What every Mom needs . . . Dads, too!

While this camera does everything the other reviewers say, this review is from a Mom's perspective. It takes fantastic pictures of kids, even the ones that move really fast and hate to have their pictures taken. It can make them look adorable when they're mad, it can make them look playful when they're hiding, it can make them look beautiful when they're sleeping. And that's why everyday folk buy cameras, right? To catch the moods we feel when we see our kids. It even makes my dog look good!

When you see a picture in the making, you can grab your XT (off a high shelf preferably if there are kids in the house) flip it on and it's ready before you're in position to take the picture. With my point and shoot, I had to wait for the camera lens to extend before I could take a picture. There is no waiting for this camera. The only consideration is whether or not the flash is up. The flash comes up automatically when you focus on a dark subject, or you can pop it up yourself if you know you'll need it.

When you're ready to snap a shot, so is the Rebel XT. The picture is taken exactly when you press the button. This is what has been frustrating digital camera users for years! With my three kids, I've got pictures of them falling a second AFTER their first step, a picture of darkness AFTER they blow out the candles, etc. Kids aren't patient, and they won't stay in place until the shutter clicks. With the Rebel XT they don't have to. With each of my point and shoot digital cameras, my top concern was shutter lag. There's no such thing with the Rebel XT! Gone! Nada! Zip! What a relief!

Not only does it take the picture quickly, it can take LOTS of pictures quickly. On the day I received mine, my 3yo daughter, the dog, and I went out to the swingset and took over 90 pictures in about 5 minutes. Of course, I was looking for pictures to take, but that's A LOT of pictures! And the camera is so fast, I could catch my daughter's face as she spun around on the swing, and keep it all in focus!

The other feature that impressed me so much is available with any digital SLR. I can use Selective Focus and make my daughter's face perfectly sharp and focussed and blur out the background by varying the aperture. These were the pictures I envied when I saw them of other babies. You know the ones -- where a newborn's toes are in focus, but the leg and rest of the body are blurred out. Or just the outdoor face shots, where the trees and leaves make a pretty fuzzy green backdrop for your beautiful child.

Keep in mind, if you're upgrading from a point-and-shoot camera, you can't use the LCD screen to aim and take pictures. You have to hold the camera up to your eye and look through the viewfinder. This was a lot easier to get used to than I had feared, though, and now isn't even an issue.

My only regret is that I didn't get one sooner. I had a film SLR for years before moving to upscale digital point and shoot cameras after my first son was born. I wanted a camera that I could handle while holding a child. Now, six years and two kids later, the Rebel XT is small and light enough that I can pick up a child and still operate the camera (though I don't recommend it).

UPDATE:
Three months later, I am still absolutely amazed at how much better my pictures are. I bought an additional lens, a 50mm 1.4 fixed lens that is mind-bogglingly good (look at this picture I took the day I got it: http://www.suthard.com/holly/newlens/pages/IMG_4031.html). I have found it difficult, though, when using the kit lens, to tell the camera what to focus on. It does the autofocus just fine, but it doesn't always focus on what I intend. I'm trying to understand the process better, but it is a bit difficult. There's no focusing help, like a focusing prism, on this lens to make it easier to use manual focus, either. Nonetheless, it's still very good.