Canon Digital Rebel XSI 12.2 MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens (Silver)

I am an amateur photographer and have been shooting with various point & shoot digitals as well as the old 35mm SLRs (several Canons were in the two above categories). This is my first dSLR and wasnt sure exactly what to expect. The camera feels good (I have small hands, Ive seen some complaints about the feel of the camera, so thought Id mention it in case it makes a difference). It took very good photos right out of the box, but now that I am learning how to access all the options it can take quite breathtaking photos. I was extremely happy to learn my old SLR lenses would fit on this camera so I have a wide range of options for shooting, from macro to telephoto. (Good thing too, because quality lenses are expensive.) The lens in the kit was not overwhelmingly impressive but it does very well with macro (I also screwed on a 10X magnification glass on it) but Im sure for the beginner it would work in many different situations and more than good enough to use while saving up for better lenses. This camera handled action photos well. I have several small children who are always moving and Ive gotten some very interesting shots of them in motion. Also when doing a portrait, the bokeh on this camera is very nice. Its very simple to download the images into either one of my computers (desktop or laptop). I havent played with their software too much so I really cannot comment on that yet. I am very happy they included a program for their RAW images, though. I skipped over reading the entire manual and instead refer to Ben Longs The Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi/450D Companion . I also really like that on timer mode you can take up to 10 pictures instead of just one, which is great for family shots ... you get 10 chances to get one where everyones got their eyes open. lol The life on the battery that came with it is long lived. I also splurged for a couple of extra batteries so Im not in a situation where Ill miss some great shots because my battery died. (This kit also came with a battery charger.) HIGHLY recommend this camera, I just love it.

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As a parent of two rapidly growing children, I was getting frustrated with my point and shoot cameras slow shutter lag; causing me to miss those never-to-be-seen-again picture moments. So I decided to get myself an entry level DSLR. After talking with friends, researching the internet and a recent Consumers Report review of DSLRs, I decided that the XSi was just the camera to get me started. I have been truly amazed at the quality of the pictures I have been taking using its automatic settings. Fast Shutter Speed and Continuous shooting almost guarantees I will never miss memorable moments again. Battery life is really impressive as Ive taken hundreds of pictures on one charge. Even though I am still experimenting with all the automatic and manual settings, the included manual really helps in explaining all the settings and how to use them. For a novice like myself, the information provided is clear and easy to understand. The included lens features Auto-Focus and Image Stabilization and is pretty decent for a starter lens. Interchangeable lenses make these DSLRs very versatile in any shooting condition. Now my review is not as detailed as others have posted here because Im nowhere near a skilled photographer, but I hope to help others who are thinking about getting into DSLR picture taking like I have. I am really enjoying this cameras features and abilities. Its very easy to use on its basic automatic settings and even more fun playing with its manual ones. If your looking for the perfect camera to start off, please give this one a chance. You wont find a better starter kit than whats being offered at this price range.

