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: Photography Addiction!!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Since I was a child I always had a camera and loved taking pictures. My first camera was a Kodak 35mm rectangle job. You know the one with the square one time use flash on top? I then had Vivitars and Ritchshot In May of 2000 I bought the Canon Rebel EOS for trips to China and Australia. I never fully got proper use of the camera because film does not show the errors of your settings. I then went on to buy several Nikon Cool Pix and a Canon Powershot S2. In December of 2009 my wife and I bought each other as a gift to ourselves this camera. Words do not describe the feeling of "arriving" as an artisitc photographer. Ous lives will never be the same.
I must say I am biast against Nikon SLR's because my friends have them, and with the graduation to lenses and accessories I will be Canon 4 life.
The functions of this camera are amazing. Eveything I struggled with for years in film, and inept point and shoot and powershot cameras came to an abrupt end by purchasing this one. The functions people struggle with, tones, lighting, sharpness are answered in a matter of a few test shots going through normal photography education (a quick reference guide in the owners manaual gives a brief overview that you can learn what you need to know). The book was a guide that in the 1st week and several hundred shots later were answered by photographs that made friends and family think they were fake or not done by this camera. I will be posting photos here on 3/19/10 of what I am trying to convey. The use of the picture style defines the photos that you take. Monochrome, Sepia, landscape with the right filters brings out the inner photographer you never knew you had. You will never, ever go back to the automatic settings after two weeks of using P, TV, AV, M, and A-Dep setting. The 12.1 Megapixles is great for framing the highest quality photos in 11x14 frames. I do not belive in the near future our walls we be able to hold our photos, we will have to keep switching them out.
The only warning I have for buyers of this camera, or any SLR is that these are the cameras that take you to a new comfortable level and that comes with a price!!! you start off with the 18-55mm lense. That is not good enough. You must then get filters to bring out the landscapes and protraits you are taking. Then you move on to buying the 70-200mm or 70-300mm lenses, because you need the advance lenses to take action photos, or landscape photos. Then you need a wide angle lense, because taking pictures in the mountains or indoors, or of landscapes you get tired of backing up and not getting what you want in the shot. Then comes the hood for the wide angle, and the UV filter, and it goes on and on. Think of the camera as a foundation to advanced photography, however the lenses, the flash, and the filters, which will run you $700-$2000 it is what defines the pictures themselves. This camera is an awesome tool to capture your view of the world, the events in your life, and convey them in a professional manner. The price is fair and it will be a camera for years and years of professional photography.
Customer Review: Recommended Without Hesitation
Summary: 5 Stars
The complexity of this camera made me hesitate to take the plunge, but I'm glad I did! I received it the day before our family vacation in Disneyland. With three young children running all over the place, it doesn't matter how trained you are, there isn't time to fiddle around with the controls. With this camera, I took over a thousand pictures in fully automatic mode, and got fantastic results. Our vacation photos are far better than I could get with a point and shoot.
Many of the photos I took were inside the rides, such as Matterhorn, Dumbo, and so forth. The lighting and vibration is obviously a huge challenge, but virtually all of my photos came out with excellent sharpness and clarity.
I'm very excited about using this to get other pictures I couldn't get before, like shots of my kids playing baseball, school assemblies, school plays, and other activities that our older cameras just couldn't work in.
There are many reasons why the XSi creates better pictures: It's 12.2 MP sensor has much better light sensitivity, so it can be used in darker conditions than a "point and shoot" camera. In addition, you can use lenses which have many times more light gathering capability. With these large aperture lenses, you can also throw the background out of focus, for better portrait photography. The bundled IS (Image Stabilization) lens is the reason why so many of the pictures I took from roller coasters came out sharp as a tack.
So, yes, there is a lot of technology here, and learning it makes your photos better, but I get great photographs simply because this is a better camera and it can take pictures that point and shoot cameras can't. A great book to guide you is The Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi/450D Companion.
