My only recommendation comes concerning your lens options. Newborns certainly don't move fast, and will spend the vast majority of their time sleeping. By a year or so they may start walking, but certainly not fast. Before walking, is crawling, and some kids can get a decent speed at that..

For newborns, I usually like to select my $110 Nikon 50mm 1.8 lens for available light situations, and avoid the flash. This is a nice setup and I'm sure Canon must have an equivalent inexpensive low-light prime, and other makes as well..

I generally avoid flash with newborns and small infants if at all possible. If not possible, I use a bounced and softened (difuser) hotshoe flash (SB600). But overall, I think an external flash is one of the best investments you can make in gear, except when snapping newborns..

After some time, as the child grows, so will their lens collection. It's just my opinion that a simple prime lens coupled with a good camera would suffice for the newborn..

Personally, I'ld go for a Nikon D50 (now discontinued), but that's just because I'm a Nikon guy. I've used a Canan Rebel XT for work, but that was for photographing images and documents only..

Everything I write is a personal opinion. Even when I quote facts, they are the facts I personally choose to accept.http://www.pbase.com/mariog..

I agree with Mario's comments. The equivalent Canon 50mm f1.8 is extremely good value for money. I use it for photographing our cats indoors.Chris R..

Thank you!!!!.

Its great to hear you both say that because thats the first and only lens I owned for my my sons first two years. I plucked down some $$ later on for a 400 5.6 L and am loving it for trips to the zoo, surf shots, and capturing the little guy running wild..

Ok, thats the route they should go for the little one for sure! sold! ok so we have abut $720-920 bux left to spend! XT or XTi? new or refurb?.

I am certain they will want a decent walkaround zoom lens also, for various (casual) uses, and i'd love to give them something better than the kit lens and get them off on the right foot ( I know good images are possible with the kit lens, I own it and stil use it with pleasing results, but lets face it, I know we can do better). I am also thinking it might be best to stay with canon bc they will likely rely on me for advice down the road and what little I know about photography equip is linited to my own system (canon)..

Thoughts?..

I think it really depends on their skills and desires. As a photographer, you may want to give them the best you can afford, but I don't think the average picture-taker will notice the difference between a kit lens and some pro glass (except for the weight and expense of the pro glass). They will probably never view the image at 100% crop, or print larger than 8x10. If they are already camera-savy, that may be different..

Keep in mind that this child will be the center of their world for many years to come. *Any* photo of that child will be special to them..

I've given my wife my Nikon D80 to take pictures of our kids on special occasions. She shoots on Auto, and is usually pleased with her shots. The only time I've seen her disappointed was when she used my 70-300 during a school parade and didn't take into account camera shake at the long end (it's not a VR or image-stabilized lens)..

Everything I write is a personal opinion. Even when I quote facts, they are the facts I personally choose to accept.http://www.pbase.com/mariog..

Yep, I hear you loud and clear. as of now, they certainly dont share my same passion for photography, but I know they will want to capture great images of their child. i'm not even sure dslr is for them, but they hate the camera lag and they are going to want good low light and eventually will be capturing a fast moving little boy, so I figured why not try to get them into dslr. they seem pretty sold on it though, so I figure i'll try to get the most bang for their buck within their budget..

I'm thinking a refurb or new XT, 50 1.8 mkII, and maybe the tamron 17-50 f2.8, or sigma 18-200 OS?..

NYBodyboarding.com wrote:.

I'm not even sure dslr is for them....

It's a somewhat sad fact that DSLRs are heavy and bulky. A P&S will slip into a pocket and most likely make it out the door more often. I often take my kids to the park to give my wife a break, and though I love the shots, let me tell you that playing tag or throwing water balloons with a D80 in your hands is a challenge..

I'm thinking a refurb or new XT, 50 1.8 mkII, and maybe the tamron17-50 f2.8, or sigma 18-200 OS?.

I'm a big Sigma fan, but haven't heard much on their 18-200 OS. But given it's focal range and what appears to be small design, it looks good for beginners. I've never purchased refurbished before but the thought doesn't really scare me if I felt I was getting a good deal..

