The Good news- DSLR prices are dropping and the XS is an affordable, easy to use, full-featured DSLR for ~$525 including an image stabilization lens. The bad news – you don’t get much in the way of zoom, but you do have the option, as your budget allows, of buying a nice zoom or any one of hundreds of canon lenses giving you huge flexibility and photographic freedom.

Canon Rebel XS 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens (Black) Camera Highlights: 10MP | 2.5″ LCD | 18mm-55mm lens with image stabilization | Live view | decent low-light performance | Auto Lighting Optimizer & Picture Style settings- styles you can apply in real time to change the look of the photo.


To add a zoom I suggest the excellent Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras


And if you want to get really creative take a look at the Lensbaby Creative Aperture Kit

Buy the Canon Rebel XS 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens (Black)

Possible Alternatives:

If you want serious zoom now and need to keep the price below $700 you want to consider the Canon Powershot SX10IS 10MP Digital Camera with 20x Wide Angle Optical Image Stabilized Zoom Camera Highlights: 10MP | 2.5″ vari-angle LCD | 20x Zoom with Image Satbilization| 30fps VGA movies | Face detection & Face self-timer | Ability to add external Flash

Please let me know if you have any questions about these cameras or anything else you come across while shopping.

If you are not Valerie and you want your own personalized recommendation