Viewing Pics before downloading from Canon DR

Looking at getting a digital rebel but wanted to find out if it's possible I could view the pics on my computer without downloading ...computer may not even be able to handle a large download from a 6.3mp. This may determine whether I buy it or stick with film. Thanks

girotti-
That's an interesting question. Is there something wrong with your computer? Is it really old? If you can't or don't plan to store your digital images on your computer or an external hard drive, then a digital SLR might not be a good idea. In any case, the answer to your question is, yes. You can view the images on your computer without copying them over to the hard drive. Once you connect the camera to the computer via USB connection, the camera's memory card will appear as a new hard drive. You can then browse the images just as if they were stored on your computer. You can also use an external card reader to view the contents of the memory card. You don't even have to actually connect your camera.

Since you said you don't know if your computer will be able to handle files from the Digital Rebel, I thought I'd check some of my EOS 10D files, which should be the same size. My RAW files appear to be 7-8 megabytes, with embedded JPEG files. If you shoot just JPEG your files will be considerably smaller. When opened, these files will be about 18-20 megabytes. If your computer is going to have trouble with files of that size, you should either upgrade your computer or consider sticking with film. There are some hidden costs with a commitment to digital. Computer power and storage are two of the main expenses. But you'd have to have a pretty old and slow computer to have trouble with those files. I was processing and saving 40+ megabyte scanned image files on an old Pentium 233 processor with 256 megs of RAM, back when a decent digital camera cost over $10,000. So I expect your computer is fine.

Hope that reassures and helps. Let me know if you have more questions. Making the switch to digital usually requires some learning and additional purchases. But it shouldn't be too painful :)