basic

I bought this camera in the summer of 2003 which was when I started my photography endeavor. This camera has been awesome for everything that I have done from practice portraiture, landscape, close up, and everything that I was able to thow at it. I still constantly use this camera as it still continues to intrigue me with its abilities.

Many, and I say MANY people complain online about the lense that is given in the kit. For the work that I have done, and the work that most amature to "prosumer" photographers do, you will not be so extremely dissapointed about this lense. I do have the EF 50mm f/1.8, which is awesome!

The Rebel GII is also extremely light to carry around, especially when compared to older manual type SLR's. Sure, its not as light as a point and shoot but its NOT a point and shoot, its a great SLR. As I advance more in Photography, by December 2004 I'll be buying the Elan 7Ne to meet all of my photo needs. Due to the weight though, the Rebel will be my more rugged body for those shoots that I don't want to risk ruining the Elan. Great camera overall, go buy it!

I just got my camera for Christmas and I love it. The quality is great, and it's so lightweight! Gotta have it if you're into photography...great starter camera.

My personal background: I've owned several Point & Shoot cameras, both digital and film, as well as an old SLR back when I was in high school. I'm a decent photographer and since I bought this camera in late August (now early November) I've shot probably around 400+ frames.

If you want to shoot in manual mode, this camera works wonderfully. The only downsides I've found is a tendency to under expose by about 1/3 stop and the 1 fps maximum. If you don't need high speed photography and can learn to compensate for the exposure (or take your film to a lab that does) there isn't a reason to buy any other Rebel.

If you use the various auto modes (landscape, portrait, etc.) you'll find the camera works pretty well. Using these modes I can hand the camera over to a family member and expect the photo to come out reasonably well.

The only serious downfall to this kit is the lens. It is about as crummy as lenses come. The photos look fine at 4x6, but if you blow them up, you'll notice they aren't very sharp. The good news is that when your skill develop enough that you realize this, you can go out and buy that nice 24-85mm zoom and 50mm prime and they'll work wonderfully. Expensive bodies are for people with money burning wholes in their pocket. This one is for you. :)