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My wife and I have had the Canon S3IS for about 1 year.
1) Lenses - How concerned should I be about the stock lenses? Should I go ahead and buy a better lens right out of the gate or learn with the stock lense first?
2) zoom - My current point and shoot has 10X optical zoom. What is the equivalent zoom on an SLR lens? I've tried googling this but haven't found a good answer.
3) in general, what should I be looking out for? I'm going to have this camera for a long time, so what should I be concerned with? Any tips on good books or DVDs for using an SLR? This camera will be for my wife but I would like to learn how to get the most out of it too.
Thanks OOT!
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1. Generally, from photography buffs, the answer will be yes, but I think that it's not always appropriate. It really depends on what you're using it for. I am a Canon guy myself and I find the kit lens to be passable, but as you grow into the camera and photography itself, you'll find yourself using it less. Still, not terrible. If you have the money, then sure, why not.
2. I found this:
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Optical Zoom (X times zoom) and Digital Zoom
Optical zoom = maximum focal lenght / minimum focal length
For instance, the optical zoom of a 28-280mm zoom lens is 280mm/28mm or 10X. This means that the size of a subject projected on the film or sensor surface will be ten times larger at maximum tele (280mm) than at maximum wide angle (28mm). Optical zoom should not be confused with digital zoom.
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I wouldn't be too caught up in this though. Generally, you're going to want more than one lens. For example, you could have the EF-S 10-22mm for wide angle, the EF 24-70L for the middle range, and say the 70-200L for telephoto. (these are somewhat expensive lenses, but I'm just using them as an example). This is effectively 20x zoom based on the description i found above.
3. Beyond all the technical qualities, you should be looking for a camera that feels good in your hand. The best way to learn is to shoot a lot of photos, and get involved in online communities (Flickr has a good community) where you can post your photos, get feedback, talk about technical stuff, etc.