Canon Rebel Cameras- What's the Difference?

Woodtroll

Woodtroll

Joined
Oct 15, 2001
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193
Folks,

My wife is set on getting a Canon Rebel SLR, having used one a couple years ago and loved it. I do not know what model it was. She takes a lot of outdoor shots, both wildlife and landscapes, some outdoor closeups, some portraits, some sports shots, not a whole lot of indoor snapshots. Her current camera is a Konica-Minolta Dimage 6, and she takes some very good pictures with it, but it lacks speed and clarity on the action shots. I do understand the basic difference between this camera and the digital SLRs, at least as far as mechanics.

What is the difference in the Rebel models, other than the megapixels? What does the "i" in some model names indicate? Which would be the best for what she does? Now, which camera is the most COST EFFECTIVE (most bang for the buck) for an intermediate amateur?

Sorry so many questions, but I don't know where else to start. I probably have missed something important you need to know to answer, and won't be offended if you ask. I looked around a little on the camera boards, but everything there is over my head.

Thanks for your help!
Regan
 
Without getting into a big spiel that you might or might not be interested in reading...:D
The main difference between your wife's camera and a digital SLR (completely disregarding age, megapixels, sensors, whizbangness, etc.) is that on the SLR she will be able to use different lenses. Simply put, she can start to collect lenses that she wants to use for panorama shots, telephoto shots, portrait shots, etc. Simply put, a medium quality SLR lens is already head and shoulders above 99% of built in lenses on a camera like your wife already has.

Add to that that because of an internal mirror, what she looks at in the viewfinder is pretty much what she'll be taking a picture of.

Also, the average SLR will allow much easier custom composition and exposure settings. Starting with the mid tier Rebels (IIRC) there are dedicated knobs and wheels for aperture, shutter, etc. A dedicated photographer needs these things like air.

Skipping the big spiel, the best camera for an intermediate amateur is a little more camera than she really needs, to provide room for growth. In my opinion, the Rebels are fine cameras for beginners or people who need a "throwaway" camera in case it gets lost or stolen. If you can swing the price, an Eos 50d is a much better camera. It's built way better, so it will last far longer, it has a better sensor and processor, better color depth, better auto focus, the list goes on and on. The going price seems to be around $1200.

There's nothing "wrong" with a Rebel, especially the upper models, but they're built very much to a price point, which in electronics is not really a good thing. For example, the cheaper the SLR, usually the less matchup with what the lens sees; for example the viewfinder may only show 80-90% of what the lens is looking at, and that's because it's cheaper to do it that way. That doesn't matter much for snaps, but when a photographer is trying to compose an image, it matters a lot where the borders are.

Edit: if your wife does not have any older SLR's lying around the house (and therefore lenses) then there is no reason why it has to be Canon, or a 50D. I like Canon, I mainly shoot Canon, but Nikon is excellent as well and has some very nice cameras in the same range as the 50D. When you're buying an SLR you're in essence buying into a system, and to some extent committing yourself to that system; lenses and flash for a Canon are not going to work on a Nikon, and vice versa. In my opinion, neither company is better, they are apples and oranges. Until recently, Canon has been ahead in sensor and digital processing technology, but Nikon has caught up and has some of its own advantages, like their metering which I very much like.
 
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http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos1000d/

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos450d/

The T1i is the newest Rebel. The biggest new feature is probably 1080p video capture. The i doesn't mean anything really, just the names they've been given. The XS was rolled out alongside the XSi as a budget model though. Before, they just kept the previous model around at a lower price.

The XS is probably the best bang for the buck, but it's a matter of diminishing returns. The XSi has a nicer viewfinder and the nifty dynamic range optimization, though you can achieve the same thing editing your photos afterwards. The other upgrades may or may not be important to you.
 
bobofish said:
Woops. Sorry, read that wrong. :o:foot:
Click to expand...

No problem- I suffer from that affliction myself sometimes. :)

Thanks for taking the time to post the information and links, folks- it has been very helpful even to this non-camera-savvy person!

Y'all take care!
Regan
 
This is just my opinion.....but I recently had to decide between the Rebel XS and XSi, and the XS was a no brainer FOR ME.

