katzen

Does anyone own one and if so can you tell me how you like it?

DH and I are thinking of getting one.

My dad bought me in 1995 the Canon *film* EOS RebelX S camera (35-80mm lens came with it). Last year he bought me the Canon EF 75-300mm zoom lens.

My husband last year bought me the Kodak EasyShare cx7530 5.0 mega pixel digital camera as a *starter digital*.

My dad also gave me (I believe it was his and didn't use it any longer) a Sigma AF Zoom Lens 28-70mm. Could be for wide angle? No idea exaclty. I will have to check with him.

I will be traveling to Europe (Germany, Switzerland and France) this summer (July/August) and I love taking pictures. I am a huge picture buff. A beginner (in the sense I'm not sure of all the different speeds and "gadgets" on the cameras ... but do plan on taking a class or two to get myself acquainted with all of this. My goal is take pictures that I can frame and put on my walls.

With all this being said ... can anyone give me advice on the Canon Rebel XT (which I can use my 75-300mm zoom with).

Any thoughts on a mini-tripod?

We were just in Ritz and they were asking 999.00 for the Canon Rebel XT.

Thanks for the help!

Pausanias

It's a great camera. However, don't buy one just yet. In about 10 days Canon, and the rest of the camera makers, will announce their new products at a trade fair in Orlando. Models may be replaced, prices may come down, etc. A great site for photo questions is www.photo.net. Click on "View all forums" and then Canon EOS. You'll find many discussions on the Rebel XT.

grosenb

The Canon Rebel XT is a good camera for beginners. It is not a full frame camera as your EOS Rebel XS. I think the crop factor is 1.6.

That means that if you use the 75-300 lense, it is 120-480mm due to the crop factor.

The Sigma lense would be 45-112mm. You have two lenses that are telephoto but none that are wide angle which I would recommend.

A wide angle would be something from 10mm-18mm for your camera. Because this camera is not a full frame, you loose the ability to shoot wide angle but gain in telephoto.

A tripod is nice to bring along but if you shoot at speeds of 400-1600 you should be ok for low light and would not need one.

Gail

rkkwan

Since you already have some EOS-compatible lens, it makes sense to get the Digital Rebel XT.

But check other sources, including dell.com.

Many reputable online stores are selling the XT (official US models, not the grey-market 350) for $750 body-only, $800 with the 18-55 lens. Shipping included, and no sales tax usually.

B&H is also selling the older, but higher-end 10D for $800 body-only.

Ritz is WAY overpriced.

katzen

Thank you for the very helpful responses!

Pausanias, I will definitely wait until the new products come out. Thank you, I wasn't aware of this happening so soon.

Grosenb, Do you recommend I get a 10mm-18mm wide angle lens? Would I be missing much if I didn't have one ... I guess depending on what I like to shoot??

Rkkwan, Thanks for the info. I was wondering if Ritz was a bit high and from some of the web sites I've been on .. it seems they are.

Thanks!

julies

dpreview.com forums is the best place for camera discussions.

Myer

I bought the XT several months ago. I have always used an SLR so moving to the XT was no problem.

It has been mentioned that there is a 1.6 factor. So be aware of it.

My previous camera was the elan 7e. I did not but the kit lens but opted for the better 28-105 II USM lens that I like very much.

I've been using it with the XT and I guess it didn't take my brain long to get used to less wide angle and more telephoto.

I'll when when we go on our first trip with it to Europe this spring.

Also different is the depth of field. You'll find it somewhat less.

I don't travel with lenses other than my walk-around 28-105. No tripod either. Just the camera and lens.

Since you're moving from a film camera, I'll share some comments.

I find snapping photos in bunches is what happens. No thought to conserve film. So make sure you have enough CF cards. So far I have 2 Sandik Ultra II cards. Each will hold about 250 shots at maximum jpg.

This is an 8 megapixel camera with recording capabilities in RAW (app 8 mb per photo) as well as 2, 4 and 8 megapixel (3.5 mb per photo app).

Really, you should be shooting either in RAW (requires more post processing) or fine/large jpg (a bit under 4 Mb per photo).

One last thing that I find amazing.

When shooting with film, you make a decision about which film to use. Some people who really shoot a lot may carry several different types of film. However, I carried Fuji ASA400 film.

This camera permits ISO100, 200, 400, 800 and 1600. The best part is that the sensor is so good, only a real pro would tell you not to use ISO1600.

I beleieve it is so good that ISO1600 is my friend.

It's the equivalent to switching film in mid-roll. Shoot at ISO100 or ISO200 during the day. Then switch to ISO400 or 800 late in the afternoon. Then on to ISO1600 for the hand-held night shots.

Again, the pros will tell you that they can se the noise at 1600. Well, I find it just great!!

All just my impressions.

Myer

Oh, forgot to mention. The AF lens won't work on the XT.

The EFS lenses are made for the XT and the EF lenses also work. Not AF.

