I'm stationed overseas so most companies won't let me buy cool electronics like the Digital Rebel XT so I went out on the Japanese economy. This is my first digital SLR. I've struggled trying to capture great shots of my daughters playing soccer, basketball, running track..etc., with the "enthusiast" zoom cameras. The Kiss Digital N is made in Japan and has a few minor differences from the U.S. model. The kit zoom 18-55 lens for instance is USM. I bought it as a kit with another Canon lens as well, a 55-200 EF. It's light, cheap, and good enough as I'll get to in a minute. In the end it was between the Pentax istDS or the Digital Rebel XT.

After completing all of my research on-line it came down to Canon picture quality, and technology. Am I happy? So far this camera is light years ahead of any digital that I've owned. It's fast, the pictures are sharp if you understand the limitations of the lens you are using, and it's easy. My wife can use it just fine and she doesn't have a digital clue. For the enthusiast, there is plenty of stuff to play with.

The 8 megapixel CMOS sensor produces amazing results. The soccer pics tell the story for me. The 55-200 EF produced some incredible shots. It's USM and focuses fast and sharp. It's not an "L" lens but I don't even know what that means! This camera will sell like crazy. Eventually I plan on buying a 35mm EF prime F2.0 lens, the wireless remote, the battery grip, and Canon Flash. Highly recommended.



Link: More info about the Canon Digital Rebel XT