Canon Digital Rebel XSi 12.2 MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens - Black
by Canon
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Canon Digital Rebel XSi 12.2 MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens - Black
Customer Review: LEFT MY NIKON D40 BEHIND AND NEVER LOOKED BACK
Summary: 5 Stars
After using the Nikon D40 for the past 6 months I was in desperate need of a new DSLR camera. Not wanting to break my bank account I had been eyeing up the latest consumer level SLR from Canon, the Rebel XSi, and eagerly awaiting its release date.
Compared to other SLRs in this class the Canon Rebel XSi includes the following:
- 12.2 Megapixels: They just keep going up! This alone gives the Rebel XSi an advantage because (at this point in time) there is no other consumer level SLR camera with more megapixels on the market. I've even had a few friends tell me they're looking to upgrade from last years Rebel XTi which had 10.1.
- 3.0" LCD Panel:. Just when you thought they couldn't make it any bigger Canon upgrades their LCD screen yet again. Another reason amateur photographers will be happy to either upgrade or flat out purchase the Rebel XSi is because Canon has added an extra half-inch of screen space on the back, making for easier viewing and putting a stop to blurry photos before they get a chance to spread.
- 9-Point AF: The EOS Rebel XSi has a high-precision 9-point wide area AF sensor for fast, accurate focus even in dim lighting. It has a number of focus modes, including One-Shot AF, AI Focus AF, AI Servo AF and Manual. In Live View Function, the EOS Rebel XSi has two AF modes: Quick mode, which uses the camera's standard 9-point AF system, and Live mode, which is a contrast-based AF system that reads the sharpness of subjects right from the imaging sensor, and can be overridden by pressing the AF mode selection button. A familiar feature in PowerShot cameras, Live mode AF uses similar technologies to achieve focus, while Quick mode is more appropriate for capturing action or for shooting in low light.
- Outstanding Image Quality: Canon's CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) sensor captures images with exceptional clarity and tonal range, and offers the most pixels in its class. It offers many of the same new technologies to maximize each pixel's light gathering efficiency that were first seen with the professional EOS-1D Mark III model. It's an APS-C size sensor (22.2 x 14.8mm), and there's an effective 1.6x increase in the lens's marked focal length when attached. Canon's DIGIC III Image Processor dramatically enhances image quality and speeds up all camera operations for intuitive operation. It works in concert with the EOS Rebel XSi's sensor to achieve unprecedented levels of performance in all lighting situations.
- 14-bit A/D Converter: With the EOS Rebel XSi, analog to digital signal conversion is executed by a 14-bit processor, which generates digital data with incredibly smooth tones. Formerly a feature only present in top-of-the-line pro digital SLR cameras, the 14-bit conversion gives incredibly smooth transitions from light to dark colors, with far less risk of "banding." A sky at sunset is a perfect example. With this rich 14-bit gradation the EOS Rebel XSi offers RAW images of the highest quality that can be processed with Canon's Digital Photo Professional software. Even JPEG files, which are always finished at 8-bits per channel, use the full 14-bit conversion initially to generate the best possible color and tonal detail. Another huge benefit of the 14-bit conversion is the Highlight Tone Priority option, which allows critical shooters to increase the level of detail in bright areas of a scene up to one stop, without affecting overall exposure.
- Auto Optimization: The EOS Rebel XSi's Auto Optimization is yet another image-quality tool that comes to the rescue in tricky lighting conditions. It can actually lighten dark areas of a scene while ensuring that bright areas maintain tonal detail. It's now available in all shooting modes, including P, Tv, Av, and Manual.
- Precision Operation: The EOS Rebel XSi operates with such effortless speed that operation is nothing short of intuitive. With instant startup times, speedy autofocus and minimal shutter lag, the EOS Rebel XSi is one of the fastest cameras available today. It can shoot up to 3.5 frames per second, in bursts of 53 JPEGs or 6 RAW files, so you'll never, ever miss a shot.
- Advanced Features: The EOS Rebel XSi's 35-zone evaluative metering system with improved white balance analyzes light based on each zone in the viewing area, enabling the camera to choose the overall best exposure for the entire scene. It now features a spot meter, which reads a tiny area (about 4%) of the picture for extremely precise metering. It also provides Center-weighted average metering and partial metering for accurate exposure no matter the situation. The EOS Rebel XSi also has an improved, high magnification viewfinder that provides a larger overall view, and increased brightness and clarity. And the EOS Rebel XSi has a Display-Off sensor that automatically turns the LCD monitor off whenever the camera is at the photographer's eye. All relevant shooting information, including ISO, is displayed right in the viewfinder so it's easy to change settings without moving the camera away from the eye.
