[Genevieve!]

I have the Canon Rebel XS. I love it. I just took a ton of pictures in Las Vegas I will be posting shortly.

[Emay]

Canon advocate here and as many mentioned, glass is far more important than body. However, no one is going to pick up a DSLR and get stellar pictures from it without learning the the hobby/trade. ALmost all the shots you see, that you go,"oh good god" are that way because the person behind the camera has an eye, an understanding of light, and is comfortable with the manual settings of the camera. I've seen garbage equipment produce photographs that could publish as Photograph of the Year.

We are in a different age now, technology has come a long way. Canon and Nikon lead the way and neither one really has a mechanical advantage over the other. It comes down to feel and preference.

I got into the hobby with a used EOS Rebel, for 150.00 and focused on good glass. I was instantly addicted even with the low level camera and built up an extensive lens collection before moving on to an upgraded body. Currently I carry (all canon lenses) 50mm 1.4, 100mm macro, 24-70mm L, 70-200mm 2.8 L, 15mm fisheye, and 10-22mm superwide. About to bite on a 100-400L in the spring.

All that said, you might want to look for a used camera, you can get into a higher level product for about the same cost of a new XS/XTI/XSI. Or look for a used XS/TI/XSI and get yourself a lens.

I'd look into the canon 10d, 20d, 30d, and 40d. Since the 50d has been released for a bit these can be had at a steel new, and at a robbery used.

The same holds true across the nikon line. when a new release hits the market, the previous gens start getting posted for sale fairly quickly.

Both lines have cameras with good auto settings, so a non educated person can get good auto setting shots. The flashes on them though are over powered and not well diffused, so full potential of the camera comes alive in their manual modes. This is where you can make people look natural and get colors to pop. So be prepared to learn the basics and grow. I've seen too many people with 2 and 3K worth of equipment post up horrid pictures.

[weems]

I was in the same predicament, but I decided to learn with a point and shoot before stepping up to a dslr.

[Mattd76]

Emay you have to be one of the most helpful people on the sight. You always come through with very helpful advice. Thanks alot to everyone

[Trick Tuners]

I have one (for a few months) and love it. Even on full auto it takes pic FAR better than a regular P+S camera. I took it on a family trip and now both my sisters are buying one.

[Mattd76]

Emay would you be able to make some suggestions on lenses to think about purchasing. The XS comes with the kit 18-55mm lense no matter what but I am going to be using the camera to take a lot of action shots of my friends riding atv's and wakeboarding. I will also be using the camera to take photos of cars and landscapes and also just random photography.

[Emay]

For wakeboarding the perfect lens is the 70-200mm 2.8, I know it puts you in an expensive price point. Anything else will give lack luster pictures for multiple reasons. Mainly the fact that the water is reflective in a way different from being over land. A CPL will be mandatory anytime after 10am up until 5pm. I don't just talk of this lens out of the fact I own one. I made the mistake of trying a cheaper lens that was capable of 300mm, it's not just the focal length. The 70-200 is a universal lens you will see facing off the back of 90% of the boats in the water.

For a nice walk around lens and excellent portraiture, the 50mm 1.4 or 50mm 1.8 are very economical choices.

Samples of wake boording shots with the 70-200mm nothing special here, just a buddy of mine on the water at the worst possible time of day, notice how harsh the lighting is, reflections are knocked down because I have the CPL on:

[gooberhead320]

im getting the XTi tomorrow. well it will arrive in my mail box tomorrow. i will let you know how it is

[Mattd76]

Thanks for all the input Emay. I know what its like out on the water during miday it would be damn near impossible to get a good shot with how bright it is. We usually go out early morning or late afternoon like 5 p.m. mostly just do to boat traffic during mid day hours.

[Emay]

We normally do the same, catch the butter. However, sometimes you gotta brave the mess. Which as you know includes chopped up water, and midday suffering, unrelated to the camera.

[gooberhead320]

these are taken right out of the box with a 28-90 lens

[Mattd76]

Originally Posted by Emay We normally do the same, catch the butter. However, sometimes you gotta brave the mess. Which as you know includes chopped up water, and midday suffering, unrelated to the camera.

I think the worst thing ever is when there arent that many boats out and that one asshole decides to come wakeboard or ski right in the same spot you're at when theres a whole damn open lake of glassy water why come by me?

[Mattd76]

goober pretty nice shots for some of your first. Is that a college campus? just kind of has that look to it. and how much did you pay for the XTi

[gooberhead320]

Originally Posted by Mattd76 goober pretty nice shots for some of your first. Is that a college campus? just kind of has that look to it. and how much did you pay for the XTi

yeah its ashland university in ohio. i paid 499 for the body, a 28-90 lens, tripod, case, 8gb card, 2x telephoto lens, wide angle lens, uv filter, and a coupler other things

[Mattd76]

wow.. where did you find that deal?

[gooberhead320]

ebay

[Mattd76]

Thats what I thought. you can get some great deals on ebay.

[gooberhead320]

yeah you can. they had some good deals on an xs but were like 620 with somewhat of the same stuff

[Mattd76]

Yea if I go with the XS I was just gonna get the basic kit right now with just the 18-55mm but I might start looking into the XTi more with such good deals out there. Could someone with experience/knowledge of both the XS and XTi tell me some of the differences and similarities to both? I know they are pretty similar spec wise but on canons website the XTi is listed at a higher MSRP value by like $100 even though it is older. Is there something I'm not noticing thats very different between the 2.

[gooberhead320]

the main difference that i can remember is the AF points, there are 9 for the xti and 7 for the xs. the xs also has live view which the xti doesn't. but to get good pictures you don't want to use the live view, you would want to look throught the eye hole. i was debating whether or not to get the xs or the xti and went with the xti