GSteed writes: "Suggestions: These were from NG photographer and a newspaper professional. For any kind of staged or scenic photo. Use a tripod and a mechanical cable shutter release. Keep a journal, note details. Use two cameras, one black and white and one color. Do 3 exposures, over, on, under. Try the flash, how much can it illuminate? Last, Read the camera manual! Be sure to have sufficient memory and power. A battery charger for 110/220 plus plug adapters for Europe. Consider downloading memory to CDs."

Some of these tips really don't apply to the average shooter, maybe for someone who is shooting exclusively for newspapers. Most people don't need a 2nd camera to get B&W - you can do that easily with Photoshop (but if you love B&W, use film, not digital and shoot B&W film). You also don't really need to bracket your exposures anymore - use RAW format and you will have a lot of flexibility adjusting your exposures afterward. I'd guess any modern digital camera charger is 110/220 volts (but you still need an adaptor); my Canon charger certainly worked in Europe.

Having an extra battery is important, though, even though the Rebel's will last long time. I've had good luck with a 3rd-party battery called "eFilm" (not sure if you can buy them elsewhere, I get them at a local camera store).

Don't rely on single-copy CD or DVDs for archiving your photos, as these media are unreliable and could fail. At minimum, have two copies of any important photos. I use external hard drives to archive my photos (my photo archive is somewhere around 80GB now), and because external drives are prone to fail too, I have several copies of everything and DVD backups of crucial photos in a different state. :-)

The tripod and cable release are good ideas. Using a tripod helps you compose your photo more carefully, beyond steadying the camera. If the tripod doesn't have a level, you can buy a little bubble cube that plugs into the flash hot shoe on top of your camera.

Andrew

Wow, all this great information!!! Thank you all so much. I need to re-read it all and process it! :)

I'm going to be in Germany/Switzerland for 2 weeks and France for 1 week so the thought was to purchase a Canon Digital (we liked the XT) that allows us to take great pictures. I'm absolutely in love with the picturesque scenery of the alps, quaint villages and country side of these countries. I'd love to be able to enlarge a few pictures (hopefully I get some creative shots) and hang on my walls.

... and due to my Hawaii shots not coming out so well ... I thought I'd better buckle down and research the product as well as learn about the lens, speeds, etc. ......

It looks as if I got a great start with all the excellent advice from all of you. Thank you again for your help!!

Very timely thread! I have been considering a 350D purchase as well, moving to digital from my now 12 year old Rebel XT. I'm a serious amateur, have placed in some international photo contests, and know the Rebel will be adequate for my needs. I could go to a higher end model, like the 20D, but I like the small body size of the 350 for travel and hiking. Plus the money saved can be put into a higher quality wide angle lens, which I will have to get,

In any case I'm waiting for the PMA show to make a decision.

My wife and I are planning a trip to Scotland, which is the catalyst for the new camera purchase.

Regarding the monopod suggestion, personally I would stay away from that. It doesn't work at all for those times when you are really shooting a long exposure. I recently bought a decent lightweight tripod for a long Himalaya trip and was happy with it. If you want I can look for an on-line link.

Thanks everyone for the information here.