So last April (April 2009) I bought a Canon Rebel XS. This was right before I left for my summer spent in Taiwan. Being new to the world of Digital SLR’s I was very excited and in love with my DSLR camera. Of course the novelty wore off and it became just a fun toy. Don’t get me wrong, the camera took wonderful pictures, even with my poor photography skills. But you know? novelty wears off.

It was, of course, very low on my electronics replacement schedule. I usually get rid of my expensive electronics in less than a year in order to increase the functional value of my electronics and shrink the amount of losses I take over time on quickly depreciating hardware. Cameras, especially DSLR’s, don’t depreciate as fast as say a laptop so I didn’t really have any succession plans for my camera. What a mistake.

So anyways I now have had this camera for about 19 months and guess what!? It just broke today. All on its own. No drops, no spills, no shaking, just broke. I turned it on, the LCD stayed black, then I tried to take a picture, it focused and then nothing. Looking through the viewfinder I noticed that it just kept flashing “busy.” This is actually a somewhat common issue with the Canon Rebel XS. I have seen it multiple times in my searches trying to find a resolution.

In the end I did find the resolution. There is a firmware update for this camera that stops this issue. But guess what!? Once the issue happens it is impossible to do the firmware update. After doing some more research I found a person who actually tried to send it in for repairs. These repairs were going to be between 300 and 400 dollars. $300 to repair a year old camera that was only worth $500 with a kit lens to begin with? I think not. I am REALLY wishing I got the extended warranty on this thing. Next time I buy a camera I definitely will.

So what do I have? a $400 paperweight plus $500 in lenses for this paperweight. But hey at least it still focuses and flashes right?

This type of photography is too expensive for my tastes, I think I will just sell my lenses for whatever I can get for them and go back to point and shoot cameras. These DSLR’s are just too expensive!

But anyways the moral of this story is:

First,If you own a Canon Rebel XS then make sure that your firmware version is higher than 1.0.5. Otherwise you too could become a victim of the infamous flashing “busy” in the viewfinder. And Second, buy an extended warranty plan because who knows what will happen.

That’s all folks!

–Edit–

After having a night to sleep on it and cool off I think I will buy another DSLR. I can’t just go back to point and shoots! I have been exposed to the wonderful world of DSLR’s. I think I will buy another entry level Canon DSLR. The Rebel T1i looks good since it does HD video. I might even buy it in hong kong, but that all depends on how the money works out.