I love the new Canon XSi camera.  I keep purchasing items so I can improve my photography skills and extend the types of pictures I am able to take.  My only real complaint with the XSi is the built-in flash.  As with most pop-up flashes, it is very harsh and no way to control it.

I went on a shopping spree yesterday.  Here is a list of items I purchased and I will explain why:

Currently Own - (all links go to the Maysville Linux Users Group Amazon Affiliate Store where a small part of your purchase goes to help fund the MLUG web site and other MLUG expenses.  Best of all, the prices are exactly the same as if you went straight to amazon.com)

Canon XSi 450D - great camera, recommend it to everyone.  The kit lens is great too!  Curently costs less than $700 at amazon.com

Canon EF-S 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 IS Kit Lens - many people report this as a so-so lens when they first get the camera, but I can assure you that is usually user fault.  It is a great lens when you really learn how to use a DSLR camera (which I think is the real reason some people complain about it)  The lens is also available seperately for thoe who want to upgrade the non-IS versions that came with other rebel series dslr or for those who didn't buy the kit.

Canon EF 50 f/1.8 II - this lens should be everyones second lens purchase.  Its a fast lens and a great walk around lens.  It is a great lens to use in low-light and also a really good landscape lens which is able to bring out a lot of detail used in the midrange aperture settings (f/10 is a sweet spot on mine).  Trust me, costing about $100 it is well worth the money.

Canon EF 75-300 f/4-5.6 III - This is a really good lens for the price of less than $200, however it doesn't have IS and since I was using this handheld for longer distance shots, I eventually upgraded to the IS model (which costs a lot more money).  This is also a great lens to use as a street lens, walk-around lens, or even a portrait lens when you have a little distance between you and your subjects.

Canon EF 70-300 f/4-5.6 IS USM - I love this lens for many reasons - first, it has the IS image stabilization and its actually a good lens throughout its range.  Second, it has the dual-mode IS switch.  Third, it makes a great walk-around, street lens, and even portrait lens when you have a little distance between you and your subjects.  Is the $400 - $500 difference between this one and the one above worth it?  I guess that really depends on how you use it - if it is mostly on a tripod or seldom used past 100MM, then get the one above.  If you are hand-holding most of your longer distance shots or using past 100MM, then get this one.

Canon RS-60E3 remote shutter cable - one of the best purchases to make if you are using your camera on a tripod for portrait or landscape types of shots.  Reduces camera shake from pressing the shutter button. 

I also own two different camera bags, both bought at walmart, and because I am not happy with them, I am not even going to mention them here.  Eventaully I will purchase low-pro's or similar.

New Stuff I Just Ordered - (all links go to the Maysville Linux Users Group Amazon Affiliate Store where a small part of your purchase goes to help fund the MLUG web site and other MLUG expenses.  Best of all, the prices are exactly the same as if you went straight to amazon.com)

Canon ES-62 Lens Hood for 500MM f/1.8 II - I am getting ready to shoot an outdoor wedding and although I seldom get lens flare from the sun, I just want to make sure I have all my I's dotted and T's crossed for this wedding.

Canon ET-65B Lens Hood for EF 70-300 IS USM - I am getting ready to shoot an outdoor wedding and although I seldom get lens flare from the sun, I just want to make sure I have all my I's dotted and T's crossed for this wedding.

Canon EW-60C Lens Hood for EF-S 18-55 IS Kit Lens - I am getting ready to shoot an outdoor wedding and although I seldom get lens flare from the sun, I just want to make sure I have all my I's dotted and T's crossed for this wedding.

Tiffen Color Separation Guide w/ Gray Scale - I bought this in order to make my color correction workflow easier.  I actually read an article online about using a color card for color correction and it requires no custom white balance.  I purchased this to make my workflow easier.  If this works half as good as the article mentioned it will be the best $24 I spent.  It also means no more worries about white balance when shooting in various under lighting conditions and also being able to guarantee white balance very quickly.  (an upcoming article on using this card this way is forthcoming)

Sto-Fen OMEY Omni-Bounce Diffuser - I bought a kit that came with a diffuser for the 580 EX II flash, but I didn't like the diffuser design.  After much reading online, I went with the Sto-Fen brand and not the way over-priced gary fong brand.

Canon 580 EX II Flash Kit - This baby is going to set you back some bucks, almost as much as I paid for the Canon XSI by the time you buy all the accessories for it too.  I bought it in kit format which comes with the flash, batteries, charger, flash bounce reflector, flash cord, flash bracket to mount it off the camera.  The kit was about $500 but purchased separately, would cost well over $600.  Linked to the kit.

Canon LP-E5 Battery - I don't like to use off-brands on important things, like batteries.  Since I was also purchasing the BG-E5 battery grip from canon,  I also wanted the canon brand battery.  You pay more, but the quality isn't skimped.

Canon BG-E5 Battery Grip - this grip extends the bottom of the camera and makes shooting pictures with the camera rotated much easier.  It also adds a little weight to help balance the camera which helps when you have a larger lens attached, like the 75-300 or 70-300.  It also allows you to have two batteries in the camera at the same time which extends shooting time.  Also great when you have the flash unit.

ColorVision Spyder2 Suite - I use linux, everyone knows that.  The Spyder2 is supported by Linux using Argyll.  I got the Suit which includes the software calibration for printers under windows because I have access to a windows computer that I can create the ICC profiles for and then use them under Linux.  Color calibration is critical to workflow, and since I do a lot of paid photography, it is even more critical.  Therefore, I need to have color calibrated monitor, printer, etc.  For less than $80, it is well worth the money.

Sekonic L-358 Flash Master Light Meter - I reviewed many different light meters online and this one repeatedly came up as a winner.  Light meters in cameras today are great and many will say this was a purchase not needed.  However, light meters are still very useful in problem lighting....such as mixed ambiant lighting and portraits.  I also bought this thinking of a future planned purchase (when frances forgives me for the one I just made).  That planned purchase is the PocketWizards and the add-on RT-32 trigger module for this meter.  This meter works very well with the pocket wizards and triggering lights/strobes/flashes (all reviews I have read say so...I personally have no first hand experience yet)

Westcott Photo Basics 304 5-in-1 Reflector Kit - this includes 5 different 40" reflectors and the stand plus arm.  I am buying this for several reasons, but the primary reason is for better portrait photography and belive it or not, controlling lighting outdoors.  You can buy the reflector without the stand, but I seldom have anyone with me who could hold it...so I got the stand too.

Canon CP-E4 Flash power pack - I bought this for the 580 EX II, which is normally powered by alkaline batteries.  However, I don't like carrying around a lot of batteries so I bought this power pack.  The other reason is because the recharge time on the  flash is much quicker when using the power pack, plus it lasts longer between charges than rechargable alkaline batteries.  It may seem a little costly, but I don't want to ever miss a shot due to waiting on the flash to recharge.

As soon as all of this comes in, I will get some pictures up, especially of the flash, adaptor, battery pack, and grip extender mounted on camera.