A while ago now I purchased a Canon 300D in the US and I’ve just started to play with the manual settings and begun to use RAW files rather than the more traditional JPEGs. What’s great about RAW is that it allows you use TIFF files which don’t suffer from the problem of JPEG compression when edited, the down side is that on the 6.3 mega pixel Canon files are a not insubstantial 7Mb, but the ability to use a 4Gb Microdrive in the CF slot is a helps as I can squeeze roughly RAW 600 pictures onto one card. Not sure I’ve fully got the hang on even a portion of the settings I can manually play with but you do get much better shots especially when the light isn’t optimal. Sadly the auto settings don’t always get it right but at least they do a far better job than my old Sony P1. Here’s a picture I took of Izzy looking rather handsome amongst the autumn ferns in Richmond Park. She's the perfect colour for this time of year. I had to play with the exposure a bit as the light was fading, but I reckon it's come out rather well.