The best technique I've developed so far is to change the focus to use only the center point, and to use the star-shaped button to hold exposure. These techniques are great for photographing people, as you can focus on the eyes, then set the exposure for the composition you want -- in other words, it separates the exposure and focus points.
Although I've owned many SLR's in the past, this is my first digital SLR. With today's high capacity cards, the biggest difference is that you can shoot hundreds of pictures without changing (let alone buying) film. Photography is much more enjoyable when you can just shoot to your heart's content.
I have a lot to learn with this camera, but I've found that doesn't get in the way of taking pictures. My pictures have been getting better and better, and I'm having a blast trying to improve my technique. I ordered the Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras from Amazon, and I'm looking forward to taking the kids to the zoo. The image stabilization feature will be an even bigger help with that lens.
Customer Review: I LOVE this camera!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this camera just before the Canon T1i arrived. At first, I was tempted to wait for the T1i. However, after a less than pleasant experience with the 14.7MP digic 4 in the G10, I decided to go with the smaller megapixel Digic 3. Plus, after trying the camera out a bit before buying, it just felt right. The first thing I'll say is to get some good glass. The bundled lens, although adequate for everyday family shots and casual shooting, just don't compare with Canon's higher lenses. I purchased a 50MM 1.8 and this lens blows away the kit lens. Best of all, it's cheap, under a hundred bucks. I'm now working on saving the necessary $1,500 to get the 2.8 zoom I drool over. Yes, that lens costs more than twice what I paid for the camera, but if you're not going to get good glass, you might as well stick to the point and shoot models because you'll get the same results. Okay, lenses out of the way, the camera itself is awesome. Auto-focus performance is good, the camera is lightning fast in burst mode with a good card (I use the Sandisk Extreme III), the menu system is logically arranged and easy to access, and the camera handles like a dream. The body, although not as rugged as some would like, gives the camera a nice light weight, making it easy to lug around all day. The flash is about as good as can be expected for a pop-up built in unit, but it does provide adequate lighting for most situations. RAW mode works good with Photoshop and Canon also bundles pretty decent software for processing and adjusting RAW photos as well as organizing and comparing shots (now if they could only get their act together with their camcorder software bundles). The image stabilization works well without introducing any artifacts or softening the photos in a negative way. One of the major complaints with this camera from a lot of users is front focus issues. Although I have experienced some blurry shots, I can definitely attribute these to user error and a little over reliance on the auto-focus on my behalf. If I take my time and make sure my focus markers are on the right point, I get consistently sharp photos. All in all, I think this is a very good camera for the money. Although the T1i has a few more features, I just can't justify paying nearly $150 bucks more for them. I mean, I've been using SLR and P&S cameras with viewfinders for most of my life. Things like "Live View" don't phase me and I can certainly live without it. Now, if you're a P&S user making the leap to DSLR, then maybe live view is an important feature. It's just not something I (nor many others) need. I'd rather invest that money in better lenses. Plus, as I said, I'm not sold on the Digic 4 processor yet. Maybe it was just the G10, but besides with my own eyes, I've seen other grumblings online about the Digic 4. Newer doesn't always necessarily mean better. If you're looking for a great value and can live without the coolness factor of having the absolute latest model available, this DSLR is a great buy.Customer Review: GREAT choice for my first DSLR!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is my first venture into buying a DSLR and I have a college budget so I made sure I was spending my money on the best camera possible. I had been reviewing DSLRs for months and months before finally deciding on the XSI, and I could not be happier with my decision! From the moment I took it out of the box I have been taking better pictures than I ever thought I could.
I have some photography experience from a black and white photography class my first semester, but I am still quite green when it comes to the finer points of photography. It didn't at all matter with this camera. Right out of the box it didnt take me long to figure out the controls and which buttons did what. I love that there was a dedicated ISO button, white balance button, metering options button, AND shooting mode button. The worst thing is when you have a great shot that wont last long (think kids, animals, nature) and you have to dig through menus to get what you want. This camera eliminates that worry.
