My new camera

I bought my new DSLR camera yesterday and wen with the Canon EOS Rebel T3. On top of that, I decided to get the Canon Zoom Lens EF 75-300 mm 1:4-5.6 III so I can hopefully get better pictures of animals from further away--if I had the money, I would have bought the best zoom lens in the store. 

The camera, basic 18-55 mm lens, and the 75-300 mm lens (both extended)

The camera and basic lens

The camera and zoom lens

The camera and it's flash

After getting home and charging the battery for a while, I decided to start learning how to use it. Unfortunately, it would not read my 4Gig memory card no matter what I tried. So today, I decided to take the back the camera and the basic lens, along with the memory card. That way I could find out which thing was faulty. After trying the memory card on several other cameras, and getting the same results, the worker and I came to the conclusion that the memory card was a dud. The good news: I got a new 4 Gig memory card for half off. As I started to pack up, I reminded myself that I should look for a good camera bag as the one I that was given to me years before could only hold the camera and a regular-sized lens. I saw one that I liked, and after I was shown that it can be worn like a fanny pack, I decided to get it as well. After I got home, I began to learn how to use my new camera from trial & error as well as reading the manual. My first subject: using a pet to see the color difference between my new DSLR camera and my little Point-N-Shoot, and the results are somewhat dramatic. It kind of makes me think "why have I not bought a DSLR sooner," which the answer of course is because I had not taken a camera class before that uses the first three class periods to talk about the differences in cameras and how to pick one. Anyway, here is that little experiment:


The point-n-shoot:

 (yes, I know the picture isn't that great)

The DSLR:

(the dog really is that color)

The verdict: better & more realistic color, less eye glare, and much more vivid. It kind of makes me want to know what she is looking at (the camera or me)

So on I went to look for something to use for the next test: seeing how clear something small is with the new camera. What I found to use was a clear blue glass heart hanging inside the void on a stained glass piece:

After these pictures, I not only knew that my camera worked, but I will be able to capture flowers in stunning detail come Spring. Good thing, because there are a few places I would like to revisit due to the plants found at those sites.

Next, I switched out the basic lens for the zoom lens to see how far I can get for certain amounts of detail. The first test: get a picture of these little cat figurines that sit on a shelf; the distance--about 50 feet. The result:

The second test: get a picture of a tree from roughly 450 feet away. The result: better than the eye can see...

Here is something to note: do you see that cyclone fence at the edge of the field in the background, right in front of the trees? Good. If I had never bought this camera, I would not have known about the fence as it is a half mile away.