Canon Rebel XTi DSLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens (OLD MODEL)

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Ive never owned or used a DSLR before, so this camera was a perfect starter choice for me. Ive known how to use some settings on cameras, but the DSLR has more to offer that I was not expecting. The lens that came with it is also very nice and I love it. Im not even an amateur, if anything Im a beginner in this type of field, so all the extra pieces I got (including the manual from my seller) is fantastic. I would definitely recommend this camera as the quality is quite good for an old model DSLR.

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I loved the camera, but the metal pins for the Cfast memory card were slightly bent and hard to align with memory card changes. They began snagging and breaking almost immediately.

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Review of Canon Digital Rebel XTi 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens (Black) Pros: Small size great for vacation and car / motorcycle trip photos smaller hands etc! 1,800 photos taken on 1 battery charge when not using flash!!! Who even comes close to that?? 839 photos taken on 1 battery charge using built in flash for 60 of the shots. Fast accurate focus even in low light even with a long zoom lens High Image Quality even with kit lens when set at F8 / 28mm Accurate outdoor sunlight metering slightly biased towards dark which I like (easily over ridden). Absolute reliability so far even after carrying on motorcycle thousands of miles! Love the rear viewing screen for setting exposure. Cons: Slightly small to hold and control buttons on back are a little small. Could be a plus for small hands but I have really large hands. Built in flash is very slow to recycle after a couple of shots (buy the Speedlite if you do much indoor flash) Inconsistent metering using flash indoors (most of this was caused by the kit lens, more below on this) Soft photos on standard setting (a lot of this was from the kit lens, you can over ride see comments below from 9-3-2007) Kits lens is really bad: its very soft at all settings, has high levels of chromatic aberration especially when using indoor flash, consistent under exposure by a 1/3 of a stop in sunlight, inconsistent exosure with flash, bad vignetting at 18mm, perspective distortion at 18mm. Want to get ride of most of those problems? I just borrowed a great lens that blows this one and most L lens into the weeds. If you can get a good copy its much much sharper and very low chromatic aberration. Its the Sigma AF 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 DC macro. Sigma seems to have some QC issues. Thoughts: I can not begin to tell you how many shots I missed at weddings with my old Konica Minolta Maxuum 5D camera because the auto focus would hunt, especially with a zoom lens indoors. I borrowed a friends 70 - 200 Canon lens and was amazed how fast this camera responds and is capable of focusing from minimum focus to infinity in what appeared to be less then 1 second! Speed: Using a Transcend 266X 8 GB card this new Rebel XTi ROCKS!! My Rebel XTi would in sports mode consistently shoot 30 rapid frames in 10 seconds flat at Large High Quality JPEG before slowing down to store the buffer. Conclusion: This is an amazing camera for the price. If you value fast focusing and shooting a lot of photos between battery charges this is the camera for you! I went to the zoo this weekend and kept thinking the battery was going to run dry, it didnt run down until I had taken 1,800 photos!!! I woudl have had to have 3 batteries with me to do that with my old camera. ------------------------------------------------------------- Update: 7-8-2007 I have taken over 5,000 photos (5,934 to be exact) with this camera now and can tell you the following: Pros: Amazing battery life as much as 1,800 photos JPEG no review at ISO 100 Amazing photos outside in daylight even using the kit lens at F8 or above. Amazing auto-focus anywhere anytime, day / night inside our out. Cons: Terrible Flash photography: (Update 929-2007 most of this was caused by the kit lens) The flash exposure is consistently poor. It changes from shot to shot even shooting the same subject with the same lens in the same light. It can very from shot-to-shot of the same subject, it doesnt seem to know if the subject is too light or too dark. And thats even using the Canon Speedlite 430EX flash!! To top if off when I review the shots on the cameras screen the exposure ususally looks fine, then when I get back to my computer it looks under exposed. The best settings I have found for flash is either to use the full program mode, or use Manual Mode at 1/200th F8 with one third stop + flash compensation. If you are trying to use the built in flash the camera locks up and displays a busy light so the flash can recharge and it has even worse results then using the Speedlite. No auto ISO: I love this feature but the Canon Rebel XTi only has it in the full automatic mode. Conclusion: If you are an outdoor action photographer you cant go wrong, this camera is amazing. However if you require indoor shots using flash you may want to look elsewhere. For this reason if I could I would change my rating to 4 stars. --------------------------------------------------------- Update: 7-9-2007 Called Canon tech support about the Flash photography settings and they were very helpfull. After several trial and error settings we came up with the following settings that seem to be consistent and work well when using the Speedlite 430EX flash and kit lens People photography use Manual Mode at 1/320th F5.6 with one third stop + flash compensation ISO 400 H Speed Flash Sync Mode 24mm zoom manually set. Macro photography use Manual Mode at 1/320th F11+ with one third stop + flash compensation ISO 400 H Speed Flash Sync Mode 24mm zoom manually set. Update: 7-24-2007 Flash Photography fix: Well at least it works better its not perfect but it helps. 