Totally right on all points Sammi!! (And, no, not argumentative at all!)

The LCDs are almost indecipherable in really bright light, even with brightness adjustment. In the previous Canon I owned (powershot G5), the screen was a swivel screen which helped the problem most, but not all of the time. You could also turn the LCD viewfinding off to save batteries (and it had a screen shutdown mode after about 1min activity, like a video camera) - but on the larger screens, you would definitely want a spare battery or a very, very long power cord (LOL) if you couldn't switch it off!!

But it can be an amazingly handy feature when you are taking a shot where you have to get your lens somewhere where it's not possible for your head to follow without being a gymnast!

My main problem is that having glasses, it is uncomfortable when they're squashed against the viewfinder and the edges of the frame end up obscured anyway. Even with a dioptric adjuster I found it annoying taking glasses on and off every time I need to look through a viewfinder, and I've not yet found a dioptric adjuster that even comes close to my script. (I can't wear contacts, which would make life a lot easier!!).

Because of this, I've always found manual focusing easier and more accurate on a screen than through a view-finder, and have found myself resorting to autofocus from time to time since buying the 30D, which is quite frustrating - like having a ferrari and only using it to drive up to the shops! Although I'm still getting the benefits of a fully manual camera, just not of a fully manual lens. Oh the joys of being a half blind photographer! Is there anyone out there with similar problems or am I just weird?

It's all just what you're comfortable with though, isn't it! I've seen people get the most amazing results out of a $100 compact camera, so it really doesn't matter what you use and how you use it, as long as you get the results you want!

P.S. Aren’t kids wonderful to shoot (I mean photograph – oops) when you can catch them unawares. My mum was very much of the “stand over here and smile... and here we go... click” school of photography, so every photo of me as a kid features exactly the same expression – the “Aw mum, do I have to look”! I like to be a bit sneakier. Being caught by surprise really annoys the heck out of grownups though until they see how good they look!