I was thinking of getting a Rebel XT, but I'm not sure about the zoom. I can't find anything. I think this camera is more advanced than I'm aware, so maybe there's a reason it doesn't list optical zoom. Can someone please help me out here? I'm debating between an S2 IS and an EOS, and the zoom is a big selling point for me. The S2 has 12x optical. How does the EOS compare?

This might help you help me. Help YOU help ME [/reverse Tom Cruise]

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos350d/

The 350 D is a DSLR camera capable of using interchangeable lenses. If you have the money you can blow that 12x out of the water with the Rebel XT.

Optical & digital zoom values only apply to compact digital cameras. As Darryl pointed out the 350D is an SLR camera and the quality of the zoom and picture you get will depend entirely on the lens you strap onto it. The 350D will take all the Canon lens range which will start you off at around a $100 or less if bundled with the camera body to their top of the range lens which last time I checked weighed in at a mortgage busting $112,000.

For that price I'd want it to outperform the Hubble space telescope...

Well, Hubble cost a few billion dollars to get up and running... so I doubt it. However I agree... for that price you should at least be getting something truly amazing, or it's not worth it.

That’s for their custom built L series 1200mm lens or 2400mm if you add the extender :-)

For astrophotography though it would be totally superfluous as for less money you could get yourself a custom built Celestron C20 Astrograph 20" reflector telescope, a home observatory housing and a PhaseOne 40 MP digital camera to strap onto it. I don’t think any of these products are available at Amazon though :-)

Michael, you can buy the 350D without a lens or you can get it with an 18mm to 55mm kit lens. The price difference is so small you would be silly not to get the one with the kit lens. Some of the reviews you read on the web really knocked that lens but they were comparing it to L series lens that costs at least ten times more. By the way about 80% of the photos in my gallery were taken with the kit lens. If you want a better lens later on then you keep the kit lens to sell with the camera when you’re ready to upgrade and keep the better one to use with the new camera.

I'm just going to chime in my oppinion between those two cameras. The S2 is a very nice camera, but it is still in the compact cagatory, and the rebel is a DSLR, like mentioned above. If you are willing to spend the extra money, the Rebel is a much nicer camera. It has a bigger senser if im not mistaken which will allow your pictures to look better. Same thing with the lens. And like mentioned above, the lens is interchangeable, so you can change it around to differnet set ups depending on what you are taking pictures of; landscapes, close ups of flowers, animals that like to stay far away....One thing that the S2 has that you probably wont get with the rebel unless you buy a very expensive lens is the image stablizor. This would come in handy when you are doing your zoom shots. I'm not sure if you know what it is or not, so ill quickly explain it. It compensates for you moving so your shots come out sharper. But yes, make sure you do lots of reading, and try and figure out how much you want to play with settings, and all that other fun stuff.

Thank you for all your comments and help. I have another question:

Would this camera be too advanced for a relative beginner? Would it be worth it to spend a thousand or so dollars given how much 'figuring out' I'm going to have to do?

That depends i suppose. It does have a full auto setting, but if your not going to use the manual stuff at all its probably not worth it. I would think if you are considering a camera like this you want it for more then taking pictures of your friends at parties, so i would think you will be quickly drawn to manual settings. In a way it has manual and auto mixed together aswell in what is called apature prioity and shutter priority. This allows you to set the shutter or the apature, and then the camera sets the other so the picture will be exposed properly. This gives you control over depth of field and blur, but doesn't mean you need to be an expert for the picture to be properly exposed(in most cases). As far as being to advanced for a beginner, i would say no considering people years ago when auto stuff didn't exist were able to start with cameras less auto then this one.

And as a parting remark i would like to point out that you shouldn't forget nikon (mainly because that is what i have and to keep with the tradition, i have to keep the nikon is better then canon war going(even though they are both very similar each with their own pros and cons)). Two nikons that i would say you should consider is the D50, which is nikon's entry camera like the rebel, and the d70s, which is pretty much an entry model aswell, but alittle more bells and whistles then the d50. You can check them both out at dpreview.

Both cameras can operate in fully automatic mode so both suit beginners equally well. The Rebel or 350D are far more versatile so you won’t grow out of them as quickly. If you only want to get family shots for album then the S2 IS is probably enough camera for you. If however you want to get creative or make a hobby out of photography then it might disappoint you. One thing I find important in a camera is how clearly I can see the world through the viewfinder, a clear view is vital if you want to compose the photo properly.