Canon EOS Rebel XSI

The Canon EOS Rebel line of cameras is perfect for those who are just getting into photography. While they do lack a couple advance features that you will find on your more professional DSLR cameras (like the Canon 40D or 5D) it does have some big advantages over the regular point and shoot.

The new Canon EOS Rebel XSI is no exception. It makes the perfect gift for those who are on their way to jobs at National Geographic and Time Magazine or for those who just want something a little more power. The new XSI packs some powerful punches for a reasonable price.

FEATURES:

The new Rebel XSI features a 12 megapixel CMOS. That means you can take studio and portrait quality shots once the proper conditions (such as lighting etc..) are present. Since we are dealing with professional photography here Canon has made sure the XSI takes full advantage of its EF/EF-S professional SLR lenses, which means you can use the same lenses that the pros use.

The camera comes with a wide angle EF-S 18-55mm IS Lens that also includes an image stabilizer. That means that you can take clearer photographs in rooms where lighting is not optimum without using a tripod.

The LCD screen is bigger than previous Rebel Models. You’re getting 3 inches of screen space to review your photos. A cool feature that most DSLR cameras are lacking is the live view feature. This is the exact feature that most point and shoot cameras employ which allows you to use the screen to take pictures instead of the viewfinder. The only drawback to this feature is it’s not as accurate as the viewfinder (although it will be next to impossible to tell in most cases) and it uses considerable more battery juice than if the viewfinder was used. Probably the best feature of live view though is the ability to hook up to your computer and capture pictures directly to your computer without using an SD card.

The camera supports many different shooting modes. Those who are familiar with Canon DSLR cameras (or any other DSLR camera) will welcome the design. The shooting modes include automatic mode, portrait mode, landscape mode, sports mode, nighttime mode and the time and aperture value modes. Aperture is 3.5-5.6 and shutter speed can be from 30 seconds to one four thousandth of a second which puts it right in the league of many pro DSLR cameras. The camera also has burst speeds of 3.5 frames per second. While this is not going to be the best if you’re shooting NASCAR races it is more than ample for everyday photography and such events like football, basketball, soccer and off road sports.

The camera also supports auto focus and manual focus. Owning a Canon 30D DSLR camera myself; I can safely say that manual focus is best for close up items. Generally if you’re dealing with far objects auto focus will work best. But if you are dealing with close items (especially if you want to focus on a specific detail while blurring the rest) the manual focus will best suit your purpose.

The flash is well designed and positioned far enough from the lens to prevent redeye. But for those who will be taking their photography serious I would suggest considering a better flash as the flash is only good for close up objects and does not do well in very big rooms that are not well lit.

CONCLUSION:

To sum it up the Canon EOS Rebel XSI is a great camera for those looking to start photography or as a backup camera when your main one fails. And while it does lacks a couple features of the higher end cameras it does carry excellent quality at a price that is next to impossible to beat.

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