Eos Xsi Xti

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February 8th, 2008 admin Leave a comment Go to comments

Eos Xsi Xti

Xsi Rebel - Great Camera For Serious Beginners

I am new to SLR photography and I recognize that this is not considered a true "professional" dSLR but I don't think you can get much closer to one for under $1000.

Why isn't this considered a true professional dSLR? Well one big reason is the sensor size. It has what is called a APS-C sized sensor, while the professional ones have a full frame sensor like the 5D (check out the 5D Mark II, I've read great things about it). Another I think is the buffer size in the camera might not be as large so it won't take as many shots in burst mode before needing to stop to save as the professional ones. But other than that, you will basically get all of the important functions that make dSLR cameras so great.

First of all, don't get sucked into the megapixel wars. There are several point-and-shoot digital cameras that advertise higher megapixels than 12.2 that might cost less. What people often don't realize is that picture quality has little to do with the megapixels and more to do with the sensor and image processor. The megapixel number is simply the resolution of the image. A crappy image recorded in a very high resolution is just as crappy. Point and shoot cameras have smaller sensor sizes than dSLR cameras. Especially the compact cameras, that's why even when I was using P&S cameras I never bought a compact camera. They are more popular simply because they "look" sleeker and more stylish. The picture quality is obviously lower than that of a regular non-compact P&S camera AND they cost more, so there's really no real reason to buy them other than for the looks and the convenience. Although I've been able to carry my Canon Powershot A580 in my pocket without a problem...

This camera takes amazing photos, even with the kit lens, which I highly recommend if you're on a budget BTW. My mother has a friend that is the wife of a pro-photographer. So when I was in the market for a dSLR, my mother referred me to talk with her. Her first suggestion is to not get the kit lens but instead spend more for the 17-85mm ef-s lens. Well, I'm glad I didn't take her advice and went with the kit lens because I just read a review of the lens where the pro-photographer writing the review specifically compared it to that very lens and have said that the cheap kit lens is actually a bit better than the more expensive 17-85mm lens in terms of chromatic aberration problems which is where high contrast areas show a weird color outline due to the lens not focusing all the color wavelengths correctly. Although my main reason for going with the kit lens was financial, and was because of all of the positive reviews I've read about it. But it still turned out very well.

So don't let some pro's or semi-pro's discourage you from getting the kit. They're not wrong though, the kit lenses that came with Canon dSLR's in the past have been pretty bad, it's this specific kit lens that is the exception so be confident in buying it. You can always keep using this while you save up your money for better lenses later. A good addition to it would be the 55-250mm ef-s lens. I recommend that over the 75-300mm lens for several reasons. I've read worse reviews for the 75-300mm lens in terms of image quality, and because with the 55-250mm, you don't have a gap in focal lengths. Along with the 18-55mm kit lens, you basically have an uninterrupted range of 18-250mm.

One area where the quality of the sensor really shows is in low light shots with high ISO speeds. I haven't had the need to use any high ISO numbers yet, so I can't say personally, but from what I've read from many professionals who have reviews this camera, that even at the highest ISO setting of 1600, there isn't too much noise. Which is a very good thing.

One complaint I've read a lot about the previous compact dSLR's such as the XTi is the size and shape of the grip not being comfortable. Some say the grip on the right side was too close to the lens and caused their fingers to feel cramped against the lens. Well, let me tell you that isn't a problem with the XSi Rebel. I know they redesigned it for this very reason, and from my experience, it doesn't feel very cramped at all. The camera is indeed very light weight and compact compared to the more professional dSLR's so it's a great camera to bring with you on vacations or long hikes or whatever. I find all of the controls to be easy to reach and the settings are real easy to change on the fly.

The menu system is great too, it comes with a very useful feature called "My Menu" where you can actually pick any 6 functions you feel you will use the most and put them into this one menu and you can arrange it any way you want. Then you can make it the default menu so instead of it going to the last menu you were looking at when you hit the menu button, it goes straight to this customized menu of yours. It's a great feature and makes accessing special functions like mirror lock up, AEB, flash exposure compensation, etc. etc. very fast and easy.

I would highly recommend anyone looking to buy a sub $1000 dSLR camera to buy this camera with the kit lens. So far the only thing I found that I think needs to be added is interchangeable focus screens. I would have liked to have grid lines in my view finder to make composition faster and less of a guessing game when trying to apply little rules like the rule of thirds or keeping the horizon line straight.

I highly recommend reading Ben Long's The Canon EOS Digital XSi Rebel /450D Companion if you buy this camera. It will "show you the ropes" so you can use this camera to its maximum potential. Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure is a very good book to understand the proper use of shutter speed, ISO, and aperture. And when you open the package, within the manual and other cards and what-not, there is a blank white card. Don't discard this, keep it in your camera case, it's a simple tool to use for custom white balance. Read about it in the manual or book if you don't know what that is. It's an essential tool if you plan on taking any photos indoors without a flash.

Now stop reading these reviews and buy one of these cameras already, you won't be disappointed.

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Lens to use with Canon Rebel XS?

I am fairly new to picture snapping....sorry! I have a Canon Rebel XS and found a lens on Ebay that I would like to buy. It's an Opteka 650-1300mm Tele Lens Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS XTi XSi. The seller says that it is compatible with my camera but Canon says that it could mess up the camera and void my warranty. Is Canon just trying to sell their own stuff or are they being straight with me? I know this isn't a high end lens but for the price I would like to try it. Any advice?
Thanks....

Using a third party lens will not void your warranty - if you break your camera and they ask you any questions i'd just say it was a canon lens that was on just in case though.

Some of the most popular lenses available are made by third party companies such as sigma, tamron and tokina - all of which make some very nice lenses. However the lens your talking about isn't very good and really isn't even worth the £80 or so its going for.
An f8-16 lens isn't going to be of any use to you really in anything but a really bright sunny day.
don't get me wrong there are some great older lenses out there which are worth picking up just this isn't one of them.

if you're new to photography it's probably best to do a bit of reading up before you part with any hard earned cash, there's so may variables to take into account when buying lenses. hopefully you can save yourself a bit of money and learn a bit in the process.
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/ is a good place to start

Unboxing the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi / 450D DSLR by joc