New Camera - Important Things to Check?

meewolfie

I just received my brand new Canon 30D today!

While reviewing the forum, I've seen a few people mention that upon receipt of a new camera or lens, they have found a problem or two.

Does anyone have any suggestions about things to check on the camera and lens right away? A checklist of sorts?

Thanks in advance for all suggestions!

Mary

pathfinder

I looked at your smugmug site and you are a dog lover too. Welcome to dgrin.

Speaking for myself - I'm just not that OCD - I just open the box, put everything together and go take some pictures.

I might even sit back and read the manual at some point. ( It is a good idea to read the manual as a modern DSLR has huge number of bells and whistles that take some leraning to really utilize fully!):): You will get better answer's to questions here, also, if you have read the manual first:D

I expect modern opto-electronic devices to work properly and have rarely been disappointed. So go out and shoot some pictures and enjoy your new camera. Have fun with it!!

If you are a working pro, do not plan to shoot a big wedding with it though, until you have thoroughly checked it out in advance. That's just playing it smart.

meewolfie

Thanks for the feedback!

I was just thinking about my question and realized that it does a little bit obsessive.

The battery pack is charging at home and I'm anticipating those first few shots! I'm upgrading from an Olympus c5050z, which is a camera that has served me well for three years, but now looks puny and forlorn in comparison to this new camera.

My concern is actually more emotional. If there is an obvious fault in the lens or camera - I'd rather find out soon so that I can send it back for repair or replacement before I get too attached to it!! My espresso machince broke once and I actually ordered another one off of ebay to use while I sent the first one out for repair. Only to find out that what I thought was a failure in the machine was actually a "feature" of this brand as the replacement exhibited the same "feature".

I'm afraid that once I start shooting with the new camera that I won't want to part with it for any reason!

: Mary

wxwax

First thing, after you open the box: grab the camera and shake it really hard.

If nothing rattles, throw it to the ground and stomp on it.

If nothing rattles, throw it against the wall.

If nothing rattles, congratulations! You got one of the good ones.

pathfinder

wxwax wrote:

First thing, after you open the box: grab the camera and shake it really hard.

If nothing rattles, throw it to the ground and stomp on it.

If nothing rattles, throw it against the wall.

If nothing rattles, congratulations! You got one of the good ones.

I think waxy is pulling our collective legs here.

I hope he is anyway!:D

ziggy53

wxwax wrote:

First thing, after you open the box: grab the camera and shake it really hard.

If nothing rattles, throw it to the ground and stomp on it.

If nothing rattles, throw it against the wall.

If nothing rattles, congratulations! You got one of the good ones.

Mary,

He's kidding, he's kidding. Now put down the Canon, that test is reserved for Nikon cameras. (Nyuk Nyuk nyuk, woowoowowo)

ziggy53 (Troublemaker)

Jeffro

ziggy53 wrote:

He's kidding, he's kidding. Now put down the Canon, that test is reserved for Nikon cameras. (Nyuk Nyuk nyuk, woowoowowo)

After the test they go get a Canon! :lol4

Seriously though, read the manual. Not reading it is the biggest mistake people make, because the obvious question is usually asked minutes after picking it up. How do I.... What does this.... It's usually in the manual.

Heck I have read, and re-read my manuals...and will continue to do so from time to time.

You should be happy with your 30D, I know my 20D has been serving me well, as have all my Canon's.

meewolfie

Ok! I threw it against the wall and nothing fell off, so I think I got a good one!

Seriously, though. I had a few minutes to play with the camera this evening. I went straight to auto/auto mode on the camera and lens just to play around a bit. Ended up forcing the flash to remain off and enjoyed the speedy feedback from the camera.

This weekend will find me immersed in the manual and trying out all of the camera features - I'm looking forward to it!

Mary

wxwax

photofreak

very good!!
mandi

wxwax wrote:

First thing, after you open the box: grab the camera and shake it really hard.

If nothing rattles, throw it to the ground and stomp on it.

If nothing rattles, throw it against the wall.

If nothing rattles, congratulations! You got one of the good ones.

RedSox

What I did is try the camera with all my lenses. All my Canon works, the old Sigma 75-300 with push/pull zoom does not working with the AF. I shoot brick wall, white screen, the famous battery test etc. to check distortion, Vignette, foucus accuracy etc etc. Luckily everthing seems fine to me. The XT is the third Canon SLR for me, I have a 10s and a Elan7. I also have a G2. I never had any problem with Canon.

pathfinder

meewolfie wrote:

Ok! I threw it against the wall and nothing fell off, so I think I got a good one!

Seriously, though. I had a few minutes to play with the camera this evening. I went straight to auto/auto mode on the camera and lens just to play around a bit. Ended up forcing the flash to remain off and enjoyed the speedy feedback from the camera.

This weekend will find me immersed in the manual and trying out all of the camera features - I'm looking forward to it!

Mary

Mary,

If I might make a suggestion - (I do not know how much you know about photography pro, amareur, semi-pro or whatever ) - try not to use the green beginners modes - the modes with the little pictures on them.

Learn to use Av, Tv or manual modes. In the long run, your skills and your images will thank you, because good photographers shoot good pictures, not fancy cameras.

One of the things we all have learned, is that DSLRs can take losuy pictures if not used with knowledge and understanding.

After checking your camera out and verifying that it works - reread the manual and try each feature until you understand it's use.

meewolfie

Learn to use Av, Tv or manual modes. In the long run, your skills and your images will thank you, because good photographers shoot good pictures, not fancy cameras.

Thanks, pathfinder!

I was anxious to get some shots so that I could compare the base quality of the images from the new camera to what I was getting out of my previous camera. Also, I had a dentist's appt. and only had about 20 minutes to play around with the camera with natural daylight available.

I've got a decent amount of experience and understanding of SLR photography, so I'm happy to have a camera that puts the controls back at my finger tips. My Olympus supposedly had some of this control but in reality it was limited and the results tended to not make the effort worth the trouble of fussing with shutter speed and aperture settings.

Right now, it's just a matter of learning the Canon lingo, finding out which combination of menu settings and buttons allow for the different types of control and then lots of experimentation. The last time that I had this type of control over my photography was with a SLR-film camera (Pentax).

Thanks!
Mary