Canon - EOS 350D/Rebel XT SLR Digital Camera Review

I'm a fairly new SLR user. I researched for over a year, before deciding to purchase a Canon 350D/Rebel XT. I bought my baby for Christmas 2008. Since then I have taken THOUSANDS of pictures. My poor computer is getting slower by the second. I've always been snap-happy with a camera in my hands but, point-and-shoot digitals were slowing me down. No more! With my Rebel I can shoot about 6 frames per second in action mode... which I will say drives my family absolutely insane! They don't appreciate their personal paparazzi. My daughter, however, loves the attention!

I'm still playing around with all the settings... I will likely never know how to use them all, as there are so many. This is one of the things I loved most about this camera - it grows with you. It's as easy as a point and shoot- just select Auto and click away. Or you can move the dial around and play with other settings- for portrait, action, night mode, etc. But it's also a serious professional machine with the ability to go into manual mode, swap out lenses, add a Speedlite - the options are endless. 

It's "only" an 8 megapixel camera- which I think stops a lot of people from buying this cheaper model. But 8 mp on an SLR is more than enough. This baby is good enough to make poster size prints, and definitely for doing professional quality magazine cover photos. 

I bought a 50mm lens with a lower f-stop instead of going with the 18-55 mm kit lens. I like it because it takes great shots in lower light and is a good distance for general use. I recently purchased a second lens - this time a 35-80mm. It has a higher f-stop but I mainly use it for outdoor pictures and portraits, so it hasn't been an issue for me so far. 

I am a scrapbooker and a hobbyist photographer, with hopes of being published and becoming professional. I have found the Rebel XT to be a great camera to introduce me to the world of SLRs. I love that I am getting high-quality photos all of the time now, instead of having to weed out hundreds of bad prints for a handful of keepers. This camera is definitely going to change the way I scrapbook.... the sky's the limit now!