1. Set the Canon Speedlite 430EX Flash to High Speed Sync. 2. Go to manual mode and set the shutter speed to 1/250 or higher at F8. 3. Try different speeds with the shutter to get the effect you want and watch the meter if you are using fill flash in daylight as you will have to compensate manually. I have found 1/500th at F8 or higher to work really good for close-up photos and Macro work at ISO 100. Just watch your distance because this setting takes a lot of flash power. 9-1-2007 Still love this camera Im at 10,867 shots now. Have found this camera is great for taking on a trip as its so small you can put it into a car center console and reach for it to take quick shots on the road. Plus my wife loves the small size which she says fits her hands perfectly. 9-3-2007 Have fallen in love with the Picture Styles. Im using a modified settings for Standard mode and have set it for sharpness of +7 Saturaton +2. This givess me JPEG photos that are sharp and full of color right out of the camera. 9-20-2007 How to take rich super sharp photos with the Canon Rebel XTi. These are the types of photos I thought the camera should be taking in the first place. This worked for me your results may vary. Test these settings out before you shoot anything important. Set the camera for both large JPEG and Raw if you are in doubt as the settings below only effect the JPEG and not Raw files. From trial and error I found the following steps really work to make rich super sharp photos. 1. Go into Picture Styles and select the style you will be using. 2. Change the Sharpness to maximum. 3. Change the color saturation to +2. 4. Set the camera to produce Large JPEGs. 5. Put on a lens known to be sharp. I found through trial and error testing of many Canon L lens and after market lens the sharpest lens I have ever used is a Sigma Zoom Super Wide Angle AF 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 DC Macro Autofocus Lens. My Canon 50mm F1.8 stopped down to 5.6 is sharp as well but not as sharp as that Sigma. 6. Put your camera on Program mode and an ISO between 100 - 400 go outside and have fun. For inside flash photos 1. Set settings as above. 2. Put on a good quality lens like Sigma Zoom Super Wide Angle AF 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 DC Macro Autofocus Lens or Canon 17-40L etc. 3. Attach and turn on Canon 430EX Speedlite. 4. If thats not sharp enough set the camera for high speed flash sync and put camera in manual mode with shutter to 1/320 second and F5.6. 9-29-2007 11,900 photos taken I just bought a new lens for my Rebel since the kit lens is so bad (See new comments above in Cons) Its much much sharper and has very low chromatic aberration. And as a bonus it opens up a little wider 17 vs 18mm and zooms out further 70mm vs 55. Its the Sigma AF 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 DC macro. Its my new walk around lens stays on my camera at least 60% of the time now. 11-16-2007 13,112 photos taken. Have been busy doing other things but Im sure will be taking lots of photos during the holidays. One thing I have noticed is if the battery strength is down to 2 bars or less (I.E. not full strength) some of my lens will not auto focus accurately. The worst lens about this is my Canon 135mm F/2 and the next worst is my Canon 70-200 F/2.8 L zoom. The 135 will miss focus and the 70-200 will hunt more often. A simple swap out with a fresh battery always solves this. 3-28-2008 I recently purchased a new Canon 40D. I havent touched my Canon Rebel XTi since. The 40D is THAT much better. I keep the Rebel now as a backup. The Rebel now has just over 20,000 photos taken. 4-7-2008 Focus test update. As a test of auto focus power I tried the Canon 85mm F/1.2 L II Lens (this lens will push your auto focus to the limit even with the USM) with the Canon Rebel XTi and Canon 40D back to back. Talk about over taxing the system! I thought this lens was slow to focus on the 40D. The 40D will focus from minimum distance to infinity in a second or so with this lens (all other USM lens faster then I can even time or think). The Rebel takes what seems like an eternity to focus through the limits with the 85mm F/1.2 L II or well over 2 seconds. The funny part is how unbalanced this combo feels the Rebel XTi is this little camera body hanging off the back of the lens. Still in the end the Rebel does focus and you can use it even though you have less shots in focus then with the 40D. So Im thinking most people that can afford this lens will be buying at least a 40D or higher but you can go for it if you get the chance.