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I should preface that I have been exposed to point-and-shoots my entire life, so I am a very fresh amateur when it comes to SLRs. I have found it incredibly beneficial to educate myself before my purchase of the XSi about what SLR cameras are, how they function on a basic level, precisely how they differ from point-and-shoots, and what I can expect to achieve from my new camera. People who do not at least touch on these topics before their submersion into the world of SLRs will find the acclimation much more difficult, if not intolerable (as some very mislaid one-star reviews illustrate). My XSi has helped me reach untapped creative potential that I hadnt deeply considered before. I am an artist, a painter, and my primary reasons for getting an XSi teeter between photographing my paintings for my personal records and for sale on the Internet as well as for my introduction into the realm of artistic, fine art photography. In my first few weeks of use, I can say unequivocally, and rather giddily, that the XSi achieves my hopes and quite a bit more. My first reason for upgrading to the XSi, and to an SLR in general, is image quality. I simply wasnt content with the grain, blur, and poor coloring that most point-and-shoots afford. Aside from using my camera for normal, everyday portrait, indoor, and vacation shots, I also wish to use it professionally, to photograph my artwork and to take artistic photographs. Clarity and integrity of the image are enormously welcomed with the former, average tasks and absolutely essential in the latter, more artistically focused ones. The XSi allows me to achieve crispness, faithfulness with colors, and -- THANK GOODNESS -- far less, or absolutely no, grain in my images when shooting indoors. I am as happy as a bird with a French fry. I have to urge that practice makes perfect for an SLR beginner. There are a plethora of settings, terminology, and camera hardware that require education to comprehend and perfect. I am new, I am learning, and I am enjoying the process of unlocking the powers of my XSi camera. I imagine it will be some time before I can consider myself rather well informed about what the camera can achieve, but even out of the box and into my amateur arms, the camera takes spectacular photographs! As extremely complex machines go, this camera is insanely easy to navigate and control. The buttons on the camera itself are perfectly placed, and the menus on the large LCD screen are just as easy to maneuver. I am thoroughly impressed with the ease of use. I have zero complaints. One would do well to browse the web for information about the features and functions of the Canon XSi before the camera even arrives. I spent a few hours reading and watching some very helpful videos on sites like YouTube to familiarize myself with the capabilities of the camera before the box arrived at my door. I can tell you without doubt that the information I learned before I laid eyes on my camera helped tremendously. I knew what buttons to push as soon as I had my hands on it! More specifically, I have no complaints about any elements that came with the camera. The kit lens is superb - and that truly may be the only lens you ever need. I did purchase the f1.8 II 50mm Canon lens at the same time I purchased the camera on Amazon, simply because I was so impressed with the customer photographs that had been uploaded as examples. The clarity achieved with the XSi kit lens is stellar, but I think the 50mm lens is a beautiful accessory to treat yourself to... it takes unique images that can only be achieve with that particular lens. I also purchased an extra Canon battery so that I never have any camera downtime spent charging. The extra battery was a pricey $50 more, but I have already enjoyed the ease of having two batteries a great deal since owning my camera... well worth the money. I also purchased cheap filters to fit the kit lens of the XSi and I have already noticed higher color saturation in certain instances when using a polarizing filter. Its great fun to experiment! Out of doors and indoors, the XSi performs masterfully. In low light and in high light, the XSi performs masterfully. I am a student with very little discretionary funding, so I had reservations about spending so much on a camera. I havent looked back since getting my silver XSi, and theres simply no hint of buyers remorse here. Put plainly: you get what you pay for here and I wager even a bit more. I am in passionate love. Buy her. Now.

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A very popular review here suggested that the 40D was a better deal. Im here to say I ignored his suggestion and am glad I did. Ive only had the XSi for a week, so havent taken more than 100 real shots yet, but Im really pleased. First off, the XSi is $200 cheaper than the 40D (at the moment, it varies greatly) and 2/3rds the weight, both of which I appreciate. Ive never used the 40D so my comments below are about the XSi and the improvements over the Xti. Pros: * Bigger screen is great for viewing your results and checking the settings. * Seeing the ISO in the viewfinder is wonderful! In the past Id messed up shots because Id left it set wrong, but no longer. * The viewfinder seems brighter and easier to view (havent used in low light yet). * New Auto ISO makes getting quick shots in changing light easier, though Ill manually set it for shots when I had time to check all my settings. * Digital noise seems to be slightly reduced than the Xti. * Battery life is *excellent*. Ive only charged it once so far. * Even though the Live View focusing is a little funky, it works pretty well. I can definitely see using it for night shots when the viewfinder is too dark (or maybe it wont be anymore?). Nice touch that you can display a 3x3 grid on the screen for composition. For auto-focusing, I prefer the Quick Focus mode, which blanks out the Live View while youre holding down the * button and the focusing is happening, but its definitely usable. The other auto-focus mode (Live Mode) takes so long that I wont use it. Manual focusing is made much easier since theyve added the ability to zoom in 10x in Live View, which is *wonderful*. Id missed that feature when I moved up from my Panasonic FZ30, which had it. * I like having the new spot metering for night shots. * I *really* like the new "My Menu" where you can select your favorite 6 menu options and they show up first, which means less digging through menus. Cons: * Highlight Tone Priority feature eliminates the ISO 100 option, which means you can get a little more digital noise. And you can still get blown out highlights. Maybe Im not using it right or expecting too much? * Buttons on the back of the camera are more recessed than the Xti, making it less-obvious when youre trying to hit the right one w/o looking. Its also *really* crowded back there! Tough having fat fingers! Neither pro nor con: * RAW files are much bigger than in the Xti, many around 14MB, which means you get fewer shots per memory card (135 RAWs on a 2GB card, vs 197 on the same sized card in my Xti). I expected a little increase from the increased resolution, but didnt count on the increase in the A/D bits from 12 to 14 to increase things too. This also makes file transfers and loading into image editing software slower, and I think Ill need a bigger hard drive soon! * When reviewing photos, you can hit the Disp button to see more shot details. Hit it once to just add that the storage format and picture count, which I *dont* think is worth its own step. Hit the Disp button again to see the brightness histogram. Hit it once more to see the luminescence histogram plus 3 small histograms for Red, Green and Blue. Personally I dont have use for this last mode (or the second), so wish there was a Custom Function to disable them. * High ISO noise reduction - another feature Ive turned off in Custom Functions. Better to do advanced noise reduction on the computer. Plus is slows down the continuous shooting mode to about 1.5 shots per second! Ugh. All in all the XSi is a really nice pro-sumer camera that lets you get down and dirty with details when you want but can also rip off quick shots w/o thinking about every little setting.

