1. Setting Up Your Canon EOS Rebel XS

I once read a camera guide that began with the author advising the Gentle Reader to resist the temptation to go out and take pictures until the proper amount of time had been spent Setting Up The Camera, apparently to avoid wasting electrons on shots that were doomed to failure if the arcane operational knowledge that was forthcoming wasn’t first absorbed. What universe was he from?

Relax! I fully expect that you took several hundred or a thousand (or two) photos before you ever cracked the cover of this book—for several reasons. First, and foremost, the Rebel XS is incredibly easy to use, even for the absolute beginner. Even the newest digital camera owner can rotate the Mode dial to the green Auto position and go out and begin taking great pictures. Getting to that point by charging the battery, mounting a lens, and inserting a Secure Digital memory card isn’t exactly rocket science, either. Canon has cleverly marked the On/Off switch with large ON and OFF labels, and the Basic Mode scene icons will provide a major clue for anyone interested in photographing something resembling a human profile, a mountain, a flower, a person leaning forward in racing stride, or a starlit scene.