The Canon Rebel XS is a beginner?s delight for many reasons. First, it comes with good kit lens (18-55 mm with Image Stabilizer). The kit lens is said to be one of the best in the entry level SLR?s. Secondly, it has 10.1 megapixel CMOS sensor and DIGIC III processor and it shares an interface with almost every current Canon DSLR all the way up to the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III. The pictures come out highly detailed, noise-free and sharp. The camera is light weight (but doesn?t feel cheap or fragile) and memory slot holds SD/SDHC card which are much lighter, cheaper and faster than the old CF card which some other SLR?s require. It has a decent battery life (400-500 shots per charge).
From 12 modes on the dial, 7 modes are called Basic modes which have auto settings. Depending on the mode you select from it the camera will select the best settings for you, so that you just point and shoot. The other 5 modes are for creative photography where you can tweak different camera settings (metering, white balance, shutter speed, flash etc.) to suit the image. In these 5 modes you can also use the live-view, so that you click pictures looking at the LCD-screen (with 5X or 10X zoom).
Another fact you should seriously consider if you?re a beginner to the SLR photography: Canon Rebel XS has a 7-point AF system, compared to 3-point AF in Nikon D40/D60. A point focus system gives you the option to select a specific area in the whole frame to focus, it?s especially useful when you?re taking a Macro pictures and want to create a sharp image of the area/object you select by AF and a good blur (Bokeh) on the surrounding parts of the frame. Even though a 7-point AF in Rebel XS is lesser than a 9-point AF in SONY A200K, it still comes out better than SONY when you count other features in the Rebel XS. There is so much more scope for being creative using this camera.
Many people have made a huge hue-n-cry that the Rebel XS does not having a spot metering. But in my use I still haven?t found the desperate need of it. The Rebel XS has ?partial metering? which reads approx. 10% of the viewfinder at center and you can recompose the image to your liking by adjusting the aperture setting and shutter speed in Manual mode, if necessary.
If you are considering photography as a serious hobby then I suggest you to consider this camera. Once you get this camera you should start saving money to buy good Macro, Ultra-wide and Telephoto zoom lens then you will see what wonders this camera can do. In addition, Canon has a large collection of SLR lens that you can choose to fit this camera. So, for a price range between $450-470 this camera is a steal!
But if you?re still in doubt, then please read the complete review at: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos1000d/ and also go to the nearest Best Buy or local camera store to compare the performance of Canon Rebel XS with Nikon D40/D60, Olympus E-420, Pentax K200D and SONY A200K.