What is a fantastic new hobby for a full-time university student to take up when she has 1) just quit her PhD (and therefore quit her scholarship), and 2) her only job is occasional research assistant work? How about the nice expensive hobby of DSLR photography?!
Well that is exactly what I have done. The desire to learn how to do photography properly (and not just with my old Canon Ixus 40) and the travelling I will be doing once my masters is complete has led me to take the plunge and spend a grand on a DSLR camera. Eeek! Luckily for me, I received a nice payment for a journal article I helped write for my professor just when I was debating whether I could afford to get a DSLR.
My DSLR Camera
Now I would like to introduce you to my new camera, a Canon EOS 1000D – also known in other countries as the Canon Rebel XS or the Canon Kiss F.
My new camera! The unfortunate thing about taking photos of your new camera is that you have to use your old one to do it 
(in my case it is my 4+ year old Canon Ixus 40)
The Canon 1000D is a 10.1 megapixel camera that came out mid 2008. As an entry-level DSLR, it is one of the cheapest out there but it gives me the option of upgrading to quality canon lenses. Reading the reviews led me to focus my search down to either a Canon or Nikon camera. I don’t have a particular allegiance to either, but I chose the Canon over a Nikon because: a) the quality is comparable between the two, and b) the Canon camera body and future lenses purchases are cheaper than comparable Nikon ones.
Side view of my Canon 1000D
Ohhh I love this camera! It is nice and light and curves just right in my girl-hands. At first I thought the plastic body of the camera was getting scratched by my nails when I was holding the camera – but it turns out my nails were just getting filed down by the camera surface, which is still nice and smooth.
Because I came from using a Canon digital, I found this camera very easy to pick up and use straight away. All the buttons are in reach of my right thumb and index finger when shooting, and the “menu” and “display” buttons (which aren’t used very often) can be easily reached with my left thumb.
Back view of my Canon 1000D with shooting settings display. If you head over to my Flickr site you can find out what each button is.
For those new to digital SLR photography, you will easily be able to pick this up and use intuitively. However, I do recommend working your way through the camera manual while playing with the camera. The manual is very easy to read and you will learn a lot of important functions – even if you aren’t ready to advance beyond the auto settings on the camera.
My Lenses
I got my camera with the two kit lenses: the Canon EF-S 18-55mm IS, and the Canon EF-S 55-250mm IS. The Image Stabiliser kit lenses apparently have better image quality than the ordinary II kit lenses, plus they have the image stabiliser function. Both Canon and Nikon DSLRs have image stabiliser technology in some of their lenses, rather than in their camera bodies (unlike other camera brands). These lenses will give me a nice range to learn photography techniques and understand what future lens purchases will suit my style of photography best.
Top down view of my Canon 1000D
If you want to find out more about my camera and lenses I would recommend reading some of the very thorough reviews online by professional photographers. I don’t have the photography experience to offer more detailed comments about specs than what I have.
More amateur photography adventures to come in future posts!
Hey,
Im trying to make the decision between the two camera’s you mention andjust wondered if liveview is useful at all? Would you say you could live without it?
Hi Chris,
I don’t even use liveview so I could probably do without it! I prefer to use the viewfinder, but I can imagine that if you are using a tripod a lot the larger view of the scene would help you get precise manual focus (especially for macro photography). It is not as “snappy” as for digital point and shoots (because of the nature of DSLRs) and it really saps the battery so you wouldn’t want to use it all the time.
To use it:
If you are still curious about it, see if you can have a play with a DSLR with liveview so you get an idea of how it works. With my Canon you get to it via: Menu > the second Tool Menu [the 2nd yellow spanner icon, or 5th icon along] > down to Live View Function Settings > Live Shoot Enable. Then when you are back to the main shooting screen press the middle Set button to activate it. You can only use it in one of the “Creative” modes [P/Tv/Av/Manual/A-Dep].
Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions (and what you choose)
Amy
Very nice article. Inspired me a lot