£100 to Spend

JRJ

JRJ

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Afternoon all, been reading the forums for a few months now and the tips I've picked up are brilliant for a beginner like myself.

Anyway onto my first forum question, got a budget of approx £100 to spend as a birthday present, Current kit is a Canon 550d 18-55 & 55-250 kit lens and 430 exII, below is what I've narrowed it down to for time being, but I'm not sure which to get first, eventually I'd like to add them all to my kit but funds and wife dont always allow:'(

A Canon 50mm f1.8 II and hood - got 5 weddings over the next 12 months as a guest and think this would suit them brilliantly

or RS-284 & RSH-12 Ball Head

or a 3rd party battery grip, spare batteries and a couple of extra SDHC cards - currently got 8gb and 2gb cards



Any help and advice would be much appreciated, thanks
 
The lens would be perfect to carry around with you as a light setup on weddings, I'm enjoying mine. Whether you want a tripod depends if you planning on using it a lot outside of those weddings and as for battery grips, it can be a personal preference as I'm not a fan of them (I prefer to have my kit as light as possible) and I'd rather carry more batteries with me. Lens hood wise, I've never used one with the 50mm but I like the security of having one on my Sigma (since I'm clumsy :p) and you can buy a third party one from places like DealExtreme for under a tenner.
 
The 50mm definitely! Being able to go to F1.8 will open up a whole new world of creativity! :D
 
Get the nifty fifty. Once you've got it and used it you'll wonder how you did without for such a little investment. For portraits I used this lens as it was the sharpest I had until I got my 24-70 F2.8L, thats how good it is!
 
50mm definately (around £70) and a 3rd party grip from linkdelight on ebay (£32.99 delivered)

just over the ton, but both the best bet IMHO.
 
mgdaviso said:
50mm definately (around £70) and a 3rd party grip from linkdelight on ebay (£32.99 delivered)

just over the ton, but both the best bet IMHO.
Click to expand...

Yeah completely agree.

With the weddings coming up, the 50mm and grip would be the best buy. If you could stretch to a 3rd party battery for £10apprx, gives you the option of charging your OEM whilst using that.


Andy
 
Thanks all the 50mm it is then.

as for the rest i think I may happen to leave my Amazon wishlist open and see what turns up on Christmas day.
 
Also the hood for that lens is pretty horrible to use. You screw an adapter into the filter ring and the hood slots onto it.
 
Thanks all for the advice, might be worth getting a cheap copy hood as a "just in case measure", looking forward to getting it now :)
 
I think, my best advice, would be to use the remaining money to buy a book.


Spend some time looking around big book shops for the more modern, and libraries for the older ones. Don't be afraid to buy an old second hand book even by a long dead photographer, especially if their not generally regarded as being "Famous". Choose a photographer whose general style and in particular a few of the shots in the book really appeal to YOU. One you will keep picking up time and time again over the years as you look in wonder at the beauty inside, and seek inspiration for your own work.

As you gain experience you might be able to work out how each shot was taken. Try and take the same shot your self, and just as important as being able to do so, work out why you cant with the equipment you have and what you'd need to obtain to do so. When you get to the last page and you've worked out how to and copied very shot you can, then buy another book!

This time choose a style you DON'T like. When you can copy every shot, or just as important know why you cant with what you've got, then you might just be beginning to become a photographer.:eek:


Happy shooting, and don't forget to enjoy it!
 
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