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Im probably an advanced amateur in skill level. We transitioned from film to digital around 2004 with two Nikon Coolpix cameras and one Canon Elph, all 3-5-megapixel machines, all nice enough but I wanted to get back to an SLR (I have several old Nikon F, Ftn, and F2 film SLRs that I still love), in digital. The technology has improved since our first digitals only a few years ago, now having little or no time lag on start-up, between shots, etc. We have a friend who is a pro who has shot for National Geographic and done some splendid photo books and he recommended the Canon Rebel XT, but by the time I got around to purchasing, the XTi was available and looked better. It is full-featured, takes quality shots, and is ridiculously easy and intuitive to use, a really nice job by Canon. Its bigger than our older, compact digital cameras but a bit smaller and a lot lighter than my venerable Nikon F film SLRs, and the power of the XTi - - range of "film" speeds, frames-per-minute in action mode, scenes settings, battery life, etc., are all very competitive. Auto-focusing is very fast and accurate. I think that digital SLR technology has evolved to a wonderful degree and its probably tough to find a "bad" camera, but the Canon XTi is certainly an excellent choice. The comprehensive anti-sensor-dust approach is also a nice feature, although the wide zoom ranges on many of the lenses reduces the need and frequency for lens changing, which is fine with me, changing lenses is, at best, a bit awkward under most field conditons. The built-in flash is, predictably, very limited in application and output, and the neckstrap rings could be better designed and perhaps better located on the body, but other than those minor caveats, I have no complaints and I absolutely love using it, which is as it should be. Im sure that there are several other excellent digital SLRs out there, but Im very happy with the XTi and recommend it.

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After taking thousands of pics of my two year old and my new born with my HP point and shoot, I finally gave up. None of the pictures were of the moment or expression I was trying to capture. I was always taking pictures of their backs or their looking away or xxx. Anything but what I wanted. Then the quality of the pictures were never quite right unless I took the picture in full blown day light. Finally decided to splurge. After extensive research on the Canon XTi vs the Nikon, I ultimately opted for the Canon. I bought it along with the portrait EF 50mm that seems to be highly rated by many. I later purchased the EF 28-105mm. Upon receiving the camera, I went to town taking pics of my little ones. What I found: Pros: - Fast. Very fast. Wow. Ive yet to miss a shot. - Outstanding pics. Pics with the EF28-105 good. Pics with the EF 50mm, outstanding. Many look like they were taken by a pro. Trust me. I am no pro. Im a working mom looking for some good pics to put on their website and send to Grandma and Grandpa. On average, with my point and shoot, Id get 1 out 20 that were worthy of that. Now, I average 5-6 out of 10 at a higher bar of course. - Versitile. I can play around with different settings and Canon lenses. Fun but expensive. - Battery charges fast. Battery life outstanding. I honestly dont think Ive had to charge the batteries but 2-3 times since I bought it five months ago and have taken thousands of pics. - The 4GB SD card keeps more pics than I could ever want. Cons. If you are a working kind of mom like I am and just want an awesome camera to take awesome pics, youve found it. However, there is one big downside: its bigger...way bigger than a point and shoot. Its not as easy to throw in your purse and go out for a splash day. I have found myself leaving it behind because I just didnt want to lug it along with the diaper bag, a toddler and an infant...car seat, snacks, toys, bottles, wipes...etc. The bag is heavy enough. But, those pics are priceless as far as I am concerned and will sacrifice more often than not and find myself glad for having done so. LENSES. This took me longer to figure out than which camera to buy. I searched for a month before I committed. Given the affordability of the 50mm and its reviews, I opted to do without the kit lens. Admittedly, I regretted it at first. What!? No zoom. As you can tell, Im a serious amatuer and didnt know what I was getting into. But, despite the one time I wanted to take a group pic that required me to step clear to the other side of the house to get them in, 99% of the time, Im trying to get a good close up of my kids...many pics by default at this age tend to be close ups. Then, there is a subtle difference between the pictures I have taken with this lens and the 28-105--crisper, cleaner and outright beautiful color. The 28-105 is actually not bad especially if you use it with the hood. The zoom is about what I figure I will need at ball games and ballerina recitals when I dont have to worry about lugging a diaper bag and keeping after a climbing/crawling baby. For the price, I figure its doable. There you have it, Amazon shopping Moms. I hope this Review was helpful. I found many of the reviews targeting semi-pros so it took a while to sift through it all!

