I just had a phone call from my mother. Apparantly the lens on my first ever SLR has died. I am not sure what caused it but she was taking off the lens cap which was stuck and the glass shattered in her hand. It looks like canon don't make any equivalent lenses anymore. It was an EOS 500n (I think Rebel in America) with a 28-80mm lens. Sadly though unless I can find a cheap second hand lens, it looks like the camera will become a paperweight. I shoot almost exlcusively digital now and don't really own any other lenses that would suit mums needs. The camera itself has performed remarkably well given the large number of photos it has taken. The shutter was replaced early on in the piece when the curtin bent whilst I was photographing an assignment at uni, fortunately only days before the warranty ran out. Since then she has seen countless rolls of film go through her, taking the shutter count well over canon's projected life expectancy. I will keep my eyes open, but I suspect she will be replaced by a compact digital.