I am now the proud owner of a Canon EOS 350D digital SLR camera, and I could hardly be happier. The photos that my new camera is capable of taking are simply breathtaking. It has been well worth the upgrade from my old Canon PowerShot A70.

Since upgrading, I have been busy walking the streets of Melbourne to test the capabilities of the digital SLR. The result has been a collection of truly magical photographs, the sort that only a camera of this type can take.

One of the nicest features of the camera is the ‘wide angle’ lens. This is especially good for photographing historic buildings at street level such as this picture of the Northcote Town Hall.

Aside from the standard 18-55mm lens, I received a 75-300mm telephoto lens, which I have already used to good effect. The lens is excellent for creating more realistic streetscape shots such as this picture of Brunswick Street in Fitzroy:

Of course, the telephoto lens is also useful for capturing those details that a standard lens could not focus on. An example is this pair of shoes that someone had thrown onto the powerlines in Kerr Street, Fitzroy. No doubt an inebriated prankster’s cruel joke!

However, for me the greatest delight has been in the quality of evening and night photographs that I have been able to take with my new purchase. These images were very difficult to take with my old camera because it had no manual focus capabilities and struggled in dark settings. Not only is the auto focus far more accurate on the digital SLR, I also now have a manual focus option. Here are two recent favourite evening and night photos that I have of the Quarry Hotel and Forum Theatre:

I am yet to attempt macro photography on my new camera, but it will only be a matter of time!

Whilst an SLR is bigger and heavier than a standard ‘point-and-shoot’ digital camera, the quality of photos is considerably better. I am very pleased with my purchase and look forward to taking many more photographs!