This is my first review I have ever posted on Amazon.com. I really hate reviews written by people who have absolutely no idea as to what they are talking about. I have owned the Canon Rebel Xsi now for almost two and half years. This has been by far one of the best camera's I have ever owned. This review is for those who are serious about shooting and will use the camera on a near-daily basis.
I got started in photography by taking a required art class in college at the University of Mobile. Since I cannot draw, paint, or sculpt , the logical choice for me was photography. While taking the photography 101 class I used my room mates Canon film camera that is over thirty years old. Oh, and I got an "A+" in the class. Yeah who cares right, I know I am just saying.
While shopping for my next serious camera I decided to go with Canon for several reason's. There are more professional photographer's who use CANON camera's than any other brand combined. I was first trained and taught on a CANON film camera. CANON offer's more lens to choose from than any other brand. You can use any kind of CANON lens you so desire. The best part is that the sensor buried deep inside of the camera is NOT a full-frame sensor. Unless you are a photographer shooting for an ad agency that puts up billboard signs you will most likely never need a full-frame sensor. It gets even better. Because the Xsi is not a full-frame sensor you are getting a .6 of a zoom in. This means that you are getting at least an extra half times zoom free just for buying a 1.6 size sensor!
Initially, I bought the Xsi because of the price and features offered. I am not going go into every feature, just what was and still is important to me. I really liked the huge 3 inch display on the back of the camera. The display in terms of color quality really is just that good. I initally bought the camera so I could see my settings on manual on the display screen. However I have recently been shooting so many concerts and events that happen at night that it is easier to just look through the viewfinder.
I have small fingers and I like how all of the buttoms are on the right side of the body on the back of the camera. Keep in mind the back of the camera is where you will see most if not all of your buttons and functions. All of the buttons are easy to find in the dark and become second-nature should you invest the time to find the appropriate button and learn how to adjust settings on-the-fly. Ideally as a photographer you should be able to adjust all of your settings in the dark (school plays, concerts, firework displays)
Most of the professional series camera's have CF cards that hold all of the shots on the camera. I really like how the Xsi uses SD cards. I have found unless you are shooting high-speed photography (airshow, sports, etc.) a class 2 (known as classII) SD cards will always get the job done. However, if you shoot weddings, basketball games, soccer, hockey, concerts, airshows, etc.; you will most likely want to spring a little extra money for the Class III SD cards. Is it worth the money? In a word if you shoot all the time, yes by all means. I have taken my SD cards swimming in the ocean by accident and even forgot to remove said SD card from my shorts before drying a load of clothes! SD cards can take a beating and still perform flawlessly.
I have really become enamored with the menu button switch on the back of the camera. With this button I can select the file quality, AEB, Flash exposure, picture stlye, format cards, custom settings, etc.
The AEB stands for Automatic Exposure Bracketing. If you are in love with HDR photography , you can hit the AEB button, tell the camera how far apart you would like to set the exposure(s), and press the shutter once for 3 different shots taken without having to do any of the work. In other words, you press the shutter and 3 different shots are taken for you.
If you are still reading my review the file quality is there in case you need it. Serious photographers shoot in RAW and use Lightroom or photoshop to convert the images over to JPEG for saving to a PC and printing at a lab. The advantage with RAW is that RAW gives you way more control over the shot you took. In other words, let's say you took a shot and the flash did not go off. You can used RAW to pull more information about that image to bring out the natural lighting and color all in this same shot!
What's nice about this feature is if you need to dump tons of photo's onto someone's PC you do not need to convert the files!
White Balance is your ability to set the true color in any environment. Very few church'es look the same on the inside. Likewise there are places that have crazy color's. An example are children's rooms, rooms that are completely covered with wood paneling, places where it is very dark, brightly colored rooms in orange, pink, purple and of course red. Whith white balance I can use a sheet of typing paper, lally cap, or a white balance card. All I have to do is press the "WB" button take my white balance photo and we are done.
P stands for program. So, you do not want to shoot in auto because auto is for idiots right? Use P for professional.
Tv stands for time value. If you are shooting with a flash indoors at a wedding brithday party, etc use Tv at a setting of 1/125 of a second. If you are shooting in very low light you would use 1/13th of a second.
Aperature Priortiy is for the experts. No need to explain.
M for manual use for concert studio photography. This is also for those who are hard-core shooters.
The Xsi can be remotely fired with a remote for group shots (with yourself in it). The remote is $30 and is not a bad investment. You can use a small 5-6 foot cord to prevent shutter shake if your camera is placed on a tripod. The Xsi also has a several settings for a timer with a flashing light on the front to indicate time left before flash goes off. The mount for a tripod on this camera is just outstanding I have never had any issues with it.
ISO button can be slightly hard to reach but, I have found you will never need to see where it is located. It will almost always be bright enough for you to see. The ISO nutton hassaved my behind so many times it is not even funny. ISO is always of great importance when selecting a camera.
OK have you ever noticed how some of the pop-up flash(es) out there are really weak? Well with the Xsi you can dial up or down just how much power (light) the flash puts out. If you are shooting a wedding or some other high-profile event, the external flash can be controlled through your lens and your camera. Your sensor tells the flash when to go off how bright, flash duration, etc. In fact you can simply use the fash and forget that it's there; it simply works automatically. I have found with CANON flash systems however I like to set my flash exposure at 1 F stop greater than zero.
Now for the review of the 18-55mm AF IS lens. The next person who tells me this lens is a piece of garbage is gonna get hurt! OK all kidding aside this really is a nice everyday lens. I am not sure what the fascination with zoom lens is. I mean it is totally ridiculous. If I am shooting a ballet or a wedding I can expect a minimum of 4 or 5 people to ask me how well a 70-200mm lens works.
Getting back to the 18-55mm lens this is the lens to use for architecture, night scenes, fireworks, family photo's, landscape, vacations, etc. Just because there is very little zoom does not mean this lens sucks. It is great for which it is intended. If you wish to have greater zoom simply buy a lens that has greater zoom built in. A 17-85 IS AF lens is a great example and it is relatively cheaper than say a 24-105mm lens.
In a word will buying this camera make you a better photographer no! No camera out there can do that for you! Is this a great entry level camera to use? Heck Yeah! I did not mention the Live View function for good reason, it sucks. Live view is a useless feature that is useless on nearly every camera out there. While your friends are setting up thier shots with thier fancy 'lil purse pocket camera's you are long done with the shot.
The only thing I do not like about this camera is the body is made of plastic and it does not have movie mode. But, the newer CANON camera's are equipped with this feature.
Beleive it or not the rules of photography have not changed, they have become even more important than ever before.
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"Great pictures but disappointed in the live view mode"
"Perfect First DSLR"