I think I've posted about this before, and if so, my apologies.

I admit that I am, more than a little, paranoid about electronics that cost alot of money. I tend to worry that "something is wrong".

I recently bought a Canon Digital Rebel XT (just 2 weeks before the XTi, darnit!). I bought the kit, and only have the kit lens. I realize now that this was a mistake. I should've bought the body and a better lens. You know what they say about hindsight.

One thing I've noticed is what I would consider alot of noise in 200 iso or higher. Today we went hiking down the bike path and climbed down to a small stream. On the way there, under tree cover and partly cloudy skies, I took a shot of a log that was cracked and filled with leaves. Attached to this is a crop of that. Am I crazy or is that an insane amount of noise? Of course, the crop was of the full size picture (3456x2304). Specs for shot were:

Shutter: 1/125
Program: Shutter Priority
F-Stop: 5.6
ISO: 200
Focal Length: 55.0mm
No Flash

The noise compensation option was not turned on. Not sure if I should shoot with it on or not (?). Anyways, I guess what I'm wondering is... is the kit lens that crappy? Or is there something wrong? Or is it just me being overly touchy?

Thanks for your patience. :)