- Flexible Storage: The EOS Rebel XSi is the first EOS Digital SLR camera to use popular SD and SDHC memory cards only. Compact, inexpensive and available in increasingly large capacities, SD and SDHC memory cards are a perfect complement to the EOS Rebel XSi's compact and lightweight body design.
- Self Cleaning Sensor Unit: It's Back! A key element of minimizing dust is preventing it from clinging to the front surface of the imaging sensor. To combat against this, the EOS Rebel XSi features a Canon-designed Self Cleaning Sensor Unit. The low-pass filter at the front of the sensor shakes off dust automatically with ultrasonic vibrations, removing dust from the sensor assembly. The EOS Rebel XSi has a new coating on the front surface of the low-pass filter, to increase its resistance to dust sticking to the sensor.
This is about as good as it gets for consumer level SLRs. Canon has done it again with it's innovation and user-friendly design. Well worth the upgrade from the Nikon D40.
Customer Review: Great Way to Be Consumed By a New Hobby
Summary: 5 Stars
I'll start by saying that this is my first SRL and I'm hooked. I liked taking pictures but I never was "into photography" until I got this camera. My wife used to have a film SRL and kept wanting a digital one, which eventually led to this purchase. No regrets whatsoever. I have had the camera about 9 months now.
Uses: I use this camera most frequently to capture moments from get-togethers with family and friends. It's great for taking pictures of children who don't sit still. I've taken lots of pictures of my dogs. It makes them look sweeter than I think they are. : ) The majority of my pictures are indoors but I take a large number outside too. I'm the official family photographer now.
Children: It is great for capturing personality and expressions of my young daughter. Often, I just point the camera at her and hold down the shutter release and let the continuous mode capture all the poses and expressions. I have gotten so many priceless pictures that never would have happened with a point and shoot (P&S) camera. Family and friends are always appreciative of me taking great quality pictures of their children as well. My pictures with this camera are usually better than what they have taken.
VS P&S: Too many times, I would grab my P&S, see a photo op, and take the picture only for the moment to be gone by the time the picture was actually taken. The speed of this continuous shooting mode on this great. The FPS of continuous mode is one of the main points that would get me to upgrade to a "nicer" camera. Lack of money and time (to really learn the DSRL) are really the only reasons to stick with a P&S.
VS Video: I think it is a personal preference thing but I prefer great pictures to video. Video is good to capture moments but there is just something very special about a great picture that I do not get from watching a video. There is a reason for the saying "a picture speaks a thousand words."
RAW vs JPEG: I tried going RAW for a while but every time I showed my wife the RAW I had tweaked in Photoshop Elements vs. the JPEG of the same shot, she almost always picked the dang JPEG so I'm almost always shooting the highest res JPEG these days. I do still plan to do more RAW in the future though. RAW gives you more options but takes more work.
Kit lens VS others: Hmm, this is always an interesting debate. I'm a visual guy but I'm not always the most detail oriented. I rarely use the kit lens though I like the focal length it provides for indoor pictures. My most often used lens is the Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM prime lens. I'll be writing a review of that in the future and posting some pictures too. I'm thinking about getting a high end zoom in the next 6 months to a year. Basically, I want the quality and speed of that prime but the convenience of a zoom. That combination costs about a grand. I just have not decided to let go of that much money since I'm not a professional and do not receive any money for my pictures. I got the EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom as part of a package deal when I got the XSi kit. I really like the focal length, especially for outside nature pictures. 250mm on this camera (1.6x crop factor) really reaches out. Having said that, it still makes me want more at times. There are some wildlife (mostly bird) pictures that I wanted that needed some extra reach. I got some pretty good zoo pictures with it. This camera's resolution with take advantage of the high end lenses so my wish list has gotten quite pricey.
Lens wish list - these are all expensive, maybe even crazy-expensive for an amateur:
EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM (macro photography is just fascinating to me)
EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM or the EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM Standard Zoom (both have pros and cons)
one of the EF 70-200mm L series lenses
longer reach 300mm-400mm lens
Ease of Use/Quality of Pictures: I am combining these two qualities because basically, with a DSLR, it comes down to how easily can you take really good pictures. I think it is a combination of luck and skill. You are not going to magically start taking the best pictures of your life just because you buy an expensive camera. It still takes work. I have a couple of coworkers who got a Nikon D90 around the same time I got this XSi. They have taken good pictures, but both have make comments that it is hard to take tons of really good pictures with a SLR unless you spend time learning about the camera, photography concepts, and practice. I think this is a great camera, but that 5 star rating doesn't mean it hands awesome pictures to you. I've seen quotes of the % of "keepers" that good photographers expect to have from a photo shoot. It isn't a very big number. I just want perspective buyers to know that it takes some effort to get consistently great pictures out of any SLR, especially the more varied the conditions and setting you are photographing.
