[Kimberly Dow]

Mary,

When I got my Rebel the photos were all blurry at first as well. I had to learn how to hold it correctly first of all (like it shows in the manual - as to not interfere with the focusing). I also had a good tip from a friend when holding it yourself - bring your elbows in and rest them against your body tightly. It gives you a bit of support. It seemed to me that it was just getting used to the weight mostly.

I still havent gotten a great tripod for my longer 70-300 mm lens. Necessity has taught me how to hold that monster myself and get a fairly clear shot though. Well, maybe 50% of the time. I havent had a shoot yet where I needed the longer lens so I am just practicing. I got this one yesterday from our vehicle and kind of rested it against the window that was half way down. I have no idea the distance, but I was pretty far away it seemed.