Remember the 1.6 factor.

Play with it for a while before travelling as there are many features and settings.

Something to consider. With a film camera, the lab makes all the decisions for processing.

With a digital point-and-shoot some setting can be adjusted but the camera bumps up processing and does it.

On the XT you have choices of how you want the camera to process (other than RAW that is not really processed in camera).

The dilema is to have the camera do in-camera processing sufficiently that you like the results, but leave enough for you to adjust later to your liking.
An example would be contract. If you set the camera to high contrast, the photos will probably have more life.

However, with lower contrast you won't lose detail in shadowy area that can then be enhanced in post-processing.

It's the old dilema. Automatic is good because it's automatic. Automatic is bad because it's automatic and guesses what you may want.

Another thing. While the camera has a default of 7 f=automatic focus points, most experienced people will recommend that you turn on only center focusing so that the camera doesn't get fooled.

If you want the subject in focus off-center, point the camera center at the subject, press the shutter half-way and hold (focus will stay locked), recompose the photo and shoot. It seems like a hassle but I very easily got used to that on my elan 7e.

Like I said, you're getting a lot and takes a bit of time to develop a flow to taking photos.

Excellent camera.

fakemark

Others have given good advice about the camera. I'll chime in about the tripod.

You may consider getting a monopod. You can't set it up and leave it to take timed shots of yourself, but it is MUCH more portable. It's made my shots much better since I've gotten it, and is easy enough to carry around and stow in a daypack.

If you want a mini-tripod, I recommend getting the Ultrapod II. It's sold at REI and probably some places on the Internet. It's super small, lightweight, and can hold your camera at many angles. I have the regular Ultrapod and it fits in my pocket.

katzen

Wow Myer .. great to hear from someone who has the XT. I do have the EF zoom lens so I"m good with that. I hope! I'm a beginner so will definitely need to work with speeds and the like. Although I've had the film Canon for 10 years .. I'm not a pro ... so I think I'll need to take a class to get myself caught up on the camera lingo. Thanks for your help. My husband and I have learned a lot from your 2 postings!

FakeMark, thanks for the advice on the tripod bit ... My husband and I were in Hawaii and we took both the film and digital cameras .. and I have to say I wasn't 100% happy with the results of the film camera .. I'm guessing a lot of it had to do with the user not knowing what she was doing (me) .. especially with the sunset pictures. I must have taken 100 and a few came out ....

What about a lens hood? Do you recommend me getting one of these? Do these help with the glare?

Once I do more research and get myself more acquainted with the terminology/camera and accessories I may have more intelligent questions. Sorry, for now only the basics.

Thanks for the help!

Myer

You're welcome.

I suggest you spend some time on the following forum reading. You can forget for now any reference to RAW as you'll be getting into a lot of post-processing. Also, there are some people into pretty heavy stuff with very long lenses. Birds, animals and macros of bugs.

All I want are good travel photos (you can see my site (no digitals yet) at www.travelwalks.com).

I wouldn't really take a course (not sure why). There are 2 soft cover books by Bryan Peterson that are higly recommended by people on that forum. One has to do with Exposure and the other with seeing creatively (which I need some work on).

I also suggest you not use one of the fully automatic modes as you'll learn little and not necessarily get the results you want (the automatic thing again).

Select AV mode (apperture priority) or Tv mode (shutter priority) and you'll pick it up pretty quickly.

Most people seem to pick Av though I've selected Tv mode. My thinking is that since I have a pretty good quality lens, it's more important for me to select a fast enough shutter speed to freeze camera shake and subject movement.

I used to use 1/125th second as my standard but as age and lack of a steady hand become factors, I've gone to 1/160 and now am starting to lean a little more towards 1/200 sec.

In Av mode you select an aperture and the camera selects the shutter speed which could end up being very slow causing camera shake and subject movement to result in blurred photos.

When your new, the most important thing for your confidence is to get sharp photos.

Good luck.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1031

katzen

Thanks Myer ... I guess I better hit the forum. Your pictures are great on your site .... I do think you have a creative eye Lucerne and Paris are two places my husband and I are planning to visit so it was interesting to see what shots you took while you were there. I was debating whether or not to take the class ... I had heard a few people say they aren't worth it ... but I thought since I was a rookie in the "photography" area that I had better ... but I think I'll look into the two books you made reference to as well as the forum and go from there. Thank you again for your help!

Andrew

Well, I'm a happy Canon owner - I just bought my 4th Canon camera (a Canon 5D) in December and I love it. My previous camera was the original Digital Rebel, which is a good camera. The newer Rebel you are looking at is about 20% smaller than mine, and I found it a tad too small for my fingers. By the way, the Canon 20D is a very comperable camera, same basic sensor but with a better body, bigger frame buffer (can shoot more shots in "burst" mode near the same time before the camera stops with "busy.&quot.

