My mother got an EOS 300D (a.k.a. Digital Rebel) for Christmas, and this little (well, big) thing impresses me. I’m so accustomed to my G3 (I mean the Powershot, not the iBook) that I didn’t think a digital camera could be quite so fast. Immediate. Magical. A camera, really. (A little on the cheap side, though, are the battery that can’t be charged inside the camera, and the LCD screen that can’t be used as a visor. That one’s really petty.)

Since she also had a 60-300mm lens in the package, I had the opportunity to see first-hand what a tele lens can do for portraits. And… well, I want one.

Fortunately, I don’t do much photography these days, and even less portraits, so there’s no hurry.