J's Website

Most of the pictures that I have put on this site have been captured on the Canon Rebel XSi (450D).  This page is a quick review of what my experience has been after 6 months of using this camera.

I purchased this camera with the EF-S 18-55mm  f/3.5-5.6 IS lens and purchased an additional EF-S 55-200mm IS lens.  I had finally decided to upgrade from analog to digital after viewing many websites and reviews and deciding that digital has finally matched its analog counterpart.  I was previously using a Canon XS Rebel from the 1990′s so the upgrade was welcomed.

This camera has a larger and more modern looking body and is slightly heavier than the old analog version.  The camera itself seems to be made of a different plastic which I would hope is just as durable as my analog version (it has been through hell and back and only has a few scratches).  The XSi took a few days to get used to but is set up with the user in mind.  I have read many reviews that note the poor layout of buttons but this did not seem to be an issue for me (if you have small hands this and most cameras of this class will be cumbersome to utilize).  That said, I do wish that the finger rest to the left of the zoom controls was a bit more rough to give better grip on the device.  I have had no issues with handling this camera after the initial learning curve of where everything is.  The body of the camera is light weight at just under 1kg with the 18-55mm lens.

I wanted to let you know about Kiva (www.kiva.org), a non-profit that allows you to lend as little as $25 to a specific low-income entrepreneur across the globe.

You choose who to lend to – whether a baker in Afghanistan, a goat herder in Uganda, a farmer in Peru, a restaurateur in Cambodia, or a tailor in Iraq – and as they repay their loan, you get your money back.  It’s a powerful and sustainable way to empower someone right now to lift themselves out of poverty.  Change a life today for as little as $25 or as much as you can lend to help those who really need it.

Click the KIVA button below to load a pdf (requires adobe) to learn about KIVA and what you can do for others