So I just bought my first DSLR... need some advice :D (some first pics)

[unreal]

My dads film SLR broke a few years ago and since he was a bit of a photography fan I thought it would be nice to replace it. Plus I study Vis Comm at Uni, so it would be useful for the next 2 years of my course. So I got a new Canon 400D (with basic lens kit) for £380 and I will claim the £45 cashback soon...


But the main purpose of it right now actually is for my forthcoming trip to Philippines - I'm going to be over there for about a month and a half, and I'm going to be travelling all over the place, a large majority of it being dusty or humid environments, under consistently hot temperatures. I need to prepare the camera for a pretty tough life under stressful weathers...


What pieces of kit would you guys recommend? I mean any accessories, not just a case. (I prob won't get everything you guys recommend as I'm a broke kid but throw some ideas at me anyway )


I was thinking of getting a case like this;
M-ROCK Sierra > Camera Cases > Travel Accessories - eBags UK


This lens to replace the basic one that Canon supplied me with. I was also thinking it would be good to have a spare with me while on a long vacation like that so it sorta serves two purposes;
Amazon.co.uk: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Lens: Canon: Electronics & Photo

Some lens accessories like this;
UV+PL+FD FILTER SET+EW-60C HOOD+CAP for CANON 400D 350D on eBay, also, Accessory Kits, Digital Camera Accessories, Photography (end time 08-May-08 19:51:36 BST)


Anything else? I have an external flash unit for it already (not a speedlite but it's still pretty good for my inexperienced needs lol)



Also some of my first shots with it

[j.o.s.h.1408]

they are some great shots man well done for lenses it depends on the purpose of the shots. are you going to be taking pics of landscapes in phili or people, or both? i know little like you but for example if your gunna take landscape shots i would go for one with a larger zoom range

good luck with the camera, its amazing and your gunna love it

[Bobster]

nice try at the sky, can see the halo around the house and tree's tho, tighten the selection up a littl

i have a basic camera bag similar to that that i haven't used in 3 years, you can have it for a tenner (i'll post a pic l8r)

get to know your camera before you buy anything like that, tho' its not a bad deal for £26

buy more CF (can never have enough) 4GB SanDisk Extreme III can be had for 18.99 if you shop around

[unreal]

Thanks Jon! Good question; I will be far more likely to take shots of the people (Landscapes can often be pretty boring, and after buying the book 'The Genius of Photography', it seems like a no brainer to take shots involving people ) which is why I've been looking at that cheap lil' portrait-ish lens from Amazon.

Oh cool nice one Bobster! If it's nice quality and weatherproof (to a certain degree) then I will definitely be interested, PM me some pics sometime

I'm playing with the camera everyday to learn what I can about it in prep for the vacation. My Uni class has taught me a lot about aperture, ISO's, shutter speeds, depth of field, AF points... and as you can see above, I've dabbled in the world of HDR for the first time... I guess that if I'm gonna splash out £££ on this then I gotta get my moneys worth out of it! I'll make sure to tighten up my HDR stuff too don't worry

Oh completely forgot about CF cards, I got a cheapo 1gb one in here but I might get an 8gb SanDisk Extreme, thanks

[unreal]

Oh and I'm going to get a cheap little protective film for the display screen. I can't see myself using a tripod out there but if I need one, I will buy one out there instead

[Bobster]

Oh completely forgot about CF cards, I got a cheapo 1gb one in here but I might get an 8gb SanDisk Extreme, thanks

cards fail - even SanDisk ones.. don't put all your eggs in 1 basket, go for 2x4GB rather than an 8, your files aren't that big

[unreal]

Ok, I'll take your word for it and do that instead, thanks for the words