Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Pond Boss Canon Digital SLR camera help

Does anyone have any experience with or recommendations for digital SLR cameras? I'm going on a family vacation in less than 2 weeks and trying to decide if I want to get a new digital camera for the trip. I already have a "point and shoot" digital.

I have a decent Canon SLR film camera (EOS Elan 7e with a 28-200mm lens) and wanted to get a digital SLR camera body to use with the lens I already have. There are several choices out there - most with features I don't need (I am just a casual photographer). After looking into them I realized that the lower priced models do not have "live view" meaning you need to look through the viewfinder to see what you will be photographing. The LCD screen is only for settings information and reviewing the picture after it is taken. I'm not sure if the "live view" feature is really something that is all that useful. If I get this feature it would mean buying the latest model and paying an extra $200 or so. Not so sure it's really worth it.

Thanks for any advice.

Rob: I bought my wife a Canon EOS 40D (digital SLR) last Christmas. The camera body with a couple lenses, flash, 8 GB high speed SD card, and other accessories was pretty expensive (at least from my perspective); but it is a really good camera and she has had photos published in every one of the local media outlets. It is also great for family photos and all the regular stuff in addition to doing 6 frames per second (one of the big problems / frustrations with some digitals is the lag time in trying to capture moving objects). FWIW: That camera has a "live" view; but we seldom use it. We normally just use the view finder. If you get a big memory card and etc., you can just shoot more shots, and edit or delete the ones you don't like. Hope this helps. Jeff

Thanks Jeff. I was looking at the Rebel XT ($390), the XTi ($540) and the new XTs ($800). The EOS 40D is another step up (body is about $950) and a real nice camera. Probably way more than I need. I have found that the LCD on point and shoot digital cameras is not always that easy to use - especially in daylight. So I guess I'm not surprised that you and your wife are not using the live view feature.

I think I'll skip the live view feature and probably chose the XTi.

The XTi should be a very nice camera and should be an excellent choice.

There are some definite downsides to spending thousands (body, lenses, flash, memory, etc.) on a camera set up. One of which is that you're a little more hesitant to drag it around with you all the time (especially when it may be muddy, dusty, rainy, etc.) and you miss some shots that you otherwise would have had. My wife is probably what you call a prosumer in the camera arena. It is only a hobby; but she is pretty serious about it. In fact, she is photographing a wedding later this month.