The differences were a few autofocus points (my pictures come out fantastic), a little bit larger screen on back (I don't care about that), and a small increase in megabytes (using the XS, and shooting RAW (the biggest file size pictures), I took my image and got it blown up about 1/2 the size of a poster, no problem. Way bigger than I'd ever need.....great camera!!! Congrats!!
 
gcgcgc said:
This is just my opinion.....but I recently had to decide between the Rebel XS and XSi, and the XS was a no brainer FOR ME.
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Hey, thanks for the input! Are you pleased with the clarity of your action shots? "Moving targets" are a fair percentage of what my wife is shooting, especially with our kids and taking wildlife shots. What actually is the processor in these cameras, and is it different between these two? The megapixels just determine the ultimate picture size acceptable without getting "grainy", more or less, right?

Thanks again!
 
I'm a competitive bike racer, my girlfriend took shots of me in the rain going 30mph and they came out clear as a bell. This past weekend, I took some pictures at a soccer game for a friend's daughter....also came out very nice.

So, YES, very pleased with the clarity of the action shots. I love the camera...

I actually can't answer the more technical questions in regard to the sensor and the MP issues, but I'm sure others can...there's also some great info on cnet.com, and the link the Dan provided above is fantastic, I'm reading it right now.
 
as stated earlier the new t1i is the newest rebel I baught a used one off of another board a Canon rebel XT and it came with a grip ata very decent price ,the XSI my sister in law has and it does extremley well too she uses it for sports photography as well as portraits . the biggest thing I can tell with the canon series is the i on the designtaion is usually the last step of that series before a more advanced version comes out ie XR,XTI XS , XSi
 
The rebel series is a great line for starters/prosumers. The photos they take are superior to point and shoots, but it is still entry level so don't expect to be shooting national geographic photos out of the box. I've had the Rebel XT for a couple years now and it's held up well and can take fantastic photos. Even more important than the body is the lens so be sure to read up on reviews before you purchase one!

Don't be overly concerned about MP unless you're blowing up poster size. Even with 8MP and highly cropped, the images still come out really clear at 11x14"

A lot of taking a good photo will come from the person snapping the shot. Getting the shutter speed, f-stop, iso, etc correct. If you don't know some technical basics, your photos will not come out well even with top of the line equipment.
 
gcgcgc said:
This is just my opinion.....but I recently had to decide between the Rebel XS and XSi, and the XS was a no brainer FOR ME.
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To me, it's exatly the opposite. The XS lacks one feature that is a deal killer for me; a true spot meter. The XSi is the lowest price EOS with that feature, and I find it indispensable for getting just the exposure I want. Now, I consider myself a fairly advanced amature photographer and I enjoy spending a lot of time tweaking the details on my shots, so to someone else it might not matter as much. ;)

You can also find a copy of the EOS system brochure, with a chart comparing the features of each camera side-by-side, at this link:

http://downloads.canon.com/cpr/software/camera/eos_sys_bro1208.pdf

As far as the original OP's question, all the EOS Rebel cameras are good cameras and will do a great job at taking pictures. Rather than recommending one specific one, if you wife is really serious about photography, I would instead recomend you just buy the most expensive one you can afford. Each step up the line adds useful features that are worth the increased cost.
 
Folks, I really do appreciate the help. The links were great, and the plain-language information and first-hand experiences are most helpful- exactly what I hoped for when I posted here. It looks like, with a current $200 Canon instant rebate, I can afford an XSi with both stabilizing lenses (standard and 55-250). The zoom lens is important for outdoor and wildlife shots- it would make no sense to spend all available money on the camera, and then not be able to get a zoom lens. The XSi also isolates some features to individual buttons rather than menus, and has some dust control features that I think would be helpful. (See what I've learned here already!)

That should be enough to get her started, and much better than what she has now (which is still a pretty darn good camera).

Many thanks to each of you for your consideration. Y'all take care!
Regan
 
Many people say the sensor vibration (to knock dust off) is a gimmick. The 55-250 seems like a nice lens. You can see the results people have been getting with it here:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=459569

One thing I will say about lenses is a high end lens will hold most of its value. The EF-S lenses only work on Rebels and XXD model cameras. This could be a problem down the road if you ever decided to move on to a camera with a so called full frame sensor.
 
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