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Cons: For those of you new to photography, an 18-55mm zoom does not have a very long zoom. I almost immediately bought a zoom up to 300mm because I like to zoom :) It also does not have a very low f number, which means its not the greatest in low light, although there is the built in flash. It also means the depth of field does not blur the background very much (it seems more obvious when you zoom in). Almost all of the time it doesnt go lower than f/5.6 :( Does not have full time manual focus (which means it autofocuses and you can adjust the focus manually whenever you want.) It took me a while to realize I had to switch the thing to Manual Focus (MF) to control the focus! Otherwise it changes the focus automatically back again when you click the shutter. If my finger is hovering over the shutter constantly, then the bottom right corner digs into the palm of my hand, leaving a pretty big mark! It may just be me... Pros: The lens has Image Stabilization (IS)! This helps it in lower light because you can have the shutter speed lower and still have sharp pictures. Semi-manual settings, so you can adjust the shutter speed and the aperture with automatically compensate for example. Very nice 3 inch LCD screen. The overall impression of the body is nicely designed. Zoom moves easily, but doesnt slide around due to gravity. Very nice camera body. Decent lens to get a beginner started. Good value.

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Im barely an amateur photographer, so Im not going to get technical because I cant. I own a film SLR, but havent used it in about 5 years--ever since "quality" digital point-and-shoots flooded the market. I left the film and all of the manual tinkering behind for the ease of use. Now having this camera for a few days, Im sorry I did that. My latest P&S is a Canon S3 IS, which has a nice zoom and takes good pics. It may never be used again. The first thing I immediately noticed is the depth of field that the XSi produced. I forgot how good an SLR could be. Upload the pics to your computer and the clarity and color of the photos are just unbelievable. Night or indoor shooting is equally amazing. I never got good results when I disabled the flash on my P&S cameras, but I am shocked at how well the photos turn out in a low-light situation when not using the flash on this one. The camera and lens does feel a bit cheap with all of the plastic. But, I plan on taking care of it, so Im ok with that. The battery seems to have a lot of juice in it for hundreds of pics before recharging (2 hour charge). I dont see myself using the "live view" function too much. It doesnt really work like a P&S like it may seem. There is no memory card in the kit, which is fine with me since the cards included in most cameras are very low capacity and essentially useless. I love this camera and wish I wouldve jumped on a DSLR sooner. Then again, maybe it was well worth the wait... Edit: October 31, 2008 Still loving this camera in every way after about 3000 pics. Image quality still impresses me and battery life is also very good. Extremely satisfied.

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