The lens that came with this thing is also much better than I expected in a kit lens. The image quality looks amazing while doing both very close up shots and landscape. I am not an expert on lenses, but I used one of my fathers lenses that cost several hundred dollars and there REALLY was hardly any difference in picture quality. Especially for a kit lens, I was quite impressed.
One last thing I love, THE LCD screen! This thing is HUGE and has very good image quality. It is great for reviewing your shot, right up to the fine details. It really makes it easier to see if you got the shot you wanted before you take it all the way back to your computer and see you screwed it up. As for the live view, I wasnt real sure when I would use it, but I found out the other day. There was a nest of hornets low to the ground and I sure as heck wasnt sticking my face down there. I convieniently used the live view feature to get the camera close and compose the shot while keeping my body in position to run :)
Really the only thing that has annoyed me so far is how you have to smush your nose and face into the LCD when using the viewfinder. I am all the time having to wipe smudges off. But really, after having this camera for a week and all I have to complain about is smudges on the LCD? That really is hardly a complaint at all. I would recommend it for anyone from complete newbies, to people like me with a smattering of experience, to those that actually know what they're doing. This camera is amazing.
Also, to anyone interested. I posted some of my first first pictures on my Flickr account. These are pictures from a guy who has basically forgotten most of his photography class 2 years ago, and has had little time to do much photography at all. The XSI went a long way in covering up my inexperience. At least I think so :)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29479673@N07/show/
Customer Review: Should you trade-in for the T1i?
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been using the Canon Rebel XSi for about half a year.
Question to all XSi and XS users, "Should I trade-in my XSi/XS for an T1i?"
Answers all vary and depends what you need.
1. Overall I think the Canon Rebel XSi is a very very good camera. It has more than enough megapixel as a regular digital camera. It is also very affordable and comes with its own lens.
2. The screen is pretty amazing but not as clear as the T1i which has 920,000 pixel on it. But, that doesn't really matter.
3. Picture taking, I think that the XSi actually take sharper and clearer images than the T1i. Probably because the T1i has more megapixel and if you use 18-55mm lens, it will actually show that the 18-55mm lens is pretty cheap when taking pictures. I also tried on the 50mm on both camera, pretty good result but XSi just a tiny little bit sharper. And when you reach ISO 1600 on the T1i, it get pretty noisy. T1i just a bit noisy than the XSi. When you reach ISO 3200, things get pretty loud and you would like one of those expensive lens that take silent pictures. Overall the T1i and XSi picture taking is almost the same. XSi if you want silent pictures and T1i if you want ISO 3200 or more.
4. Liveview, I see no difference and both look the same and take the same picture quality. So no problem there.
5. Digi Processor, the T1i has an upgraded processor, probably because 15 megapixel is a lot and takes time to save it into the memory card. But, the XSi may have a downgraded processor but it still save the picture at the same time as T1i. So there also no problem there.
6. HD record on the T1i is pretty amazing when is on 720p. But if you 1080p I recommend getting a video recorder. dSLR aren't really meant for taking HD record and I would highly recommend that if you need to record video, I would go for a video recorder that can take true HD. Also, worst part about the HD record, the sound is pretty lousy. There is NO PLUGIN for a mic for the T1i. So not recommend if your using the HD record taking a speech.
Overall I think the T1i is a pretty good camera. But there's no reason to trade in your XSi/XS for a T1i unless you really need that ISO or the HD recorder. I think the T1i should be $50 cheaper because the only thing I see in the T1i compare to the XSi/XS is the megapixel and the HD recorder. I would recommend getting the D90 if you have a bit more money to record HD. D90 not only record HD but it take pretty good pictures compare to T1i.
If you want more information heres a link comparing D90 and T1i: http://www.digitalreview.ca/content/Canon-Rebel-T1i-EOS-500D-Compared-to-Nikon-D90.shtml
Resource: I own Canon Rebel XSi, Canon Rebel XS, Canon Rebel T1i, Canon 5D Mark II, and Nikon D90.
(Note: I rarely use Nikon D90 probably cause I have more lens for canons.)