Does any have a good recommendation for online reading/classes for digital SLR photography. I have a Digital Rebel XT on the way and would like to get up to speed quickly. Will be going to Hawaii in a few weeks and would like to be able to take some nice pics.

What about polarizing filters, any recommendations?

Try dpreview.com for the FT-equivalent of DSLR's. I hang out in the 20D/30D forum but I know there's also a Rebel/XT Forum.

For reading, start with Bryan Peterson's two books - Understanding Exposure and Learning to See Creatively. He also has "The Perfect Picture" DVD that's worth the $20 or so. You can get the books on Ebay for about 15-18 each after shipping.

There are quite a few on-line courses available - I probably have a dozen bookmarked. I haven't tried any of them, but the Perfect Picture School of Photography - http://www.ppsop.com/ - has received good reviews.


I have been sticking with the B+W MC/MRC line of filters. B&H photo is my preferred online shopping location.

Here's some Hawaii ideas to get you started - http://richs.smugmug.com/Hawaii

No recommendation on learning materials (I'm still doing it myself the hard way, 15k pictures and a year later and still learning; been meaning to pick up proper materials now that I have the technical camera mechanics down but haven't gotten around to it), but I'll give you a few other pieces of advice... Definitely invest in a high-speed CF card so you can do burst shooting at the proper speed. Here is a somewhat dated comparison of CF card speeds (says it'll be updated this month.) I carry around two Sandisk Ultra IIs (which, as you can see, are no slower than the more expensive Extreme IIIs in this test, and I assume the new Extreme IVs as well since you're pushing the limits of the camera and not the card at this point) and a Ritek 80x myself.

I agree with going with B+W filters, especially on more expensive lenses. With cheaper lenses (e.g., the included 18-55) a cheap filter is probably fine. ABSOLUTELY get at least a UV filter for every lens as its most important job is to protect the lens element; filtering UV is secondary.

Pick up a 50mm f/1.8 before you leave. It's around $75 online and is an absolutely amazing lens given the huge aperture. I've upgraded to the f/1.4 myself but the difference is not worth the price initially. You can set your camera to ISO 1600 and f/1.8 and take great pictures in low light with no flash that come out looking much more natural. I think this is a MUST have lens for any Canon user. You'll want to be in Av (aperture-priority) mode for this type of shooting, and generally Av mode is a good mode to be in when you're learning the camera but want more than just basic control.

And above all, don't be afraid to hold down that shutter button and take a million shots, move around, reframe them, whatever! That's what the burst mode and quick zoom/focussing are there for. Be sure you have plenty of CF to last you though. Personally I find one battery lasts around 600 pictures, which is around 2GB at JPEG fine, so I carry two batteries and 4GB of storage. (Less pictures with flash, but I use an external if I need to.) There is quite a learning curve when you start out with a digital SLR, but it's plenty of fun and you'll quickly start taking much better pictures than you would with a regular digital camera (or a regular SLR if you've used one, simply because you can take so many more pictures to pick and choose from.)

Anyways, I'm just an amateur myself, and there are plenty of more advanced resources out there. But do at least pick up a 50mm f/1.8! You won't regret it.

I confirm all that had been said in the last few posts. In general, I keep a UV filter on the lens all the time. For Hawaii, where there is lots of water, sun, sand, glare and blue sky. I would keep a yellow filter and a red filter on hand. And of course your polarizing filter is good for shots involving water (mainly cut glare).
Dpreview.com is a great resource. I often log-on and look at great shots made by camera reviewers.

A couple thoughts, although this is turning into a dpr thread...

Absolutely get the 50/1.8 - everyone should have one in their bag - $75 and about 7 ounces, great bang for the buck, especially in low light.

Having no filter is better than having a cheap UV filter. In fact, having no filter is better than having a good UV filter. Lens glass is very hard, scratch resistant and clean-able. A lens hood and proper lens cap use brings the risk of damage down to very low. And UV filters can cause internal reflections and other picture artifacts. There are certainly two schools of thought here - always or never use a UV for "protection", and both sides are equally passionate that they are right.

A good circular polarizer and a 3 stop ND are the primary screw-on filters I use and all I've found I need. I also have a Cokin mount and a 3-stop soft split ND filter. The mount is needed to be able to rotate and move the filter around the image. I had a screw-in split ND, but since you never want the horizon right in the middle of the frame, it turned out to be rather useless.

Perhaps I'm a purist, or it's a leftover from my film days, but this is a common symptom I see these days - quantity over quality. Blasting away on the "If I take a whole bunch there will have to be some good ones" theory just makes no sense to me.

