having looked for a long time for an SLR camera i finally took the plunge and bought this one. what can i say? this camera is so easy to use and the results are fantastic whether printing from home or from a photo shop. the quality of the pictures is so good i have enlarged several and had them printed onto canvas for gifts to friends. the only recommendation i would make is invest in a good distance lens and the one that automatically comes with these (if included) is only for short distance and becomes very restricted and frustrating when trying to capture a picture just that little bit further away. the pictures come up bright and sharp and with the automatic features this is even easier than ever. all in all i would recommend this to anyone who wants excellent results without having to struggle to achieve them. i've had mine for about 8 months now and its definitely been worth the money.

you can buy this with or without the lens. if you buy with the lens the standard will be an 18-55mm. this is ideal for close up pictures but for distance is pretty much pointless. i tried buying a seperate lens 55-200mm which is fantastic for distance however i found it very frustrating changing lenses every time. my recommendation is invest in an 18-200 lens as this is absolutely perfect close up to distance shops and negates the need for additional lenses being carried around but these can set you back around £300-£400. the lens is however well worth the extra pay. you can also buy alternate lenses which will fit the canon one make is tamron which are a lot cheaper than canons own and fit safely and securely onto the canon SLR 550D (will fit most canon SLRs). i have one of these lenses and they are brilliant.

the battery life is very good. you have to remove the battery to recharge it so it is very worth having a second battery especially if on holiday so you can use one and charge one then alternate. the only thing i would recommend is invest in a higher GB memory card when you purhcase the camera. the higher the number on the GB the more photos you can take. I use 8GB or 16GB generally.

you can use the screen to view your chosen subject rather than looking through the eye piece however i would always recommend looking through the eye piece purely due to experience - my hands are more steady when holding it close and loooking. somehow i always end up with the images slightly blurry when using the screen. this is purely down to my own skill not the camera but worth noting in case you miss that all important shot.

Always remember to back up your photos on laptop/pc/cd regularly.

what type of photos can it take?
you can change the automatic settings to lanscape, portait, low light shots, without flash (very useful when out with the family at the aquarium etc) or you can use the manual setting which i found very hard initially to get used to but worth persevering with as now i am very happy with my photos. also worth noting is that you can take full HD video using this camera but be aware that the memory on your card will be used up far quicker with video than photos.

general?
can weigh you down after a day carrying it around but then thats the same for all SLR cameras
invest in a good lens with this camera. so worth the extra money

cost?
is a fair amount of money but well worth it the pictures speak for themselves

extras?
i would recommend putting a filter on the lens as if it gets scratched (which in my experience nearly always happens with something new) then it is far cheaper to change the filter at the end than buy a new lens
also buy a good bag to carry it in to protect it when not in use