What Lens for Cannon A540?

[zul]

I am new to the forums and have next to one million questions. So, let me start with ... What lens to buy? Note that I am price sensitive (thus the A540). I enjoy mountain biking, hiking, back packing and of course, photography ... oh, so much gear to buy ...

1. Close ups ... Maybe my A540 can take close up shots and I just need to make a manual camera adjustment. As of now, I think a different lens is needed. Ideas, suggestions?

2. Slot Canyon hiking and outdoor shots. Too many times, I find an incredible scene to shoot and cannot fit it all in the shot. For lanscape and outdoor photographs, what lens to buy? Oh yeah, I have played around with the photo stitch feature but haven't figured out the software portion of that challenge. Once again, need lens or need to figure out camera?? Nearly all of my photography is outdoor related.

3. Sunset filter. I know that there are several options and the prices are reasonable for filters. Other than that, I know nothing. Help?!!

I see that there is a Best Deal forum. If anyone has a link to a sweet deal, that would be great! I will put up some of my photo work if that is helpful.

Alright. That should put a good dent in my one million questions. Thanks in advance!

[erichlund]

While there may be some supplementary lens attachments, such as a wide angle attachment (for a wider view than the camera naturally provides) or telephoto attachment (for a narrower view than the camera naturally provides), you cannot change the basic lens that comes on the camera.

For closeups, such as a bug or flower, there is a macro mode that probably has a flower icon on the button for it.

To shoot a sunset, take your white balance off of automatic and set it for normal daylight. This fixes the color temperature setting of the camera so the reds and yellows can come through. On automatic, your camera tries to get the whole scene to what it considers a normal color balance, and you don't want this, as it will wash out all the color.

[zul]

Are these the most basic and common questions of all times? If so, sorry about that. I am one week away from a pack trip into my favorite slot canyon. Needless to say, I am thrilled that I won't need to make a purchase to better my photos from last visit. So much to learn, it is overwhelming at times. Thank you for the great tips ... "Learn how to use your camera", you put it so nicely. ;)