Bought a Canon Rebel T5i yesterday

[Corey]

I have posted a few camera threads in the past, but never decided on what to get.
My trusty Sony DH9 is getting a little old, and not taking as good of pics as it did when I first got it.
Have been wanting to step up to a DLSR camera, so yesterday I read some reviews on DP, Amazon, and watched some YouTube vids.
Another contender was the Nikon D5200 which is actually a hair better camera, but not as user friendly for a DLSR beginner such as myself.
Plus the touchscreen on the Canon appealed to me.

Will start out using this as a point and shoot until I get familiar with how to use the manual controls.
One thing I would like to learn how to do is gt an excellent shot of the night sky with stars when out camping on a clear night.
Not sure how to setup for that yet.
Here is a link to the one I bought off of Amazon, and it will arrive tomorrow.
Canon Rebel T5i Digital SLR Camera and 18-55mm EF-S IS STM Lens Kit

I did a little searching here a bit ago, and saw Dave posted a thread here from last March.
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/96737-Buying-a-new-camera-Advice

Scott recommended getting the 18 to 135 lens later.
My camera is coming with the 18 to 55 one.
Later in Dave's thread Scott then recommends getting the 24 to 105 lens as it is more durable over the 18 to 135 one, and something about keeping dust out better?
Now I take it the advantage of the bigger lens is so you can zoom in on something that is further away?

Will be using this camera for a variety of things such as:
Documenting mods done to my rig
Camping trip pics
Videos while camping
Guitar shots

I hope I made the right choice in getting this camera.
Some say that Canon is lacking in newer updates like Nikon and others are doing, and some have moved away entirely from mirrors and going with mirrorless DLSRs.

Ordered an extra charger and two batteries today too.
Seems Canons battery for the Ti series go for around $50 each, I got two plus a charger for $21 off of Amazon, and they are a higher capacity than the Canon one, and they get great reviews.
Wasabi Power Battery (2-Pack) and Charger for Canon LP-E8 and Canon EOS 550D, EOS 600D, EOS Rebel T2i, EOS Rebel T3i, EOS Rebel T4i, EOS Rebel T5i

Anyone own the Rebel T5i, and if so, how do you like it?
Scott mentioned raw JPGs too, is this a bigger format than what normally comes out of the camera?
I primarily shot my Sony at the highest setting, then resized them to 1200x900 with Windows Image Resizor Powertoy, then edited them to brighten up using Googles Picasa.
I do have Elements, but have never installed it after buying it a few years back.

 

[grogie]

I recently bought the SL1, which my understanding is that it's the exact same camera as the T5i, just in a smaller frame. I actually bought two SL1s from a local camera store (one for work on work's dime where I also have a T1i and a T3i, and one SL1 for myself).

The T1i was my first experience using a DSLR, which I was blown away by the image quality. And I've even liked the T3i more. I manage a small marketing department and I often take event photos, which are usually inside in low light settings. I usually use the auto setting with the flash turned off and photo quality is excellent. Skin tons and colors are genuine. Very nice cameras and in fact I've had a photo from each the T1i and T3i end up on a magazine cover.
:ylsmoke:

Now with the SL1, I don't have large hands so I love the smaller frame and I'm leaving the other two cameras for staff. With my home camera, I'm starting to take the camera off of the auto mode more since I have more time to play with taking photos. It's got some cool features such as a touch screen, and including that when it's on (I tend to leave it off to save the battery) that you can point on the screen to an object and the camera will focus in on that spot and take the picture. Very cool when there are multiple objects and you want to focus in (for example) on someone in the back of the room. I love that feature!

At home, I've also added the Canon remote control (RC-6) for taking night shots on a tripod. And as well, I've also bought the GPS receiver (GP-E2) as I love geotagging pictures that I take along Jeep trails (my pervious point and shoot Sony geotagged pictures). The GPS unit is kind of large, but it talks directly to the camera through the hot shoot and is self powered with it's own AA battery (and is super fast about logging locations!).

