I am now a proud owner of a Canon EOS 350D digital SLR camera. Also known as the Digital Rebel XT in the United States, the Canon EOS 350D was voted the European Camera of the Year 2005-2006 by the prestigious European Imaging &amp; Sound Association (EISA).


For those not in the know, the EISA Awards are chosen annually by panels representing nearly 50 prominent Photo, Video, Audio, Home Theatre and Mobile Electronics magazines from over 18 European countries.


So it's a big deal to get a product to win an EISA Award.


It's an even bigger deal when I get one of these products in my possession.


It took a lot of research, digging and sifting through reviews, technical details and specifications before making the decision to go with the Canon's EOS 350D. Among the competition was Nikon's D50 and the Olympus E500.


The Olympus was the first to be rejected. It only supported USB1.1. Hey Olympus, come on-lah, even cheapo cams use USB2.0 oredi-lah.


The decision was made at last on Thursday, 8th December 2005. With some financial support from my wife, I purchased the camera, with a kit lens (18-55mm), a battery grip, and a 1GB 18x Kingston CF card. (Thanks so much dear! You can have the old PowerShot A20 now ... *chuckle*).


Coming from a consumer camera background, I was initially intimidated by the size of the Rebel XT. However, I grew to like it for it's fast startup time (0.2 seconds) and equally quick auto-focus. I also had to get used to using the viewfinder again (the Rebel XT's LCD monitor cannot be used as a viewfinder ... duhh).


The Rebel XT has a tough rubbery exterior that gives me a sense of solidity and confidence. Reviews I've read did mention that the Nikon D50 was noticeably tougher, but frankly, you'd only notice it if you were really fussy.


Being a digital SLR, the Rebel XT comes with fully-automated mode, fully-manual mode and everything else in between. As of this writing, I'm still trying to figure it all out.


Thankfully, Canon did a good job on the 171-page instruction manual. It wasn't all too technical and jargon-ish. Even a fool like me managed to figure out some of the more important details.


The first few snapshots taken with the camera were astonishing. The picture clarity was superb, and the sound of the shutter was a real turn-on! I finally got to take photographs the way I wanted to.


The 7-point metering is really great and having continuous drive mode is something really new to me. I tried continuous drive on my cats outdoors and got a remarkable 3 frames per second. My wife was tickled by the way I held the camera while snapping on continuous drive. Gaya macam pro!


Over the last few days, I've been shooting all sorts of photos, just to get used to the settings and readings.


Here are some samples:-




The package. 


Lens cover on a book. 


Visitor from the garden. 


Genie, my blue-eyed boy. 


Grandpa-Cat, showing his disdain ... :P ptthhhhbbbtthththbttt. 


A night shot of a house. Yes, that's how much light pollution we have in the city. 


A joss stick. 


Princess Kiki ... putting on one of her shy-shy pose again. 


Cars whizzing by under a pedestrian bridge. 


The main entrance to Sunway Pyramid with pretty Christmas decorations.


A view of Sunway Pyramid from the pedestrian bridge. 


One of the many lamp-posts around Sunway Pyramid. 


Sunway Resort Hotel ... THE MARTIANS HAVE LANDED! THE MARTIANS HAVE LANDED! ... ahem ... sorry, I couldn't help it. 


Decorations inside Sunway Resort Hotel. 


Traffic next to Sunway Pyramid. 
I'm not selling the PowerShot A20. Not ever. It has served me well (and it still does!). The old PowerShot A20, despite the fact that it's only 2 megapixels, can really surprise me with some cool photos. It's all about being at the right place at the right time. It's picture quality still beats the crap out of some of today's newer cameras.


The Rebel XT is ultra-cool, but the PowerShot A20 will always be my sentimental favourite.


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P.S.


The Canon EOS 350D was purchased from Fotokem, Subang Parade. This outlet comes highly recommended as it won the Fair Price Award for 2005-2006. Indeed, no other camera store gives its customers an extra two years warranty (via an insurance programme with Aon Insurance).


Anyone looking to get a camera or photo/video accessories at a fair price should pay a visit to Fotokem Subang Parade (ask specifically for Michael, he's the best at customer service ... he's off on Fridays though, take note).


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P.P.S.


Photos taken with my Digital Rebel XT are available for viewing at my PhotoBlog entitled ...Life In Still Mode....


Purchases on prints WILL be entertained. Just send me an comment on that blog. Happy viewing!