I tend to take my time and think through images - fore/mid/back-ground, lighting conditions, light angles, color, texture, patterns, framing, composition, etc., visualizing before shooting. In fact, I often have many shots in my head before going out the door. One of my favorite shots took me 4 months to get the right conditions. I'm in NY for a month and already have planned out some shots for when the WTC light memorial is up. To me, this planning, visualization, and contemplative approach is the difference between snapshooting and photography.

just my $0.02

I appreciate the work it goes into properly composing a shot. As an amateur, I've found that taking a bunch of shots then figuring out later what I did to get the good ones makes a huge difference with learning what works well. And thus taking less and less random, un-thought out shots as I learn. So that's where I'm coming from in my advice to another amateur to just shoot (but pay attention to the results when you sort out all the junk so you can figure out how you got the good ones!)

I do find myself taking a lot more time these days on figuring out how to shoot a given scene or subject. But I also do take a lot of split-second snapshots. I guess it's hard to compare the shooting styles of an amateur to that of someone who seems to have much more experience.

But yeah, this is getting quite a bit off topic.

Though I'll add one more for the UV filter debate: I dropped my nice new 75-300IS shortly after getting it about 3' onto concrete. Shattered the UV filter. The lens was fine. I'm not sure it would've been without that extra bit of metal protruding from the barrel and the filter to absorb the shock... but like you said, split camp here. I've been much more careful with my gear since then.

The user interface in Canon cameras is great, so I haven't found much need for documentation in addition to what comes with the camera. As for your specific requests:

I like using a circular polarizer for water and landscape shots and I also carry a laminated Quick Data Card with complete data on your camera's settings.

I would also moving the camera from the green square to P mode, which gives you more settings options, including shooting in RAW (or possibly RAW+JPEG) mode, which will give you great flexibility in post processing your pictures.

And you want a little tripod, either to get yourself into a shot, or to take advantage of available light. Get one large enough to hold the camera and lens.

I would also consider getting another lens. The camera really is only as good as the glass and depending on what type of photography you want to do, you might want a telephoto lens, for example. I like the 28-135 IS USM lens, which is a wonderful all-'round travel lens. On the Rebel, it's actually a 45-216 lens because the Rebel has a smaller sensor and all standard Canon lenses are multiplied by 1.6x -- unfortunately, a good lens will cost more than the camera!

Here are things I carry:

Canon EOS 5D
EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens
EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM lens (this lens costs a fortune, but is an extremely compact telephoto zoom)
BG-E4 Vertical/Battery Grip
580EX Flash (2 of them)
ST-E2 remote flash master
TC-80N3 remote timer/remote control

plus extra CF cards, batteries, charger and laptop computer... It all just barely fits in a US carryon-size backpack.

Consider a portable storage device if you aren't bringing a laptop. I burned a CD just about every day when in Hawaii. Especially if you are shooting RAW or RAW+JPEG at 7-8MB/shot. By the time you buy "enough" CF cards to make it through vacation, you could have purchased a 40GB or 80GB PSD. For about $200 you can get a 40GB NEXTO ND-2300

I used my full array of lenses - from 12-400mm. Consider renting a lens from rentglass.com or elsewhere if needed. Most of my shots were probably with a 17-40, as they are mostly landscape, panoramas, etc. but a 70-200/2.8IS came in handy in the jungle, shooting birds, etc. One wide, one long, and a fast 50/1.8 should be sufficient. Plus a tripod.

Great info! I am definately going to get another lens and will look into a polarizer. CPRich, nice pics, I'm hoping to get to some of the same places. I have signed up for a DSLR class next week at National Camera Exchange here in Minneapolis. They charge $40 for the class, I've been playing with the camera little bit (It's actually a birthday gift from my fiance, but she was out of town last weekend and I found it and played with it a little bit ) Hopefully she doesn't read this!

renting from rentglass IS cheap, but actually getting a lens from them is an art form. If you need something for a specific date, one is better off finding a nice local shop and trying to deal with them.

I agree with you. I saw my skill level going down the drain after moving
from film SLR to Digital SLR. I learned my lesson after dealing with hundreds
of BAD pictures. It well worth it to spend some time composing the picture
before you click.

I also ditched the UV filters, but I stuck to circular polarizers. I
manupulate color and haze on the computer later on.

To begin with, National geographics has some nice books on photography.
Get both (Film and digital versions) they are excellent to start with.
Will explain all aspects of photography.

Agreed, if you have the option. rentglass has become so popular that a returned lens that becomes available is snapped up in minutes, and there's no waiting list.

One option - Good 'L' glass retains an incredible percent of it's value. With a bit of searching I recently picked up a 70-200/2.8IS from B&H, using a discount code and with the Canon rebate. My total cost was about $100 *less* than the two most recent ebay sales, and about what I see them going for at fredmiranda.com. So basically you could "rent" it for free.

I also have 5 of the National Geographic books - quite good. John Hedgecoe also has a few good books.