I have played around with taking RAW photos at work. Their large! I had a staff member one time cover a week long event and left the T3i on RAW mode and the photos were huge! I made her resave all of them as instead of all being in the 3 to 4 meg range they were all 15+ megs each! From my experience, RAW is great if you're going to use Photoshop to process the photo. I did so one time for a picture that was an inside room shot with a lot of small objects with low lighting, and the picture ended up as a magazine spread. That was great to really mess with the photo, but otherwise for most of the photos I take at work it's not something I use. Now at home I am starting to play with RAW more.

Video is good with the cameras but I don't use them for that much. I did have staff make some decent YouTube videos. I think that the SL1/T5i can have external mics plugged in?

Lenses are quick to change. At home I also added the really small EF 40mm f/2.8 STM lens to make it more like a point and shoot. The lens has no zoom, but it may come in handy for hanging the camera out my Jeep at times.

Anyway, you'll enjoy the T5i and it's a very good choice and bang for the buck. The battery is larger then the SL1. Now enjoy shopping for camera bags.

 

[Corey]

Thanks Grog for the info.
I later saw the one you bought when doing some more research today.
I do not have big hands either, so hopefully the 5Ti fits me OK.

Interesting on the remote control and the GPS unit.
My old Sony came with a remote control to take shots up to many feet away, I guess this camera you have to buy it extra?
The GPS unit sounds cool, will it work with the T5i too?
Good gosh, it is spendy
It is HUGE too.

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-GP-E2-R...UTF8&qid=1387754972&sr=8-1&keywords=canon+gps
Looks like you can use the hot shoe or USB inlet to use the GPS too.
http://www.amazon.com/Does-Rebel-do...cd_dp_aar_al_a?_encoding=UTF8&asin=B007FH1KAU
OK, I gotta get one later.
Now when using the GPS, does it in print text on the physical picture, or only like when you right click on the picture when viewing it online and choosing properties from your browser?

Bought a case along with the extra batteries today too, it should arrive Christmas eve.
The case is the same brand and bag almost that I have been using for my Sony for a few years now.

Tamrac 3340 Aero 40 Camera Bag (Black/Gray)

 

[Corey]

Camera came today, and I have been messing around with it for the past few hours:
Reading the manual, testing out settings, etc.

Battery charged up fast, and prior to that I put in the class 10 32 GB card, and attached the nice wide strap.
Camera is a lot bigger than my Sony.

One thing I thought this has was auto zooming with the - + buttons on it, but it says disabled in a certain AF mode.
After reading the manual some more under zoom, it seems you have to zoom in and out for pics and movies manually by rotating the lens.
I thought for sure this was automatic just like my Sony was.
I will have to read up on those two buttons labeled - + to see what they are actually for.

The touch screen is really nice on this, and you can also use the real buttons in conjunction with the touch screen.

 

[grogie]

Yes, the GPS is big, I'll give you that! But it locks your position in a few seconds. My old Sony took more then a minute when first turned on. You can also adjust it to how often it rechecks your position. As far as the location data, it's in the metadata on the file. You'll need a photo browser/ software that reads it. I'm on Macs, so either iPhoto or Aperture read it and connect to google maps. Kind of cool, like I said to show you right where the photo was taken and the elevation for when exploring.

Also, on both iPhoto and Aperture, when I export photos there is an option to strip the metadata. You may want to do that for personal photos as otherwise anyone can see exactly where the photo was taken. Just something to consider about geotagging.

Also regarding a camera bag, at work we use these sling camera bags that go around your upper body. They're nice as they easily slide around from your back to your front for access to pockets, and are great for walking around. Larger ones have more storage for additional lens, etc. I have a smaller one for home use and my SL1.

 

[grogie]

Here is a screen shot from the Aperture software that I use. This is showing geotagged photos in Colorado along a trail with my old Sony camera (which I don't think was as accurate as the large Canon GPS unit). I've used geotagging to also mark locations of nice camping spots I've passed for future trips! I think it's kind of cool.

 

[Corey]

Grog, thanks for the info on the GPS and viewing it on a computer.

Well, I took the plunge to get a better lens, and it will arrive via Amazon Express (not the flying drones ) sometime today.
I should have got the this lens with the camera instead of the 18 - 55 one.
Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM
If I had ordered this lens as a kit with the camera, I could have saved a few hundred bucks.
From reading up on this lens, it is a lot better than the 18 - 55 one.

