Yet another noob looking to buy first DSLR

[Maximus96]

I started looking around the last couple of days into DSLR cameras. I have never used one before. I have a Sony F717 for a few years that stayed in dummy ?auto? mode for the most part. My wife bought a canon s1000 p&s a year back and we use it more because its small. My wife wants ?better? pictures of our 3 and 1.5 year-olds. A close family friend that always takes great pictures of our kids when we get together has a Canon XTi and an assortment of lenses including the 50mm f/1.8. All of the great portrait photos came from the 50mm. He recommended that I get the XS, kit lens, and 50mm f/1.8 for about $555 from amazon.com. The XSi with the same lenses is about $725. I?m the kind that will kick myself later and wish I should have bought the ?better? version of something. To further complicate matters, amazon is running a promotion of $100 off zoom lenses with the purchase of a body. I?m trying to debate if I should take advantage of that or wait and buy zoom lens later. I will mostly be taking indoor shots of my kids with sub-optimal lighting, like around evening time after work.

Is the XSi worth the extra money for a beginner noob? I hope to ?grow into? the DSLR and get beyond the dummy auto mode like with the F717. To be honest, I never spent the time to learn all the manually adjustable options of the F717. I find that with the sony, the flash pops up all the time and the pictures get washed out. But without the flash they are as blurry as can be.

Thanks for any input

 

[ElFenix]

does the amazon promotion allow you to combine the newer 55-250 IS lens with the XS, or are you limited to the 75-300? i'd rather have the former than the latter, myself. if it works like previous canon rebate promos you can get the 55-250 with the XS and get the promo.

having the extra lens is probably more worthwhile than stepping up to the XSi.

 

[Maximus96]

the XS is only paired with the 75-300 for the promotion, which will be a $60 add-on with the $100 off. the 55-250 is only for the XSi

 

[kyzen]

The zoom lens on the XSi bundle is the 55-250mm IS lens, while the one on the XS bundle is the 70-300mm non-IS lens. You'll lose the Image Stabilization, but gain a longer reach with the XS bundle.

I personally love my XSi, and the reason I got it over the XS was because I, too, didn't want to regret not buying the 'upgraded' version.