Buying Canon 300D. What Accessories should I get?

[Pat Logsdon]

Ok, so I'm going to bite the bullet and pick up one of those nice Canon Digital Rebel 300D thingies. I think this is the best choice for me because I've already got a few Canon lenses for my Elan IIe - notably a 70-300mm lens. :) I'll be using it primarily to take photos of gadgets and my wife's jewelry.

The list of stuff I think I need so far is:

Cloud Dome (http://www.clouddome.com/specs/prodome.html) for jewelry
A few Ott lights
Reflector
Cheap, reusable background (http://www.clouddome.com/specs/infinitiboard.html)

Anything else I should think about? How about macro lenses? I've seen very expensive adjustable lenses, and very cheap lenses that screw onto the end of existing lenses. When would I use one vs. the other?

Thank you for helping me spend more money on my new obsession. :wink:

[Jason Dunn]

Wow, those cloud dome thingies are cool! Maybe you should review one instead of buying it? :lol:

I think you'll find that the Rebel is pretty good at taking macro photos already - you might want to experiment with some photos before deciding if you need one or not.

Your list is pretty comprehensive...for product photos, I don't know what else you'd need.

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

The cloud dome seems rather expensive for what it does. Seen light tents that go for cheaper. Reusable background seems pretty nifty for its price. For close-up lenses you might want to check out the Canon 250D/500D or the Nikon 3T/4T/5T/6T.

[bdegroodt]

Yikes! That Cloud Dome is way overpriced in my opinion. In fact, you may want to check out these (http://www.popularphotography.com/article.asp?section_id=4&article_id=952&page_number=1) alternatives at Popular Photography (some are more expensive than the Cloud Dome, but others are half the price). Unless I'm missing something on the specs.

I've had "ok" experiences with the screw on macros, but wouldn't ever buy one again unless budget was my primary concern. I'm looking for a Canon 20D. Be curious to see what else folks suggest you buy.

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

Have you used the Canon or Nikon close up lenses I mentioned? They're two-element apochromats, and offer a quality that is very good, unlike the crappy single element versions.