Do you normally wear glass? If so, could it be that the dioptric on the camera is set incorrectly? If you look through the viewfinder, on the right, there's a little + and - sign with a small rotating button, try turning that while looking through the viewfinder and see if it gets less blurry one way or the other. For me, it needs to be turned all the way to the " - " side. I'm even thinking I might need to replace the dioptric because I'm so blind :P You can order them at the Canon site under Accessories, though probably somewhere online has them cheaper :) I hope this info helps :) -A P.S. Now, if I could just figure out how to set the 9 dot thing properly when working with depth of field, I might get some photos that don't need to be "Sharpened" in PhotoShop! Here is a link that might be useful: Dioptric

Andrea, I shoot RAW exclusively now for the reasons you stated except occasionally flip it over to sports because it goes auto to burst (I think), and does only .jpg. I love Photoshop, has a very steep learning curve, waited years until I got a $299 upgrade with Elements to CS2. I don't just use it for my photographs, and I agree with you about some of the software that comes with cameras, read about Nikon's, refused to get in the camera wars, was really torn between Canon and Nikon, at the time I thought Canons had better noise reduction at the expense of IQ, understood that going in. I started just doing graphics learning all I could with PSP (quit upgrading at 5 because I didn't like some things), then bought Photo Impact (fun for awhile but a waste of money), but when I saw the power of PS, I was sold. I don't use all the features, no, don't jump on the upgrade bandwagon (lightbox is really cool, can't afford it), but I love their USM and ACR white balance corrections and several others such as highlight/shadows tool (because of the limited dynamic range with all digital cameras, may be better with the more expensive, super-high resolution ones), when I want to make them pop more. And a lot of it is strictly a matter of taste. There are some incredibly talented with PS; I'm not one of them. The actual conversion process doesn't take more than 30 seconds, and when I can, I batch convert using scripts. I know everything you said is true, especially you can use Nikon pics right out of the cam, sharp as a tack, same with some good P&S cameras. Have to watch oversharpening, too. For web viewing, people probably can't tell the difference about sharpening. I can see it, very occasionally I don't bother with it, depending, but do like to do my own cropping and straightening, can't stand really crooked photos unless for creative effect. Other software does that just as well. I highly respect your opinion, and it sounds like you are some kind of pro. I don't presume to know everything. Blowing blows more dust in than I get out sometimes, always do that first regardless, a couple tries, then test, but I have used the wet method only once, got it better, but just let the dustbunnies I missed be for now and try to be careful changing my lenses. The only people I'd really trust to clean my sensor filter, not the sensor on Canon, but extremely delicate, is Canon. Nobody on the Canon dslr forum I've read yet on dpreview for almost 5 years now sends theirs anywhere for sensor filter cleaning; they all clean them themselves, most very confidently (not me!) many, many use a wet method usually Copperhill or a pen. I used extra pure alcohol and qtips I got at the medical supply center, just a drop w/eyedropper. I first try the dry method with Walgreen's brand q-tips very gently. The camera store person told me some use plastic knives from McDonald's! Not for me! I don't really trust my local camera store or Best Buy technicians. With the camera store, last time I was in was tempted to butt in and tell the customer something I happened to know, while the salesman didn't seem to, held my peace. Had some photos and a painting scanned I wanted to retouch, state-of-the art, awful, ended up using my camera and tripod. The camera store wasn't set up to cater to dslr users, maybe they're more with it now. I hate cloning out dustbunnies once a bad one gets in there, most don't show at the sizes and resolution I use, but do clone quite a bit for other reasons and like the healing tool. Once a piece of fiber got in there, it drove me nuts, that I got out by blowing, need a better blower, the Hurricane one. Sorry for taking up so much "airtime". Sooner or later most dslr owners are going to have to choose how to deal with it. Then if I screw up, I screw up, and will pay the consequences. You HAVE to clean your lenses, even on P&S cameras, which I do as little as possible. I know Nikon has fine cameras and lenses; that is why the choice was so hard, and sometimes I still look back, but now I'm invested heavily in a few lenses not as many as some have, don't need them, but very expensive and wouldn't get near what I paid for them if I sold them, even though they are all in mint condition.

It has been a while since I have been on the conversation side of the FN. So, I totally was missing this thread. Congrats Sharon and Susan on getting Canon cameras like mine. You both will love them!!! Good choices you made! I bought two sets of 4 AA rechargeable batteries in 2005 when I got my camera and kept recharging them over and over again. I just threw out one of the sets about a month ago. They sure lasted a long time! The other set is still going. The third set I used at the start were batteries I found at home but I misplaced one or two of the batteries and so, never used that set much. Now, everytime I go somewhere with my camera, I throw the recharger in my purse with the 4 freshly recharged batteries in it. It is amazing how often I will be in the middle of the Westman Gardeners meeting taking pictures and the batteries will die then or in the midst of another function and they die. Just taking the few extra seconds to throw in the freshly recharged batteries in the purse sure has been a lifesaver. I have now taken about 25,000 pictures with my camera...it rolls over at the 9999 number to 0 again....of course, I haven't kept all of them but have a lot in the computer though! Thanks Susan for the fun sites to explore this winter. I have all the pictures I took this summer to label, crop, adjust lighting on, etc etc. this winter when I can't work outside anymore. It will be fun to work with some of the pictures with the fun techniques. I was given a Manfrotto tripod with a joystick head (pistol grip) for my birthday in June to use along with my camera and haven't taken the time to experiment with it and my camera. I am hoping for time this winter. Just wait...that will be the next thing on your wish list, Sharon and Susan. Brenda

The Canon Rebel XTI is a digital single-lens-reflex camera. It can be left on Auto and used with the lens it comes with, but, frankly, if that's all you do with it, you're wasting your money. Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax, and Sony all sell cameras worth considering. Some things to keep in mind: - Image stabilization will let you get a better picture in low light and maybe fix some "user errors". But it won't fix every motion problem. You still can end up with blurry pictures. - Don't buy just megapixels. The way the camera handles the picture after you take it ("image processing") is even more important than the number of pixels. For the size of pictures most people will put in their homes, 6-8 megapixels is enough. Worry more about your options in managing the picture. - Watch the zooms. It sounds really good to have a 10x or 15x zoom, but most zooms get really dark at the far end. In addition, image stabilization will work the same at the wide and tele ends of the zoom even though that, too, may result in some unwanted effects. - It really helps to get your hands on cameras you're thinking of buying. Any given camera may seem too small for one person; too clumsy to handle to someone else; too difficult to operate. Take pictures, but also try some scene modes, formatting a memory card, and try deleting a shot. - If you can, either get return privileges or see if the store will either print some of your pictures or display them on a large screen. The little LCD on the back of the camera is not adequate for judging color, sharpness, contrast, or focus. - If you can, shop at a camera shop. Though it may be hard to believe, camera shops will sell the same cameras at the same prices as discount stores or big-box electronics stores. And you usually get the benefit of a wider range of cameras and accessories and a salesperson who isn't just substituting from Small Appliances. I realize this is a lot to read, but it can help you from spending a lot of money on a camera that doesn't do what you want it to do.