Thank-you everyone. I've sometimes wondered if anyone was paying attention, but your response is moving. I'm still getting a feel for it, but the XSi seems to be accurate for color capture. Strangely enough the color seems off to me on the lcd, but looks good on the pc. Some still don't seem perfect (such as 'Swingtown'). I don't know why I thought it would be a miracle device, but the color accuracy does seem better than my Panasonic. However that sounds, I'm not disappointed so far (and yes I have already been pricing lenses (even with $20 to my name)). :) These were taken in the late afternoon (practically evening) with the WB set to sun, but I don't have enough of a feel for it to know if I should have used a different setting. I'll be sure to let you know how my opinion progresses once the excitement has worn off a little. Again, thank-you. Brock P.S. Is the new size alright? I decided to try going to 600 pixels for the maximum dimension, now that I have more pixels to work with. P.P.S. I managed to take 697 photos on the first charge with this new battery. It supposedly lasts 1.5X longer than the XTi's battery. That's almost 700 photos, using live view for alot of them, and while learning the menu setup all on one charge! I can't believe how much fun this is.

Beautiful pictures. Right now, I just have daylilies, but will be buying the other kinds for my garden. My tiny little garden. lol.

Yes, what a surprise to see him munching away. I didn't run him off, thinking his regular fodder might have been sparse. It was a few weeks ago for that pic. Gary, HTs are very hard to grow here. Three of the above are antiques, therefore much healthier. Gio is a Kordes HT. That breeder is going for health so I am trying a few. Thank you, Garden Gal and Marcia. Ricky, that is actually my new phone, Samsung, Note 4. I am so pleased with the quality of the pics. Now if I can just figure out a simpler way top get them posted..... Thanks for the pic tips! Not an expert, Silvia, just besotted since childhood and DETERMINED to have them in my life. Richest soil, fort root stock if I can get it and if (when) they fail a new one comes to live here. (I don't buy shoes, fancy clothes, etc. I stopped any [expensive} partying many years ago. The garden and my sewing are my only remaining vices.) Also, I have a very high tolerance for naked, thorny canes. If they can manage to bloom, they stay. DG, the best one for here is the Cracker Rose, Louis Phillippe. Does very well, own root in most of Florida. Of course, the better soil it get the better it will do.

One work-around I've found for that, Marlorena, is to back up and take the shot from a further distance. The camera will likely get all items in focus, doing that. Then you can take advantage of the great resolution the camera has by cropping and enlarging that portion of the photo, so it is like a close-up. Another trick is to experiment with the plane of the shot. By slightly depressing the shutter button, the camera will show you which areas are in focus in the field of view by surrounding those with green rectangles. If you tilt the camera slightly or shift it to a slightly different view, you will often find you can bring more of a view into focus by doing that kind of adjustment.