I have only ever used an SLR camera once before I bought this one, and that was roughly 5 years ago. Since then, I've been using point-n-shoots, which were fine for what I used them for. Recently, however, I felt that I should be more serious about photography, so I took the plunge and got the Rebel XS. I've owned the camera for a little more than a week, and I gotta say, this thing is way better than any point-n-shoot I've ever used. I can't seem to put it down, as I take pictures of about everything. I have put it through its paces, both by taking a ton of low-light photos, as well as daylight photos. The picture quality is superb. I haven't had any real issues with grainy photos, save for subjects that would NOT hold still for anything. The lens that comes with the camera is really great, though that IS coming from a newbie. One thing I truly will appreciate in the future is the fact that it's compatible with most all of Canon's EF-S lenses, of which I plan on acquiring the 55-250mm in the near future. All the buttons are really self-explanatory, PLAY reviews, TRASH erases and so-on. The camera really feels like it could take a beating (though I really don't want to put it through a "field test"). It's much more hefty than a PNS, which should really come to no surprise. To really get the most of this camera, I might suggest using the full manual settings. I'm not a professional by any means, but I really feel that if you're batting around the idea of upgrading to a DSLR, this is the perfect choice. It's one of the cheaper options, completely compatible with higher-end lenses, great image quality, what have you. This might not have the highest resolution image processor (10.1 mega pixels), but believe me, resolution isn't the same as image quality. Get this, I promise you won't regret it. (That is unless you just happen to be a troll or if you completely fail at photography).