<center><img src="http://www.circuitcity.com/IMAGE/product/enlarged/can/EC.CAN.75300MMLENS.JPG"></center><p>and I cannot for the life of me get a crisp shot with it.. Now I am a total noob, so it may just be settings, but I hear from a lot of people that kit lenses are meh.

Looking at this one, what are your thoughts?

I'm linking to circuit city because I have a gift card there so I thought I'd look around. What would you recommend? Buy a new lens, or should I be able to do fine with the kit lens for now by buying a book and actually studying?

ugh.<ul><li><a href="http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Canon-Telephoto-Zoom-Lens-6472A002/sem/rpsm/oid/164231/catOid/-13085/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do">http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Canon-Telephoto-Zoom-Lens-6472A002/sem/rpsm/oid/164231/catOid/-13085/rpem/c

maybe post some examples along with the settings, so we can see what's wrong

That 75-300 isn't very good though

that's my biggest problem so far is not knowing what settings to use when.

All were handheld.

<img src="http://www.showyourmedia.com/files/1213056550.png">

<img src="http://www.showyourmedia.com/files/1213056587.png">

<img src="http://www.showyourmedia.com/files/1213056617.png">

<img src="http://www.showyourmedia.com/files/1213056647.png">

Really the only good looking shots I get are on auto, but even when I try to mimic those settings on manual, I get no where :\

Increase the ISO? Should I always leave the ISO as low as possible and play with the aperture?

Taken at 7pm this evening:

<img src="http://snwdrft.smugmug.com/photos/310345813_LU5Rg-XL.jpg">

EXIF: 1/400 sec, f/5.6, focal length 200mm, <b>ISO-1600</b>
Seems to me I had enough light to drop to 800 or even 400 and still have gotten the shot. Also could've put it in A mode @ 6.3/7.1 since I didn't need as high a shutter speed in that shot, but I'm not certain.

This one was taken 20 mins earlier:

<img src="http://snwdrft.smugmug.com/photos/310354603_vaiqB-XL.jpg">

EXIF: 1/640 sec, f/5.6, focal length 200mm, ISO-1600.

Again, should've had the camera in A mode instead and stopped down plus a lower ISO, but I wanted the shot.

I have worse, but that's all I can stomach showing you guys, lol. At least I'm learning!

<img src="http://snwdrft.smugmug.com/photos/310367242_LUvaE-XL.jpg">

EXIF: 1/500 sec., f/5.6, 200mm, ISO-800.

too much shutter speed <b>and</b> too much ISO.

I wanted to avoid motion blur and went to the other extremes instead. Don't abuse Shutter priority!

At least these smaller-size versions look ok to me. Obviously they are a bit noisy, but you can remove the excess noise with Neat Image, Noise Ninja or Noiseware.

my nephew plays soccer on a compressed field, so while 200mm isn't great for upper body/face shots, it does ok with action shots.

Obviously I need to practice a bit more with the kiddie sports, but here are some shots from my first time out.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/liumorse/2510876268/"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2080/2510876268_5ee86f435a.jpg" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/liumorse/2509725468/"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3258/2509725468_4e8f995390.jpg" alt="Being a goalie can be boring" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/liumorse/2509725392/"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3281/2509725392_8c4ae181fb.jpg" alt="Whens the ball coming our way?" /></a>

<img src="http://snwdrft.smugmug.com/photos/310887545_gaKTc-XL.jpg">

<img src="http://snwdrft.smugmug.com/photos/310885946_K7vhX-XL.jpg">

Seems like an obvious improvement to me, even using all defaults!

I've been using neat image for many years. You just have to make sure you don't overdo the effect. Images start to look a bit plastic if too much noise reduction is applied. Keep an eye on textured surfaces and especially skin texture. With Photoshop you can use masks to leave some parts of the image untouched. All the latest versions of nr software do a pretty good job with default settings and you can also download camera profiles for different ISOs.