Accessories: I've spent more on accessories than the price of the camera. Is that required, no. But it sure helps. : ) That is a main reason why I'm glad I didn't start out with a more expensive camera. It leaves money for other goodies. I got two lenses in addition to the kit one, a backpack, remote, tripod, several books, Photoshop Elements, and a couple of SDHC cards. Oh yea, I spent a pretty good chuck of change on the Speedlite 580EX II Flash too. It's great but can be harsh and startling to those being photographed if you aren't careful. I'm trying to take more natural light pictures instead of flash, hence some of my lens choices.
I hope this long review was helpful. I have really enjoyed this camera and starting photography as a hobby. It has opened up a whole new world to me.
Customer Review: Another outstanding Rebel offering
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a semi-pro photographer who usually shoots with much more expensive bodies. Every now and then, however, I need to bring a smaller camera with me for whatever reason, and this is the one. Also, like a lot of pros and semi-pros I need to have an APS-C body in order to use the cult-followed Canon EF-S 10-22mm lens that only works on APS-C boides such as the Rebels.
In fact Rebels have been the one I go to to fill those needs for a few years now. A lot of semi-pros and pros criticize the performance of these cameras and/or the perceived weaknesses in ergonomics, size, and available functions. Is this a $1000 camera body? No it is not. Is this a $2600 camera body? No it is not. Is this a $6999.99 camera body? No it is not. I am hammering that point home because some people insist on comparing the Rebels to cameras like that. The comparisons are fine as long as price is factored in; if you leave price out of the equation then yes, this camera will likely lose out to a body costing more than a grand.
The following are some my random thoughts on this camera; I am not going to cover everything because others have done that well enough. I am going to address the issues important to me, a semi-pro photographer who sometimes needs to travel light.
ISO performance (this is most important to me in any camera for any price):
ISO 100: Outstanding
ISO 400: Great (and professionally competent) except for higher than desirable noise in the darkest shadows. Even shooting RAW and carefully post-processing, you will probably need to leave the shadows alone and not bring them out too much. I am nitpicking a little here for the sake of being thorough in the review; it is not by any means a terrible or "deal-breaker" level of noise in the shadows.
ISO 800: Usable for sure and better than expected, but noise certainly is apparent at this level--or rather the effects of noise reduction are apparent--and the in camera noise reduction is aggressive enough that some detail and sharpness is lost as a result of cleaning out the noise. Certainly usable but best at smaller sizes (8x10 or smaller) when printing and viewing.
ISO 1600: To me it's out of the question. I do have a higher standard than the average consumer as a semi-pro, so keep this in mind. I would use this setting only in such a dire situation that ISO 800 would be completely unusable. The noise reduction in ISO 800 is too aggressive, but it does result in the elimination of a great deal of noise. It seems they didn't even bother in ISO 1600. There is noise all over the place in ISO 1600. I haven't used a camera that I can remember that had such a huge difference between ISO 800 and ISO 1600. So, bottom line, IMHO you should stay away and only use in a pinch. I can't see printing anything larger than 4x6 with this setting. If that's your bag then you will probably be fine.
I do want to say regarding my opinions on the ISO handling that I did not buy this camera for high ISO performance. If you are planning on doing that I would think twice. Is it better than the Rebel, Rebel XT, and Rebel XTi? Certainly. Does that make it a good performer at high ISO? Not necessarily.
I do the vast majority of my shooting between ISO 100 and 400. I use fast lenses and I typically shoot during the day. This is especially true of the times I am using this camera. I don't go to a camera like this for high ISO performance. For that I grab the 5D. I go to this camera for the few times the 5D is not best for the situation. This camera delivers an outstanding image quality at ISO 100-400 and a usable one at ISO 800. To me this is all that matters. a 12MP DSLR with outstanding image quality for a little over $500 is what this is. You throw a nice Canon lens (nicer than the kit lens) on this and you have professionally acceptable results. I wouldn't use this camera if it didn't provide those results.
The only way the aforementioned 5D will outshoot this is (in an image quality respect) is if you are making enlargements or shooting higher than ISO 400. If you are using good glass, shooting RAW, and setting the ISO manually (which is what I do) this is an awesome camera. I don't care if anyone says otherwise, either. I don't have to--and won't--argue that point because I've seen the results.
