Ok... I do believe I have over researched! Going between the Rebel XTi and the EOS
40D. I am a complete newbie, but I don't want to outgrow the camera in a year or two. Am I crazy to consider the more expensive camera at this point... it is a thousand dollars difference in price... that makes my head spin. Please any opinions are more than welcomed. There is buying the best you can afford and then overbuying for no good reason.

Thank-you

Spend your money on good lenses instead of more expensive bodies. Camera companies are introducing new bodies every 18 months or so but lenses last a good long time and will keep working with whatever body you end up with.

Buy the XTi and one or two nice lenses and really learn how to use them. You can always spend more money on a fancier body once your skills develop but you will continue to use the lenses for as long as you stick to the same brand body.

Ah thank-you so much. For a minute there I was actually considering the EOS 40D... got a tad carried away for someone who is starting from the beginning... lol. Thank-you for grounding me. My husband has stopped off and found an even better price than I had... so went with the XTi, the 50mm f/1.8 lens, a 2G card and a filter... cheap thing 10- to protect the lense... sound right? Camera 649, lense 100, card 60 and filter 10. Pretty happy with that... even though I am shaking slightly thinking of the cost. But bursting with excitement to start this learning process. Thank-you ever so much for all your help!

yeah that seems like a good deal the xti camera are going for 699 here in canada so you got a good deal on that!

when are you buying it :D

rylan~ I am thrilled to report that the deal is done! My dear husband picked it up on the spot as the price was the best we could find... should be through the doors within the hour!!! We are in Canada as well... found this price at Blacks of all places... I was planning to purchase through Henrys, but they were 749! And the extra lense even worked out cheaper at Blacks. I hope there is no catch? So I suppose now the fun really begins... the huge learning curve ahead of me! Thanks again.

You will be thrilled with your new toy. :)

A word of warning about the UV filter. Some people feel the need to use them as "protection" other (like myself) feel they are not worth the investment. If you do want to put a UV filter on your lens, get the best, multi-coated filter you can afford. A cheap filter will cause more proplems than they are worth IMO.

I too was wondering what these cheap ten dollar filters were all about? I wasn't at the store and hadn't even thought of filters and definately didn't research them. So from what I am reading these are not necessary and maybe I should simply return them. This may sound like a simplton question BUT do you clean the lense (I haven't opened the camera box yet) and if yes what with? Thank-you.

I have been shooting with an XTi since it was introduced. It was my third digital SLR and I love it. It will serve you well. For the kind of shooting you plan to do, you will be much better served spending that thousand dollars on a better lens and / or flash.

Yes, I do clean my lenses. I use a lens cleaning cloth or paper, and lens cleaning fluid. I do NOT put the fluid on the lens. I put a few drops on the paper, and then wipe the lens elements clean.

Most of the time I use a rocket blower to blow dust off of the lens glass. If there is a lot of dust that the blower can't get off, then I use the method I mentioned above.

I have found that with the blower, I don't have to do a full cleaning of my lens all that often. A few times a year is about it.

You should see how filthy my equipment gets. Lenses are often cleaned with T-shirts. It's all tougher than you think.

You should see how filthy my equipment gets. Lenses are often cleaned with T-shirts. It's all tougher than you think.

nikon shooter (with cheaper lenses), but i do the same. might be different when i buy 1k+ lenses.

Yup, I use my T shirt when I have to as well. :)

rylan~ I am thrilled to report that the deal is done! My dear husband picked it up on the spot as the price was the best we could find... should be through the doors within the hour!!! We are in Canada as well... found this price at Blacks of all places... I was planning to purchase through Henrys, but they were 749! And the extra lense even worked out cheaper at Blacks. I hope there is no catch? So I suppose now the fun really begins... the huge learning curve ahead of me! Thanks again.


Blacks is awesome, i bought my camera there. were in canada are you from?
did they give you a bunch of free prints with the purchase of the camera?

Glad for you and you won't be disappointed with your camera. The Xti is a very good camera, have fun with it.