Digital cameras: New to dSLRS - Canon Rebel XT?
New to dSLRS - Canon Rebel XT?
by chinesegal9495 - 9/24/07 7:20 AMHey there.
I'm a student who is looking into artistic photography - I have been making do with a point and shoot camera, but I've recently been thinking about buying a dSLR.
I'm aware that I will not be using the manual functions until later on, but I want to leave more room for me to 'explore', so if I need the functions I won't need to buy a new camera.
I was mostly thinking about the Canon Digital Rebel XT or XTi. As price is a bit of an issue, I was thinking more along the lines of the XT. Do you think that the image quality of the XTi is worth it, though?
Also, are there any other options I should consider?
I do want a dSLR, as I think I will be taking this quite seriously. Just to clear up any potential questions, I have do not have any old lenses. I will be doing artistic shots - from landscapes, to portraits .
Thanks!
D-SLR on a budget
by hjfok - 9/24/07 9:27 AM In reply to: New to dSLRS - Canon Rebel XT? by chinesegal9495If you don't need image stabilization and do most of your photography in good lights or tripods, then Canon XT/XTi or Nikon D40/D40x will be good choice. The image quality of the Canon XT and XTi are quite similar, not much perceptible difference. Canon and Nikon both have a lot of excellent lens choices for you to choose to fit your style of photography.
If you do a lot of handheld shots, especially in low light, then you will need image stabilization. Canon and Nikon both carry lenses with IS but they are quite expensive. A cheaper alternative will be buying a camera that has built-in image stabilization within the camera body, then you can use any lens and will benefit from image stabilization. These cameras include Pentax, Olympus, and Sony. Pentax usually carry reasonably priced lenses, and is worth looking into.
Initially you should just get the kit lens and see what you will need for the future. It is usually more worthwhile to invest more in the lenses than the camera body. The camera body technology will change every 2-3 years, whereas the lenses will stay with you for much longer period of time. Most camera bodies can perform at similar level. The lenses will make a bigger difference in your photography than which camera body you pick. A lot of creativity can also be done with Photoshop or other equivalent softwares. So even if you do not have all the lenses that you may want/need, you can still use Photoshop to simulate the effect (though it is always better to take a great photo than to fix one up).
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by fionndruinne - 9/26/07 11:55 AM In reply to: New to dSLRS - Canon Rebel XT? by chinesegal9495The Canon XT/XTi and Nikon D40/D40x are excellent options; your decisions will be less easy but more important concerning lenses, for that is where your system really becomes your system, and there are a lot of options out there. So I suggest you read up on lensing.
The XTi does correct an autofocus problem with the XT, so that is a point in its favor. As for the Nikon, the D40 is a better value than the D40x, which is essentially the same thing with more megapixels, designed to fit in with the "more MP = better" myth that is one of the reasons for the XTi. Not to say it's a bad camera because of that - the D40x has some of the best 10MP image quality of any camera out there. But for the price, a D80 would be a more versatile buy.
The D40(x) series does have the advantage of a better menu system, better ergonomics, and a help system which is really quite informative, built right in to the menus. Try out both models in a store like Best Buy before you make your choice.
Autofocus of XT vs XTi
by hjfok - 9/26/07 3:19 PM In reply to: . by fionndruinneAs mentioned in a different thread, the Canon XT autofocus is not a problem, and works just fine. But the XTi, however, has a more advanced autofocus mechanism that is the same as the higher end model 30D, which works better (especially with the large aperture pro lenses).
If you think that Canon XT has an autofocus problem, the Nikon D40 has a even bigger problem. The Canon XT has 7 point TTL autofocus, whereas the Nikon D40 has only a 3 area TTL autofocus. The XTi, like the Canon 30D, has a 9 point autofocus. So the XTi just has a more advanced and better autofocus mechanism. This is like putting the Nikon D200 autofocus into the D40, of course it will be better. But there is no defect with the autofocus of either the Canon XT or Nikon D40.
The bottom line is, you don't have to worry about the autofocus. For most users, this is not an issue, even the 3 area TTL autofocus of the Nikon D40 performs very well. You won't notice a big difference, unless you try to do low light actions with a large aperture lens without flash. Even then, you can just do center focus, and adjust your framing with photo cropping later. You just have to learn how to adjust and select your autofocus points/options.
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