My new Canon Rebel XS

I finally get a chance to spend some of my tax return this year. The last couple of returns was spent on a wedding, vacations, and petition fees. It always pays off filing early because you get your return early.

So with some extra cash, I decided to look for a digital SLR. I never owned or used one so it’s a big decision to make. I spent a couple of days researching online and visiting stores to play with demos. I ended up with 3 models, the Canon Rebel XSi, Nikon D60, and Sony Alpha 200. Why I even looked at Sony, I don’t know. I guess I just wanted to throw a third variable in there.

Since it was going to be my first DSLR, I didn’t want to spend too much. I’m not that all too familiar with manual settings or lenses. By the way, the most I spent researching on that Sony was to see how much it cost. After that, I ignored it all together. I never did like Sony cameras for some reason.

So I had to decide between the Canon and Nikon. What kept me away from Nikon is the simple fact that most of my digital cameras and camcorder are Canon. I’m already familiar with the interface and have some accessories from my PowerShot G9 that should be compatible with the Rebel XS series. Don’t get me wrong, Nikons make great cameras, but I’m just a Canon guy. Maybe one of these days I’ll give them a try, maybe.

Now I’m left with 2 cameras to choose from the Rebel XS and XSi. Here are the main differences that I saw between the two.

** XSi is at least $150 * XSi has 3” LCD display VS 2.5” – This isn’t a big deal to me since I’ll only be view photos on the screen and not using Live View to take pictures * XSi is 12MP VS 10MP – I’m not planning on printing larger than 8×11 and even if I did, 10MP will produce decent quality. * XSi has 9 AF points VS 7 AF points – I wasn’t too familiar with this so I asked my bro-in-law Al and co-worker Thomas and they both said, for what I’ll use it for and my current skill in photography, I won’t miss/need the addition 2 AF points and it wasn’t worth paying the extra money for it at this time.

So the winner is the Canon Rebel XS. So far I like it a lot. It came with a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens. Also the package I got included another Canon lens, EF-S 70-300mm f/4-5.6.

I’ve been playing around with this camera for more than a week and am liking it very much. I’ve picked up a bag for it too – Lowepro Slingshot 200AW. It’s a very nice bag and it comes with a water resistant cover for the bag (AW = all weather). I checked it out at Best Buy but felt that the price was too high. I found one on eBay for $60 with shipping included. I’m able to fit the lenses, additional memory cards, charger, my Canon Elura 100camcorder and a charger, and still have room for other things. The sling design is great and my camera is accessible while on the go.

So far the two things that surprised me after playing around with the camera are:

• It does not capture video. This isn’t much of a big deal. I still have access to my PowerShot G9, SD550, Aiptek A-HD+ 1080p.
• It does not come with a lens strap. This bugged me a little. I don’t know why something like this isn’t included for the price of the camera. So far, the only ones I’ve found at the stores come with a lens cap, which I don’t need. I guess I’ll have to find some online.