Now, if you have never used a Rebel I do have to inform you that it is much smaller than the 20D, 30D, 40D, etc. bodies that you may or may not be used to. It is much harder for me to keep a good grip on this body than, say, the 40D. Again this is OK with me because I am not buying this for ergonomics. Again, I am buying this for value. Price combined with performance is how this arrives at a place of value. I need to keep repeating that because for some reason people always feel the need to compare cameras that are incomparable. If you are looking for the best performance in a DLSR combined with best price, it is my firm opinion that this is the camera.
Lastly, I want to say that if we are talking strictly image quality and nothing else like ergonomics and construction, IMHO the IQ from this camera is just as good if not better than the mildly overrated 40D. Given the vast difference in price of the two--almost 100% different actually--unless you are an ergonomics stickler I think the decision is a no brainer. You buy this and save the $500 for better glass, or just save the $500 for no reason other than saving $500 is cool. What I am looking forward to doing down the road is comparing the IQ from this to the IQ from the 50D. Again it equals or bests the 40D if we are talking strictly IQ. I returned the 40D last year after using it for 2 weeks. It just wasn't worth the price. The 40D to me is simply a Rebel XTi (XTi; not XSi) with better ergonomics.
Customer Review: Great Beginner DSLR - Features, Hardware, Etc
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this product as a present for myself for Christmas including the 18-55 IS kit lens. I have owned numerous P&S cameras - Casio, Canon, Nikon, etc, but decided it was finally time to upgrade to a DSLR - and at a great price. I have taken about 500 pictures so far - with flash, with manual controls, in auto mode, pretty much everything already.
The Camera body - very solid build. I had read some reviews which were critical of the use of plastic over metal but I really think that the plastic is great. I'm sure a drop would damage it in some way, but the plastic feels very sturdy and has no flex in the body at all. Every compartment opens and closes tight and with some resistance, which gives a very stable feeling. The buttons all feel great to press. The shutter feels very sturdy and has great feedback when you press it. The camera body is a good size for me. I am taller than average but not giant and my hands are pretty good sized and even the smaller body on this camera (compared to the 40,50d, etc) feels fine. My only complaint is sometimes tiredness which I get in my right pinky finger from the grip on the camera. I'm sure in the coming weeks I'll work this out as I experiment with new ways of holding the camera most comfortably. Overall, the camera body is sturdy and feels very well made.
Features - Wide spread. I am coming from a Canon G9 which already has a pretty full feature set, but the ultimate manual controls on XSi just lets me feel much more connected to this camera. The Auto mode seems to work fine. I'm not experienced with any bigger or fancier DSLR's, so this mode seems fine to me - autofocus, flash and everything. Manual mode allows for the ultimate control of pretty much everything. I love taking nighttime, long exposure shots and the XSi allows for up to 30seconds of exposure or a BULB function. The results are great out of the box, though I'm sure with post processing some of the graininess that results can be cleared up.
Specs - The images are crystal clear with the kit lens compared to my G9. Even though they are both 12MP, the XSi at a 100% crop is so much clearer. I now don't worry about zooming in as far as I can - knowing I will be able to crop out a larger, closer image in the future if I want to. The built in flash is sufficient and has a pretty quick refresh time. I also have a Canon 220Ex which is a bit more powerful (not much though) but does have a much quicker refresh time. In burst mode on the XSi I can shoot twice as long and 1.5x as quick with the 220Ex which could really come in useful. I would invest in an external flash unit but for everyday shooting the built in one is fine. The autofocus is quick in my experience so far and is pretty accurate. It is much quciker than the G9, even in low light. Low light does slow it down a bit, but not bad at all.
Kit Lens (18-55) - As I have said this is my first DSLR so I don't have much knowledge of lenses, but this one is pretty GOOD, not great. The zoom is pretty basic - less than my G9 but wider angle to begin with, which I find more useful. I will eventually invest in a probably-Canon longer range zoom but for now, this is fine to be begin on. It is a quick lens and the Image Stabilizer seems to help (haven;t tried many moving situations yet) so I can't report completely on that. I do miss the focus distances on the manual focus ring (infinity to close, etc) so it is sometimes confusing to see what distance I am focusing at. Overall, a good lens and definitely worth the kit price if you are just starting out.
Battery - The battery is great. I have taken almost 600 shots on the first full charge still, many of which have been flash, and the battery is only down one notch. Obviously this will go down with time, but it seems great.
Complaints:
1. Body size is good but takes some getting used to. not really a complaint, but just saying it will take a while to find a completely comfortable grip.
2. Live view sucks. I love shooting through the eye piece, but in just using live view even for fun, it is bewildering and slow and bad. If you have a tripod it will be fine, but otherwise, do not buy this camera if you MUST have live view. I wanted the XSi because it did have live view, but I now realize I much prefer using the eyepiece. It is nice to know live view is there if I need it, but I cannot really see myself using it more than 1-2% of the time.
