Hellobee Boards

My vote would be no. An xti is a pretty old digital camera. I used to have that camera and I think I bought it in 2008? It worked okay but there have been at least 3-4 iterations of the rebel series since then and I think you could find a used one of those for not much more money. You can buy a used xti from a reputable source for less than $200 (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/801034958-USE/Canon_1236B002_EOS_Digital_Rebel_XTi.html)

the 18-55 lens I would never recommend. It's a kit lens and pretty poor quality. Also its somewhat useless if you have the 17-85. Which you can also get for under $200 from a reputable source (http://www.adorama.com/US%20%20%20%20607818.html?gclid=CNHPnYu-yrwCFc5DMgodiRUAUA).

I also used to have the 75-300 and again, cheap lens. Super slow. And do you really even need a telephoto lens?

As for accessories, any camera you get will come with a charger and battery. Extra batteries are like $50. A 16gb good quality CF card is only like $45.

Basically, I just don't think the set he put together for you is very good, and I think you can do better for the same or less money.

@Mae: omg you're awesome.

I wanted to respond, but don't know much about cameras/lenses!

@scg00387: No problem! So, here is more info than you probably ever realistically wanted. If you plan to stay a "photography idiot" and you don't want to learn how to use a dslr camera--- don't get one. You will generally take WORSE photos with a dslr than with a point and shoot if you don't know what you're doing, not to mention the fact that it is way heavier and bigger and harder to transport-- which means you're less likely to throw it in your purse and have it with you. If you are going to stay a very casual user I'd recommend heavily you get a nice point and shoot (they do make them!).

But, there are great reasons to get a dslr if you're willing to learn how to use it. First, if you do learn how to use it the pics are way better. Second, it is much better for action shots of your LO! You may think he needs to be drugged, but you're used to using a point and shoot where you press the button and 2 seconds later the shutter clicks. With a dslr, the shutter clicks when you press the button, and you can hold the button down and take 9+ pics in a row rapid-fire. So you can actually get pics of your kid! Third, it will give you a lot more options in terms of what you can shoot because you can buy various lenses for various stuff you want to do.

And a note about learning to use it. It is not that hard. Honestly. Google some beginners tutorials and you can be up and running in under 2 hrs. Obviously the more you practice the better, but just learning how to the camera works and how to shoot in aperture priority would be a good enough start.

So, assuming you'll go the dslr route, I think the xsi is a good bet. It is an older model but its a good camera and super cheap to buy used. I used my xti heavily for almost 5 years and it was still going strong (I ended up giving it to my mom and she's still using it now 2 years later).

As for lenses, it depends really on what you'll use it for. The 75-300 lens posted above is a telephoto lens. That is like, if you want to take pictures of things really far away. Which casual photographers don't really do much. It isn't good for sporting events generally because that is a cheap model that will be really slow (i.e. take a long time to focus and require a lot of light so it would have to be REALLY REALLY bright to get a decent pic). So like.. birds in bright sunlight? Meh. I think it's kind of useless for most people.

The 24-85 I posted about is an awesome midrange lens IMO. It is my "walkabout" lens. You can take a picture of a decent sized group or zoom in a good bit. I'd say it is comparable to what you'll see on a standard point and shoot mostly.

The 50mm lens is a good lens because it has a pretty low aperture (the 1.8) number. That means it lets in a lot more light than the 24-85 and therefore you can take pictures in lower light and have them come out better. It also allows you to blur out the background of photos (blur is called bokeh, its what makes pretty portraits!). This would also be a really good lens for taking photos of details of what you sew. I think you'd probably leave this lens on your camera a lot for taking pictures of sewing projects and smaller stuff, and also for taking pics of your LO (again, big aperture = better pics in low light and faster lens = you can rapid fire shots of your LO running around the living room and they will actually look good).

So anyways, that's a super long winded way of saying-- yes you would be better served (IMO) to buy what I suggested. But hopefully it gives you a better understanding of why, or maybe why not if I made some false assumptions about how you'd use it. Also you will need a CF card because the camera does not come with one. I like this brand personally: http://www.amazon.com/Lexar-Professional-CompactFlash-Memory-LCF16GCTBNA800/dp/B0093HGDVG/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1392347154&sr=8-7&keywords=cf+card

Let me know if you have any other questions

@scg00387: lol seriously no problem! I honestly was just looking for examples so I just pulled up the first link I saw, price shopping might not be a horrible idea (although I think thats as good as you'll do on the 50 and the cf card). Amazon, adorama, and bhphoto are all good places to buy equipment. I'm a little wary of ebay although I know some people have had good experiences there. Also if you live in a city you may have local camera shops. I stocked my mom with some used lenses from a local shop and they had a good selection, so I always check out the local places before buying Have fun learning!