Going to take a few shots later today with the camera, and will post a few to this thread.
I may look into a backpack style case later too for the camera.

 

[grogie]

^That would be a nice lens. Another lens I use a lot at work is a Canon EF-S 55-250mm. It's good for tight head shots of people at a podium.

Here is a picture I just took. Someone opened a present early!

Here are a couple of fall pictures.

 

[Darlip]

The rebel is a great camera, when the light is decent. I would advice you to have a look at Lightroom for organizing and developing your RAWs which will improve the quality over the in-house JPGs.

And its always nice to have those big RAWs when you are really happy with a shot. One thing you that can do is to set the camera to shoot L RAW+JPG. That way you have JPGs for easy sharing and RAW-files to work on for those really good shots.

With regards to GPS, a much cheaper alternative if you have a smartphone with GPS, is to download a GPS-logging app for cameras and then merge your log with the pictures afterwards on a computer.

And btw in Lightroom there's also an easy way to add locations to your photos using a map, if you have a good understanding of where you have been that is.

I used to shoot with a rebel before I got a 70D, there are a few shots on the Flickr link in my signature.

Hope this info was somewhat helpful.

/D

 

[Metrocruiser]

Hi congrats on the new toy.
I use a sony a57.
What ive learned over the past year is.
Try to find some faster lenses with f1.4 or 1.7 etc. These guys will allow you to take better photos under the vehicle or in shady darker places without using a tripod. Sometimes you will have to set your iso higher to get a better ezposure but the trdeoff is a grainy picture the higher you set the iso.

Sometimes in order to get a good clear shot of say a steering stopper on the inner side of the front wheel you mat have to set the camera to a longer exposure time and if shooting by hand it hard to keep it perfectly still for 1 second. The lower f will allow.more lightonto the sensor thus allowing qjicker shutter splpeeds of something like 40/100 instread of 1 full second.

Sorry..im typing on phone and have dry hands.

 

[Corey]

Grog, great pics!
And thanks guy's for the other advice as well.

Well, Santa is on his way back to my place, not sure what time he will be here, but I ordered another Tamrac case.
The one that came a few hours back is kind of on the small side for me, and I will see if one of my son's wants it.

I looked at two bags on both Tamrac's site and on Amazon.

Tamrac 5606 System 6 Camera Bag (Black)

Tamrac 5584 Expedition 4x Photo/Laptop Backpack (Black)

I opted for the former, was around $100 less than the backpack style.
Also ordered a nice lens cleaning kit which will be here today too.

The Canon driver CD came with some programs on it and some are suppose to organize your pics for you, and one I know will convert the RAW pics too.
Have not fired any of the programs up yet, but will try them tomorrow when I process some pics after my son's leave to go back home.

 

[Corey]

Took a lot of Christmas day pics of my sons, and I have one here of my guitars I got out to play over the extended work break.
Took the pic at the highest jpg setting which was 5184x3456, and 8.61 MB.
Quite a bit bigger than what my Sony took at the highest jpg setting.
I used Google's Picasa to lighten up the pic a bit, but I am finding I hardly do not have to touch them up as much as like I did from my old Sony.
The pics turn out pretty bright straight from the camera.
I also used Windows XP Powertoy Image Resizer to put it at 1200x800 since I can do a batch of them all at once.

When I plug the camera into my PC, the Canon EOS Utility pops up, and I can see all the embedded info from the pics, pretty cool.
I will start using more of the included software, and wean myself away from Picasa, but not sure yet.
Picasa works pretty well for just livening up jpgs from the camera.

Also shot a short video at the highest 1920x1080 setting at 30 FPS, and the file was 600 MB, HUGE

 

[grogie]

Nice guitar collection Corey.

 

[Corey]

Thanks!

Still have not found out if the camera has power zoom or not.
I have to zoom in/out by twisting the lens.
I know the lens has a motor though for its auto focus.

When the lens is fully extended, it is one long puppy.
Shot today with my HTC One.

 

[Darlip]

There is no powerzoom on Canon DSLR lenses, enjoy your new toy