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In January I moved from the Canon S2 to the XTI and Im really glad I did. I havent picked the S2 up ever since. Its very easy to use, with a very small learning curve if your moving from an advanced point and shoot. Pros: -The camera shoots fast enough for me, 3fps is more than I need. -ISO to 800 is usable. 1600 is there if you have to use it but only in a no-flash dark environment where sharpness is critical. Trust me, the results can be used but youll have to run the photos though noise ninja or something similar. -All of the settings are really easy to get to and change. -The 10.1 mp are more than enough to allow you to crop for mistakes you might make. -Depending on the lens, focus is scary fast and accurate. Itll make you never want to pick up that P @ S ever again. Cons: -No live view. This makes it tough for me to take shots with the camera close to the ground. With the Canon S2, I could twist the LCD and see what I was focusing on. There are accessories that allow you to see the viewfinder at an angle but theyre expensive. -No Spot-meter -Dust reduction thing is really a gimmick more than it is usable I think. I still get some dust on the sensor I have to clean off from time to time that the dust feature wont shake off. -The body isnt the most comfortable to hold when youve got a long lens on. Pick up the battery grip to make this thing feel better in your hands. -The build quality is average. Dont expect an all-metal body for this price, most of the camera is plastic and there are no weather seals. Over-all for the price and the quality of the pictures I couldnt be more pleased with this camera. The #1 most important thing to me was picture quality and it never disappoints (except at ISO 1600). If youre on a budget and you dont have to have live-view, go with the XTI. Youll wont regret your decision.

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Ive used Canon cameras since the days of the original Canon AE-1, in the 1980s. More recently Ive owned several Canon digital point and shoot cameras. This is the first Digital SLR that Ive owned and its just a wonderful camera. As soon as I switch the camera on its ready to go. Im using lenses from my Canon EOS camera of a few years ago and they work wonderfully with the Digital Rebel XTi. The only difference is that the effective focal length is slightly larger, so a 35mm lens on the Digital Rebel is the same as a 50mm lens on a film camera. There are a LOT of controls on this camera that make it easy to change film speed (up to ISO 1600), focus points, and other settings. I spent the first week playing with the camera so I can get used to making changes quickly. I also bought the book Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi/400D Digital Field Guide and read through it to learn more about the camera. This was MUCH better than just the user manual which came with the camera. The camera is FAST at taking pictures, even when using the flash. The flash is high enough that I see a lot less red-eye. Ive tried using lower resolution settings and find that even the Medium setting produces super sharp pictures with lots of detail. The Digital Rebel goes into a low power mode when left on, and is ready to shoot as soon as you press the shutter release. Ive left it on for more than 2 days and still find LOTS of power left in the battery. So far Ive been able to leave the camera on and shoot over 300 pictures without running the battery down completely. If youre going to use this camera to shoot in Raw mode, youll need a BIG memory card. I bought a Kingston 2GB CompactFlash Memory Card with the camera, fast and fairly large capacity. When Im using Raw mode, the camera takes a Large format JPG picture together with the Raw one. With a 2GB card youll have enough room for about 100 pictures, versus over 550 with just Large mode alone. So you may want to consider the 4GB Kingston Compactflash Card . Colors from the shots are really nice with great skin tones, even when using the flash. The Rebel has a lot of different photo modes, but Im mostly sticking with P where it chooses both aperture and shutter speed. I can use the small wheel just behind the shutter release to easily change these for more speed or better depth of field. Im really glad I chose this camera, and Im looking forward to many years of happy picture taking with it.

