Expert: John Oliverio - 12/6/2008

Question
I have purchased this camera for my son, I am a point and shoot person so I know nothing about this type of camera. Family wants to buy lenses and accessories for christmas and I do;t know what to tell them, are all lenses interchangeable with this camera? Any recommodations?

Answer
Hi Crystal. Thanks for the question.

You have to either buy lenses made by Canon or lenses made by after market companies for Canon auto-focus. The next logical lens for most folks is the 55-250.  It usually goes for around $250.  Another good major accessory would be a flash.  The Canon 430 EX is the beginners choice and should sell for around $280.  Other less expensive (but very important) accessories:

UV filters for lens protection. The lens it came with will need a 58mm. About $25.

Camera bag big enough to hold a second lens and a flash. Price varies but around $50 for a decent one.

Spare battery. $70 for a good one.

Spare memory card.  It uses SD cards. 2 gigabyte cards are around $20.

Tri-pod.  A basic one could be between $20 and $40.  A nice one around $150.

Photo printer.  A basic desk top printer starts at $100.  Canon makes a neat portable printer that does 4x6 prints only for around $100 that is kinda fun.

Lens cleaning kit.  An optical cloth like you get with sunglasses will do.

A good photo editing program.  I strongly suggest Adobe Elements. About $80. If he is a computer whiz you could make it a major purchase and get Adobe Photoshop CS4.  $650. Most photographers want it sooner or later.

Hope this helps.

John