Everything I write is a personal opinion. Even when I quote facts, they are the facts I personally choose to accept.http://www.pbase.com/mariog..

NYBodyboarding.com wrote:.

I am thinking a good zoom lens with IS, in the 17-125 (17-55, 17-85,etc)or so range, 2.8 would be great but they want to stay within the800 or so range (i'd say 1000 is probably their limit)..

What setup would you recommend. spend her money..

Main points:no laggood low light performancecapture fast moving kid growing upsomething they can take great pictures with out of the box, butsomething they can grow into and learn withabout $800-1000 USD budget.

A good option to consider here is also the Pentax K100D. It is a very nice priced body and will allow you put the extra funds towards some fast glass. Since the IS system in the Pentax is in the body, any lens she purchases will become and IS lens. The Pentax also has pretty good low light performance, especially if you couple it with the Sigma 18-50/2.8 or the FA50/1.4. You could also go with the 18-55mm kit lens plus the 50/1.4......plus Pentax has a series of rebates running at the moment so you can save some extra cash there as well. You'll come in at the low end of your budget with the K100 18-55 kit lens 50/1.4 and the high end with the K100 18-50/2.8 50/1.4..

JohnPentax *ist-D, K100D, Fuji F20/31fd, Oly Stylushttp://www.pbase.com/jglover..

Consider spending $130 of the $800 on a Fuji F20 as a pocket/purse camera for the many moments when the DSLR isn't in hand...

Just toying with configurations ... looks like you can get the following for just about $1000 (before shipping and taxes), at mail-order prices..

Canon Digital Rebel XT (350D), body onlyTamron 17-50mm constant f/2.8 lens (lets in more light than Canon kit lens)SanDisk 2 GB Ultra II CompactFlash card.

To avoid breaking the budget, I assumed that it would be possible to live without an external tilt/bounce flash (Canon Speedlite 430EX, $240) at first..

If your budget is really tight, a 350D with 18-55mm kit lens, and a 2 GB card goes for $600 or so. But this is a "slow" lens, less-well-suited to natural-light indoor shooting...

Really quick question: Is she even interested in learning how to use a DSLR? IF NOT, and she is going to use it in 'auto' or 'P'rogram mode at all times, this is going to be one heck on an expensive "point and shoot"..

Not everyone will take better pictures with a DSLR..

Becksi..

Here's how I'd spend $800 bucks right now....

Pentax K100d body ($330 after $50 rebate) has image stabilization and Tamron 18-250mm lens ($450) = $780.

I also like the idea of geting a Fujifilm Finepix F20 for a cheap compact p&s to supplement the dslr, great in low light social situations. If you ended up spending a little less on lenses you could get this too..

Offriver07..

I agree with a lot of what other people are saying, so some of what I have to say is redundant..

Look to the future. Are they going to want to continue to learn, as well as spend more money on camera equipment? If yes, then SLR is the way to go. If not, maybe look at the upper end of the P&S, the "prosumer" models as they sometimes call them. Canon just announced the G9, with specs that sound impressive..

As for the SLR question, here's how I would spend the money:$400(?) Used Rebel XT (used, but from reputable dealer like BHPhoto.com )$80 Canon 50mm F/1.8.

$240 Flash - Sigma 500 Super (I don't own this one but user reviews are good)$50 Cheap used kit lens like 18-55mm for versatility$100 Spare battery (off brand) and CF card.

So I just spent about $860 there. Add some NiMH AA batteries and charger and some shipping costs and I'm sure you're closer to the $900 area. The main system will be Rebel XT with 50mm (zoom with your feet!) and a nice flash. The 18-55 is only for times when you just can't get the field of view you need with the 50mm. Then look into http://abetterbouncecard.com for an ultra cheap flash diffuser..

That'll create a great start. When more money becomes available, I would upgrade the 18-55mm lens first. For under $300 you can get a pretty nice zoom lens with decent quality..

-Porter..