3. Battery door almost impossible to open. I don't know why - it could just be mine but I'm thinking it is the way it is designed. I have to use a pencil tip or a butter knife in additon to my finger to slide it open and out.
4. Lack of movie mode - I know, I know - its an SLR. But I have seen that Ashton Kutcher ad for Nikon with their HD movie mode, and I have to say that would be pretty cool to have on here. I have a feeling on the 500D or whatever the new Rebel is, Canon will install that. But I wish this one had it.
Overall - Great beginners camera and even for a moderately experienced user. Only drawbacks are minor ones and for this price point, cannot really even be considered. I've wanted the Rebel since the 300D came out, and I now finally have one and I am in love.
Customer Review: A great introductory DSLR camera
Summary: 5 Stars
Like most people these days, I have been using digital point and shoot cameras for years, and have greatly enjoyed taking pictures with them with reckless abandon. Soon enough, however, you start appreciating the intrinsic limitations of point and shoot cameras, even the best ones on the market: no matter how sophisticated the camera, shooting objects will never be as sharp as when you saw them with your naked eye, the colors are not exactly what you saw, and unless you have the perfect lighting conditions all of those problems only get exacerbated. Sometimes post-production in Photoshop or a similar program can improve things to a great extent, but even this can only take you so far. For most everyday shooting this still might not be the problem, but if you want to get a bit more sophisticated with your pictures you need to take the plunge and buy a truly qualitatively different camera: a digital SLR. These cameras used to be an almost exclusive domain of professional photographers, but with the improvements in technology and the increased marketplace competition they have become accessible to regular consumers.
There are many manufacturers of DSLRs out there, with seemingly more and more entering that space every day. However, there are two well-established brands that still more or less dominate over all the others: Canon and Nikon. If you are an amateur photographer who is just starting out in the DSLR world, chances are you'll do more than fine with any one of those brands. One of the main reasons I decided to go with Canon is that it seems that for about the same price you get more megapixels. I like to play with images in Photoshop, and more pixels in general give you more stuff to play with. 12 megapixels of this camera are more than sufficient for most of my creative needs.
The first thing that you'll notice with any DSLR camera is its relative size as compared to dainty point and shoots. You can never carry DSLR around as an afterthought. When you take one around you make a conscious decision to take pictures, and furthermore you will be conspicuous when taking them. These might be some of the considerations to think about when deciding on a switch from point and shoots.
In addition to size, you will also notice a very solid feel of this camera. It is not made out of cheap materials, and every part of it has been thoughtfully designed for durability. You shouldn't casually toss this camera around, but it is comforting to know that it can probably withstand most everyday small bumps if they come its way.
This camera has many features and settings, and all of this might be overwhelming to a first-time SLR user. In addition to automatic settings that are now also a familiar feature of most point and shoot cameras, there are multiple "creative" settings that include various levels of manual control, including a completely manual operation. When you first start shooting I would recommend using these "creative" settings to experiment and play with. However, if you are still unsure of what you are doing and there is shot that you absolutely have to take then the automatic settings would be much more appropriate. One of the annoying features of this camera is that it doesn't allow you to preview your shots on the screen while in one of the automatic modes. The so-called "Live View" can only be used in one of the manual modes. When shooting in automatic mode, you will have to use the viewfinder. This in itself may motivate you to learn more about photography and the manual shooting.
The picture quality of the photographs that I have taken has been spectacular. You will notice a clear difference from the point-and-shoot photograph from the very first shots that you take, and so will all of your friends. Just prepare yourself for becoming the "designated photographer." :) The only problem that I've had is that in low light photographs have pretty noticeable orange glow. I've been able to avoid this only when fiddling with shooting controls in one of the manual modes.
Another amazing feature of this camera is the speed with which it takes pictures. At 3.5 frames per second, you will be able to capture some pretty amazing shots if you go into the continuous shooting mode. I've been able to capture electric sparks on the Van Der Graaf generator and some really neat sports action photos.
This is the last of the Canon Rebel DSLRs that does not allow you to shoot video. Unless you really care about high-definition video this may not be that much of a problem. I for one don't find myself filming videos all that often, and when I do a stand-alone video camera is more than sufficient for all of my needs.
Overall I have been extremely satisfied with this camera over the last two years that I've had it. Most manufacturers (Canon included) keep coming with bigger and better models almost every year, but unless you really need some of the latest top-of-the line features you will be more than well served with this camera. I for one don't feel like I have even scratched the surface of what this camera has to offer.