Was watching TV last night and just happen to stop surfing on a shopping channel that was selling a brand name DSLR. Decided to listen for a few minutes and wish I hadn"t. In summary they said; you can put the camera on Auto or one of the special settings (portrait, landscapes, etc.) and take great photogrpahs. That's all there is to it. They then showed some really good photographs and told the audience that they were taken by someone with no camera experience and that you too could do the same. One spokesman did say briefly that the camera could be set to manual just in case someone "else" in the family was familiar with that type of camera. But then went on to say basically that it didn't matter, with this camera you can't go wrong and will be taking great photographs in just a few days. At that point I had had enough and resumed surfing. Problem for me is that there is some truth in what they said. The quality of today's cameras in picture taking ability is fantastic. And the level of knowlege and experience necessary to take good photographs is, lets be polite and just say not very much. If a person has a naturally good eye for composition then the camera can do the rest. Must admit that this makes me mad. As an elderly curmedgeon I do resent that after all the years I spent learning and practicing, beginning with 35mm film, folks can, without any understanding of what the S, AV, and M camera settings do, consistently take very good photographs. What further makes me mad is how many don't really care to learn or who want the information spoon fed to them. I know, get over it, this is the digital age and learn to live with it. I will, but not without a fight. Also know it is a losing battle.

If you're talking about the Canon T4i on QVC, keep in mind these are the same people who sell a computer and tell you that you get $900 worth of software on it, which in actuality is nothing more than crapware you get on any new computer. They're selling a good camera to the lowest common denominator in America - people who have no idea how to take a good photograph but think that the camera will do it for them. MOST will be highly disappointed in their results and post on help forums something like this: "All my shots turn out blurry. I'm taking candlelight pictures indoors of my granddaughter's birthday cake. What's wrong with my camera?"

So don't be too upset about QCV. There will always be a difference between good snapshots and good photographs. Remember, if 700 monkeys typed for 700 years, eventually they would produce the complete works of Shakespeare. The same holds true for camera users on auto.