The man's side of it!

Yesterday FedEx delivered my new Canon Digital Rebel XT. I purchased this from Dbuys.com a few days previously. I have been drooling and (dare I say it) lusting over this camera ever since it came out on the market (even before, when Canon said they were developing one). I have been researching this camera for a while, looking forward to when the price dropped to an (relatively) affordable level. Cassie and I have been current with our bills (we recovered financially from my 2 year work injury) and so I popped the question. (No, not that one, we're already married) Can I have one, please, can I huh, can I? (Cassie and I always consult with each other before we make any major purchases).

So now I'm in camera Ecstasy! I have been very neglectful of my photo blog. It has always been a hassle to shoot pictures wait for them to be developed and then scan and post. Now I can bring the camera with me and shoot to my hearts content.

Yaaaaaaaa!

P.S.
Dbuys.com had the best bang for the buck. The website was well designed and the process of purchasing the item was easy. I ordered the camera last Friday night, got a confirmation email a few minutes later. A representative called Sunday to confirm my purchase and to offer a few options such as extra battery, case, extended warranty etc. It was not a hard sell at all. I politely declined (I got the items from another supplier a whole lot cheaper) Shop! Shop! Shop! The Dbuys Rep. politely said thank you for the purchase and said the camera would be shipped on Monday. 1-2 business day shipping was $29.95 (A bargain to me as I was hot to get this camera) and FedEx delivered Wednesday.

Read some of the neat features this camera has in the extended entry!

Product Details

8.0-megapixel single-plate CMOS sensor with built-in low-pass filter and RGB color filter captures high-resolution images up to 3456 x 2304

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 USM zoom lens for incredible picture detail; EF lens mount for use with more than 50 Canon EF and EF-S interchangeable lenses

1.8" color active-matrix TFT-LCD monitor with 115K pixels and 5-level brightness control; fixed eye-level pentaprism viewfinder with adjustable diopter, fixed precision-matte screen and 0.8x magnification; histogram display and depth-of-field preview

DIGIC II image processor for precise, natural color and accurate white balance in varying lighting situations; sophisticated signal-processing algorithms for fast image capture and processing and low energy consumption

Auto and manual exposure modes; program (settings for full auto, portrait, landscape, close-up, sports, night portrait, flash off), shutter- and aperture-priority and depth-of-field AE

7-point cross-pattern, wide-area autofocus with auto and manual point selection; modes include 1-shot, predictive and selectable AI servo, AI focus and full manual

AE lock, auto exposure bracketing; 3 exposure metering modes, including 35-zone evaluative, partial center and center-weighted average; vertical-travel, mechanical focal-plane shutter, all speeds electronically controlled

10-sec. self-timer; 3 fps continuous shooting with a maximum burst of 14 large/fine JPEG images

White balance settings include auto, daylight, shade, cloudy/twilight/sunset, tungsten light, white fluorescent light, flash, manual and custom; built-in pop-up E-TTL II auto flash; compatible with EX-series Speedlite external flashes

CompactFlash card slot supports CompactFlash Type I/II cards (media not included)

Playback modes include single image, 9-image index, magnified zoom, auto play and auto play after shooting

USB interface; direct-print capability with compatible PictBridge-enabled printers (no computer required)

Compact, lightweight design weighs less than 2 lbs.

0.2-second start-up time, so you never miss a shot; shutter release lag of 0.01 sec. and blackout time of 0.0175 sec.


Height 3.7"

Width 5"

Height 17.1 oz.

Length 2.6"

Camera Body Style SLR

Megapixels (Effective) 8.0

Megapixels (Total) 8.2

Image Resolution Up to 3456 x 2304

Optical Zoom 3x

Lens Features Canon EF-S USM zoom lens with 3x optical zoom; EF lens mount for EF and EF-S interchangeable lenses

Lens Focal Length(s) 35mm equivalent 18-55mm (with included lens)

LCD Screen Size 1.8"

LCD Screen Features Color active-matrix TFT LCD with 115K pixels and 5-level brightness control

Viewfinder Fixed eye-level pentaprism with adjustable diopter, fixed precision-matte screen and 0.8x magnification

Burst Mode Yes

Internal Memory None

Compatible Memory Formats CompactFlash (CF)

Shutter Speeds 30-1/4000 sec. in 1/2- or 1/3-stop increments; bulb; X-sync at 1/200 sec.

Aperture Range f/3.5 - f/5.6 (with included lens)

White Balance Auto, daylight, shade, cloudy/ twilight/ sunset, tungsten light, white fluorescent light, flash, manual and custom

External Flash Mount Yes

Focus Range 0.9' - infinity (with included lens)

ISO Equivalent 100-1600

Self-Timer 10 sec.

Interface USB 2.0

Camera Dock Not included

File Formats JPEG (Exif 2.2), RAW

Exposure Control Program, shutter-priority, aperture-priority and depth-of-field AE; manual exposure; ETTL II auto flash; exposure compensation (±2 EV in 1/2- or 1/3-stop increments)

Image Storage Capacity Varies

Batteries Rechargeable

Imaging Sensor Type CMOS

Imaging Sensor Size 22.2mm x 14.8mm

Filter Diameter 58mm

Accessories Rechargeable battery, strap

Hi Ted,

If you don't mind, could you let me know how you like it... I've been looking around to upgrade and would be real interested in what you think after a few uses :0) Thank You...

Hope all is well with you and your family :0)