Digital Rebel Ordered

Well, I did it! With the help of folks on this forum, I researched numerous internet dealers and finally settled on Beach Camera. The Digital Rebel Kit was $70 less than B & H, and the rating at ResellerRatings.com is higher than B & H. So, I placed an order for the Rebel kit, the 50mm f1.8 and the 75-300mm IS zoom. I know these lenses don't compare with L series lenses, but I feel they are appropriate for my use. (Strictly amateur, recording our travels.)

I'll come back with a report of my experience with this order. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to improved results with the Rebel.

Congrats Sparker, you will enjoy the 300D.

Enjoy the DRebel. I hope you remembered to get some CF cards too, you're going to need them.

I used Beach camera once, very good, fast service. They get a thumbs up from me.

Jeff

I should have mentioned, my order includes some UV filters, a circular polarizer, a cleaning kit and a 1 gb CF. If all arrives together, I'll be ready to shoot.

Cool...enjoy. I'm curious what the cleaning kit is composed of though.

-daniel

The cleaning kit may not be much. For $10, I decided to try it. Chances are, I'll be finding a local camera shop to get a better package. Also, I use microfiber cloths for many things, so that may be another approach.

What are you thinking of cleaning? Lenses, the Sensor, the body? You'll get all kinds of recommendations on the issue... What I wish someone would have told me from the beginning is:

1. Use the Copperhill method for cleaning the sensor combined with the rocket blower for more frequent blow-offs

http://www.pbase.com/c​opperhill/ccd_cleaning

http://www.micro-tools.com …de=MT&Product_C​ode=AA1910

2. Use a pre-treated MF cloth for cleaning lenses. My local shop sells one for $2 that can be washed out and reused many times...it works so much better for cleaning lenses than any liquid/cloth combo I've tried, including eclipse.

-daniel

Congratulations.

On a side note, even though reseller ratings of Beach was higher then B&H, B&H is still the largest or atleats most popular photography equipment retailer in the world. So don't think B&H is unsafe or anything like that..............

Oh BTW, if you use a blower on a regular basis and are careful with your equipment, you won't have dust problem that require the "Squeegee" method as I call it, for a long time.

Cheers and congrats again.

Thanks for the advice and links re: sensor cleaning. I only ordered a lens cleaning kit for now, expecting to need a rocket blower for the sensor in the future. I wasn't even aware the sensor could be touched, so now I know.

I wasn't concerned about B & H as a dealer, because of all the good feedback from the forum. However, I was pleased to find a lower cost from a highly-rated dealer. I hope their rating is substantiated by my experience.

There are many smaller items I will be needing in the short term, as I sold all my old SLR stuff some years ago when I went digital (P & S). Things like lens hoods, grey card, cable (or wireless) release, backpack, extre battery, etc, etc. I just didn't want to delay the order long enough to itemize all the extras. The only thing I kept from the old days is a tripod.