Hey from a newbie

[Russell.T]

Hey everyone,
My name's Russell, I'm a recent graduate (as of 2 days ago) from Florida State University with a Masters in Marketing Research. I just have always enjoyed photography as a hobby. I was the photographer for my high school yearbook (ages ago, I graduated in 2002), and my equipment was a Minolta Maxxum HTsi+. I had 2 lenses, a 28-80 and an 80-210. I actually still have this camera... anyone know if it's worth anything? haha.

Anyway, I took my grad money and a decided it was time to get a DSLR. I did my research between Nikon and Canon, and I just bought (about 30 minutes ago) a Rebel XSi. I got it from Sam's Club... $549... and it included the standard 18-55 lens. So far I love it.

However, I realize this model has been discontinued, but I liked the specifications on the body. The replacing unit is the XS it seems, and I could have purchased a package deal for $599 which included an 80-300 lens, bag, 2GB card, and some other random junk.

I have 90 days which I can still return this if I decide to go for the other one, but from those of you who have had way more experience than I, what would you recommend?

The XSi is a little more advanced.. 3.5 frames/second vs 3, and 12.2 instead of 10.1 mp. But I doubt I'll ever even blow anything up that large. The 9 point autofocus was one reason I chose this over the XS, which has a 7. But would this really make that big of a difference? Also this has a 3 inch screen, versus a 2.5 on the XS. This one can also shoot up to 4 RAW images or 56 JPEGS in a row; the XS can only shoot 2 RAW but unlimited JPEG.

I can tell already that I'm going to want a more powerful lens. Taking a few pictures of my bird has already made me realize that. What would y'all recommend? Take it back and get the XS with the lens and case and all, or stay with this one?

 

[KmH]

Canon has so many different names for the same camera it's tough to keep them straight. A Nikon D90 is a Nikon D90 everywhere.

The Canon EOS 1000D, DIGITAL REBEL XS or Kiss F has a little bit better image quality than the Canon EOS 450D, DIGITAL REBEL Xsi or Kiss X2 .

Compare cameras

It would be hard to see the difference though.

You'd have to do some research on that 300 mm lens to determine if it's worth having. Is the 80-300 a Canon lens? They don't have one in their current telephoto zoom lineup that I see: EOS (SLR) Camera Systems - Telephoto Zoom - Canon USA Consumer Products

 

[Russell.T]

Here is the lens that comes with the XS package:
http://www.adorama.com/Als/ProductPage/CA75300AF2UR.html

I'm honestly just really confused as to what to do about all this... any insight is very much appreciated! By the way, I know that picture above doesn't follow the rule of thirds or any of the good things... I need to fix it up, but hey it's my first picture with the new camera. lol.

I found a refurbished model also about $100 cheaper from adorama, with a 1 year warranty. How do people generally feel about refurb dslr's? I just want the best body I can get now and work on building my accessories over the years to come.