Canon was running triple rebates that expired on January 15, so we broke down a little early and got the digital SLR camera that I wanted for my birthday.

I chose the Canon EOS 350D (Digital Rebel XT), partly because the reviews of it were glowing, partly because Pam had a 35mm Canon Rebel 2000 that we both enjoyed.

It came with two lenses, a EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III (telephoto zoom) and a EF 50mm f/1.8 II (standard & medium telephoto). The 50mm, for its price, is very well regarded. As an added bonus, the kit lens that came with Pam’s old 35mm works with this new body, meaning that I also have access to a EF 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 II (standard zoom) that isn’t well regarded, but it works and will make a nice starter lens.

I haven’t even read the manual yet, but just playing around with it a little tonight, I took almost 100 pictures, of which only a handful were even decent. This is my favorite of the bunch, a nice close-up of Chief (click on the image for the huge original…) taken with the 50mm, but I could have improved the Depth of Field considerably. Still learning, still learning.

Stay tuned as we explore more of this camera’s powerful features. I’ll keep uploading the best of the pictures here.

Written by Gordy |