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Ive had my XTi for just over a month now (bought from Amazon) and its really improved my photography. Others have even commented that Ive "shifted to a new gear". Features are a nice improvement from the DSLR-wannabe I had before (Panasonic FZ30) but its the image quality thats really the big step up. Get the best-quality lenses for this (*not* the kit lens) and youll be very happy. Pros: * Image Quality * Ergonomics (most common settings are easy to change, good displays) * Battery life (200 shots with 50% flash and battery still said 100%) * The user manual is decent, though not stellar. * Long exposure noise reduction feature is very good. * Good set of customization options (though the manual doesnt explain them enough). Cons: * Canons organizer/editor software, Digital Photo Professional, always crashes on my Windows PC and technical support was no help. * Hand grip is too small (height and volume) for my large hand. Make sure you handle one first. I had to train myself to squish all three fingers into the space provided so my pinky didnt hang off the bottom. This is a real step backwards from the original Digital Rebel. * Some settings that I use a lot are hidden too far in the menus. * Sensor dust cleaner wont get everything. I had to manually blow dust off the sensor (with a blower, *NOT* my breath!) about 1 week after I got this, though no sensor dust since. Conclusion: Im *very* glad I bought this camera and look forward to many years using it. BTW, Amazon farms this order out to another vendor, so you wont get free shipping and youll have to contact that vendor separately to get an order tracking number. If you care: You can see my photos with this camera on Flickr at: [...] I ordered the body w/o the kit lens, and instead got the Canon 17-40mm L zoom and the Canon 70-300mm IS zoom. At some point Ill add the Canon 50mm 1.8 lens.

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Five minutes after opening the box, I was taking pictures of my family. You can set the camera to auto-mode (where the camera sets everything for you, aperture, shutter speed and ISO) and snap off some shots, or you can adjust everything yourself for that perfect effect. Instead of the stock lens that came with the kit, I got the same version only with Image Stablization (IS), so I cant comment on the stock lens. So far Ive taken some very good pictures of my family and of landscapes. Using the sports mode, I was able to capture some very fast motion pictures, and they turned out very sharp and clear. I was also worried that my 1GB compact flash card would not be enough, but in large (highest quality JPG mode, the best quality besides RAW) I can get 180-200+ pictures on one card, and they transfer very fast every evening. The included strap is very comfortable, thick enough to not dig into the back of my neck, but light enough where it doesnt feel like Ive got a noose around my neck. Once I registered the camera on Canons website, I was sent an email with a private support email address for Canon, which I have not (thankfully) had to use yet. That was a nice addition to the package. As a DSLR beginner, this is a great camera to learn on, but I realize that as my skill grows, this camera can scale with me due to its excellent quality (10.1 Megapixels) and the accessories is where Ill focus future purchases on (ie Speedlite flash, better lenses, battery grip, etc.) but I can tell already that the camera will probably be the same for a while, and I love it.

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This camera is finally the one that got me to give up my beloved EOS-1 35mm and go digital. With film processing stores closing left and right, I was looking for a digital camera that would give me all the creative options of film, but wouldnt cost a fortune. The rebel fills the bill nicely. Complete control over ISO, white balance, saturation, sharpness and color temperature give me all the power I need to take the pictures I want. 10 megapixel resolution gives me better images than scanned slides, too. The final straw was finding out that this camera has mirror lock-up, something my EOS-1 lacked. I was sold. Canon really improved things over the last Rebel. Controls are more intuitive, the 2.5 inch LCD is bright and clear, and the appearance is vastly improved. The grip still needs to be bigger, but I bought the optional battery grip to solve that problem. After installing the battery grip, I now would consider it a "must have" item. I hated the idea of going digital. I was proud of being one of the few film users around here. But I cant argue with the facts: Digital pictures are now just as good, and much more convenient. Pros: Sharp, beautiful pictures; great features and controls for the money; creative features usually not found in entry-level DSLRs. Cons: Small size makes it difficult to hold steady; the price has dropped twice since I bought it (ARGGGGH!).

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