sony DSLR specific forums, but my guess is that they're out there.

The other side of the coin is where do you share/store/backup your pictures at (besides your hd)?

The ones off the top of my head would be Flickr, Zoomr, PBase, & Picasa web albums to name just a few. They all have their advantages and disadvantages, but it is nice to have all of your pictures in two separate places. With your pictures on the web it's much easier to share with friends & family.
<br>

__________________
"A man's only as old as the woman he feels"

-Groucho Marx

fnaqzna

Congratulations on the purchase.

You'll probably want a blower. I use a Giotto Rocket to blow out the dust that settles on the sensor. There are also a variety of methods for cleaning the sensor should it become necessary. There's the Copperhill method using PecPads and Methanol which works well, but done incorrectly can result in damage. I've also used the Actic Butterfly brush and it seems to work fairly well. The key advantage being that it's far less stressful on my nerves.

Later, you might decide that you want a real flash so when you're picking out cases, remember to account for the extra room you'll need.

*Nikki*

I want to see some more images with this camera, since I am still waiting to get mine

xepherys

So... did you keep it? I had started writing a post on the benefits of going Canon (350D or 400D) but opted to not be pushy

The Sony IS a nice camera. Not my first choice, but very good all the same. I can't wait to see more pics from it and hear more about your experiences.

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