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
|
Our Price: $652.00 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $395.00 (click here) Category: Digital Camera See more digital camera details and other models |
|---|
Digital camera 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
Digital camera Review: Amazing camera, price, and results!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I have had this camera for 5 months, since April 2008. At first my results were inferior to those of my Rebel 300D images. I just assumed the camera would just produce better images! well it does, but you need to unlock its potential.
The Canon XSi is a fantastic SLR for entry level digital SLR beginners/amateurs. It allows your to have a light weight camera, that still can stand up to some abuse.
It is possible to take over 1,000 images on a single battery charge. The XSI has a peppy 3.5 FPS shooting speed so you can capture sport images at your local high school with ease and pride.
When switching from a compact point and shoot to an SLR, there is a learning curve. As long as purchasers realize they are not acquiring a more advanced point and shoot, they will on a better path to great photos.
As I said, there is a learning curve. You need to learn about aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and how those combine to create an exposure and scene. Furthermore, there are some nice customizations available by the XSi such as focus and exposure lock separation, spot metering for accurate exposure control, live view focusing (2 modes).
SLR photography is a fun and exciting challenge. If you buy this camera, do not just use the auto mode!!!
I have created a free resource at www.learnslr.com to provide for free tutorials on maximizing your 450d/XSi experience.
Digital camera Review: Amazingly user friendly
Summary: 5 Stars
I just received my Cannon SLR and I couldn't be happier with my purchase. I have read up on several reviews regarding this camera and I have to agree that the quality of the pictures are excellent. Canon is known for it's user friendliness and it hasn't failed yet.
Since this is my first SLR purchase, I wanted to make sure that I wouldn't be overwhelmed with too many switches, buttons, etc. Even though I haven't read the manual yet, I have successfully experimented with various settings and I am impressed by the quality of the pictures thus far. I do plan on reading through the manual eventually to get more use out of the camera.
Last weekend, I was at an outing and I was pleasantly surprised to see a lot of people using the Cannon SLR Rebel Xsi series. Obviously, this camera is a popular choice for a good reason. I do believe that the money spent on this camera was well worth it.
Digital camera Review: Amazon was best value
Summary: 5 Stars
We purchased this after comparing it to the Nikon D60. It is a little more expensive, but seems to be of higher quality and feels better to hold. Quality of build so far is pretty good and its use is pretty intuitive. So far, no issues to report on negatively.Digital camera Review: An excellent upgrade to a great camera
Summary: 5 Stars
I previously owned the Canon Digital Rebel. I primarily upgraded to this camera for the additional pixels. Just in pixels alone, I effectively doubled my zoom rate, and it shows in bird closeups I've taken. Compared to my last camera, it's like trading in my 70-300 zoom on a 70-600 zoom. And picture quality is phenomenal, even when compared to the original Digital Rebel.
But the other enhancements to this camera make it worth buying even if it didn't sport a higher density CCD. I purchased an extra battery because the battery on the original Rebel ran down way too quickly and left me without a usable camera a few times. But I didn't need to. The battery on this model lasts forever. Maybe 10 times longer than the original!
This weekend I went on a bike ride with some friends. I was on vacation a couple of weeks ago and forgot to recharge the battery. I brought the extra along, but wanted to see how long the battery would last. I took a lot of pictures, then a friend of mine wanted to check out an image-stabilization lens I have. He spent an hour playing with the thing, taking more pictures and wasting battery power by testing out the image stabilization feature (something that normally uses a lot of juice). The battery still hasn't run down. I can't emphasize enough how bottomless the battery seems to me.
Having image-stabilization on the short lens was a nice feature. I didn't really need it because I use the zoom lens almost exclusively, but it's nice to know the feature's there if I ever do.
Focus with my 70-300 zoom lens is much faster as well. Where the old one took up to a second or so, the new one focuses instantly when there's enough light. Even when there isn't enough light for a fast focus, it's still many times faster than the original.
Something else that surprised and excited me: Using the Sport mode, I used to be able to take only 4 pictures in succession before the buffer filled up. With the new camera in the same mode, I can take a lot more pictures in the same amount of time. Instead of only 4 pictures before the buffer is filled, the shutter keeps clicking away forever. I can't imagine any action shot that will be too long for the amount of pictures this thing can take now. I was showing the camera off to my brother-in-law, and I took at least 20 pictures (maybe 30 or 40?) in rapid succession before the buffer became full and it slowed down.
This camera is truly awesome. The friend that was demoing it was trying to justify his previous purchase of a non-SLR. He said, "So this is more of a professional camera, huh?" I told him, "No--this is Canon's amateur line." And it is. But right now, I think it's better than their professional camera, which actually has 2 Megabits fewer pixels.
In the "easy" modes, the camera is a better photographer than I am. I'm no pro. But it would be nice to be able to choose when the flash is appropriate, or force a fill-flash when I want to.
Other bennies: The screen is larger and brighter, but you can lower its brightness to improve battery life (I keep it cranked up all the way--this thing has plenty of battery life as I've said).
Canon advertises that this thing will let you preview on the LCD now while focusing. If you want to buy this camera just because it's the only SLR you know of with that feature, don't. You might play with it for a couple of minutes, but you'll never use it to take actual pictures, because focus either doesn't work, or is excruciatingly slow. I had a lot of trouble figuring out how to turn this on, as well, and had to consult the manual.
There is another ease-of-use item I'd like to mention. You can turn off the flash in the easy modes if you want to. But you have to be in a creative mode to do it. I did that once, and it took me a long time to figure out how to turn the flash back on, because there's no menu item for it in the mode I was in (which was full-auto). I think it's idiotic that you can turn off the flash mode in full-auto from a creative mode, but not from the mode you're using.
All in all, I'm very glad I bought this camera.
Digital camera 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.