Xsi Rebel – Great Camera For An Entry Level Dslr!
Ah, the Canon EOS450D. (Or Digital XSi Rebel, for those who dislike model numbers) I’ve owned it for several months now, and have a lot of good experience with it.
I purchased the XSi Rebel with kit 18-55mm IS lens back in the end of February, before a week-long vacation in the Caribbean, thinking I could get some great shots. Now, I’m not going to say it was all perfect. I mean, this is my first DSLR to actually own, and to think I could learn the system that quickly was a little overzealous of me.
With that said, the camera and kit lens offered some great quality pictures, with very good color representation, and very good sharpness in most situations. Image stabilization, though I didn’t realize it at first, does wonders. The IS on this lens did in fact enable me to shoot at about 2-stops slower shutter speeds than normal, pretty consistently.
The camera itself is great. The build feels quite solid, though not as much as the heavier, higher-level cameras. (50d, 5d II, etc.) The navigation is definitely an easy adjustment to make from a point-and-shoot (P&S) camera. I was easily able to scroll through menus using the directional buttons, for instance, as opposed to the wheel used in some other models of Canon DSLR. It isn’t necessarily better, but it does make the system much more approachable for someone new to the DSLR game.
The screen is great–since February (about 5 months now) I’ve used the camera for thousands of pictures, and have only noticed an inability to see the screen clearly due to light on a handful of occasions, in extreme sunny conditions.
The flash, while not fantastic from a DSLR standpoint, is quite solid, and reaches a decent enough distance. However, with the built-in flash, you are limited to 1/200 shutter speed, at its fastest. The recharge time is also a bit longer than I’d like, in general, but it’s nothing debilitating. If you need to be capturing any faster, you probably should have spent more money on a higher-end camera, anyway.
The menus are quite plain, but clearly laid out in such a way that they are easily navigable and can be learned quickly and simply. You may not even use most of the menus, if you’re much like me–I rarely find the need to use bracketing for my exposure or flash, for instance, though they are simple to set up and use if desired.
For a while, I was stuck in the mentality that it is only worth owning a DSLR if you intend to use manual mode. I’m beginning to learn that it isn’t ALWAYS the case. I have found myself switching to Auto mode on more than one occasion, either to capture a shot more quickly, or just to see what settings the camera recommends, before re-adjusting in manual mode. Additionally, if you intend to shoot in RAW format, you cannot use Auto. RAW, for those who don’t know, is a format not compatible with computers, digital frames, etc.
You must first convert RAW to some format like JPG,(don’t worry, Canon includes software which you can use for this) which can then be printed or viewed at your leisure. RAW does allow more flexibility with editing your photo, but might be a bit over the heads of some people. In either case, it is worth noting that you CANNOT SHOOT RAW IN AUTO MODE! I frequently use RAW mode and touch up areas of the photo that would otherwise come out poorly. But auto mode is friendly enough for my girlfriend to use the camera, so it makes our lives quite a bit easier when she needs to take over the camera briefly.
Live view mode is a fantastic addition, in my opinion. Many have told me that Live View is really a mode made for P&S’ers who aren’t quite ready for DSLR. I have to respectfully disagree. That might be the case on occasion, but honestly, for some shots, I’ve found that when the focus hunts a bit, and I need to manually focus, the Live View mode is absolutely great for getting the sharpest image possible. I tend to use 10x magnification, and rotate the focus ring slightly until I find the “sweet spot” and focus is tack-sharp. It has saved my photos on more than one occasion, though for a quick or speedy subject (fast sports, energetic children, pets, etc.) obviously this is a bit more limited in its viability. I would also like to note that YOU CANNOT USE LIVE VIEW WHILE IN AUTO MODE!!! You have to make adjustments to shutter speed, aperture, and ISO on your own when using Live View, so it does still have a bit of challenge with it.
On the software side, I honestly prefer the use of Photoshop, so I have only used Canon RAW and the rest of the photo editing/managing software a little bit. With that said, if you don’t feel like shelling out the extra cash for Photoshop, which I completely understand, Canon RAW is very good for its purposes. You can adjust all the RAW settings as needed, convert to JPG, or anything else you need to do. The other software I’d like to point out is Gimpshop, with the RAW editor plugin. (ufraw is the name, if I recall correctly).
With all that out of the way, I’d like to say that I was definitely one of those people who debated if I should start low, or advance myself to a higher (possibly older, for the price) model to start with. Sometimes I still wish I had purchased the 40D at a comparable price. But I am quite happy I started with the XSi Rebel, because it’s a very reasonably priced camera and lens for its capabilities, and is very easy to use for a beginner with a DSLR–though it’s still capable of most mid-level features, making it quite a good camera.
Some have looked into the new Digital Rebel, with video. That might be an option, but before spending the extra cash, ask yourself how often you’d use the video camera feature–if you would use it, by all means go ahead. I considered the option, and found that it wasn’t worth the extra cash. Nor is the megapixel upgrade–for most amateurs, you won’t be blowing any images up, so while a ~15mp camera is technically “better” than a ~12mp camera, you won’t see a difference until you blow it up to the size of a computer sheet or greater–how many photos do you have of that size in your home?
I strongly recommend this camera for any beginner working their way to better photography using a DSLR. If you do decide to take the plunge, don’t expect your photos to magically be better–learning the capabilities (and limitations) of DSLR is extremely important as well, or your pictures might wind up coming out WORSE than your P&S photos. Happy photography, everyone!
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