FYI, the 1.6X focal length multipler is annoying, but you can buy lenses to compensate. My Rebel came with an adequate 18-55mm zoom and the newer Rebel has an even better "kit" lens. Plus I got a 10-22mm zoom as well so I can shoot really wide. Unfortunately, as noted above, that zoom is an EF-S and won't work on my new 5D so I had to get a new wide angle for that as well.

Anyway - the Rebel XT will take excellent pictures and you can get some huge enlargements from it. The point about waiting til the next line is announced soon is a good one, though. Can you get it at Costco? They have a great return policy in case you need to return it to get the next model soon.

Andrew

katzen

Thanks Andrew! Do you think the Canon EF 75-300mm zoom lens that I have will work ok (or shall I say .. be needed) with the XT? I think the XT comes with the EF-S 17-85mm lens. As you can probably tell from my previous posts .. I'm not real up to par on the camera lingo yet ... but still learning.

When you wrote
<FYI, the 1.6X focal length multipler is annoying, but you can buy lenses to compensate>
which lens would take care of this (10-22mm zoom wide angle?)

I finally caught on to the "AF lens not working on the XT" that Myer wrote (by researching more).
So I guess I'll maybe keep that for the film camera.

Thanks again for all the great advice!!

Andrew

katzen, if the 75-300mm lens you have is an EOS EF lens, it will work great with the Rebel XT (autofocus should work too). I have a cheap 100-300mm lens that I use on my newest Canon cameras and it works fine (except for being cheap glass).

The 10-22mm EF-S lens I have for my Digital Rebel will get you very wide. The 17-85mm lens will be perfectly adequate for most people, because it is equivalent to a 28-135mm lens on a 35mm camera. With that and your 75-300mm lens, you'll have a wide whole range covered pretty well.

But I would keep the 35mm camera anyway, just for kicks. I don't plan to use mine much anymore (My 5D is 12.8Megapixel and full frame), but I still have it just in case.

Andrew

rkkwan

All EF lens will work on the Digital EOS cameras, but the EF-S lenses will not fit the film EOS. Just be aware of that.

Gretchen

I got interested in what you were considering and you might want to look at the product description on Amazon. Looks like a great camera and you have certainly gotten some VERY detailed info from the other posters.
Amazon has free shipping and also no tax (probably). They also sell "insurance" warranties.

I assume this camera has image stabilization. couldn't find it specifically referenced from scanning the copious description of features.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...Fencoding=UTF8

GSteed

Suggestions: These were from NG photographer and a newspaper professional. For any kind of staged or scenic photo. Use a tripod and a mechanical cable shutter release. Keep a journal, note details. Use two cameras, one black and white and one color. Do 3 exposures, over, on, under. Try the flash, how much can it illuminate? Last, Read the camera manual! Be sure to have sufficient memory and power. A battery charger for 110/220 plus plug adapters for Europe. Consider downloading memory to CDs.

Myer

No, the camera doesn't have IS (image stabilization). That's left to the individual lens and you can tell because it has IS somewhere in the name.

B&H is located in New York and has an excellent reputation as a mail order house. That's where I bought my XT.

Another thought. Places like Best Buy charge a 15-20% restocking fee if you return the opened camera with no defect.

However, Sears (USA) has a money back 30 days refund policy. No qiestions asked. Of course they're full price. But then again, you can "borrow" the camera for 3 weeks just to play around.

You can get a lot of experience and a feel for the camera in that length of time. Use the kit lens and your other EF lens(es).

Make sure you mention the return policy and that it's on the receipt. Then return it and buy from B&H or another reputable, discount dealer (Beach Camera, etc).

It appears you feel you're not an experienced photographer. I wouldn't count on taking with multiple lenses and camera gear. If this is an enjoyment vacation (rather than a professional photo shoot) you may not want to be carrying a bag full of gear and constantly changing lenses (and getting dust on the sensor, etc).

The kit lens in effect costs about $50 and if you understand what you're getting for that price you can get pretty good results.

Canon's stratgey is to get a pretty good camera in your hands at a reasonable price. Then when you're hooked they'll make a ton of money on extra lenses.

For $50 the kit lens (which I didn't get as I made a decision to stick with my 28-105 lens for walk-around) has defficiencies. Try to stay at least 2 stops (settings) away from wide open as it has a reputation for being quite soft at those setting. Also, at those wide open settings the depth of field (the amount of subject in front or behind the main focus point) will be quite small.

To compensate in lower light try using ISO400, 800 or even 1600. Remember, with digital and this quality of sensor, changing sensor sensitivity on-the-fly is a snap. Just remember to turn it back to 100 or 200 when you get back to your room so that you start the next morning at a lower ISO. That's one setting you never worried about with film. ISO is your friend.

You're getting a lot of things thrown at you and until you play with the camera it seems like too many things. But really, it's not.

The exact same exposure (that's exposure and not special effects) can be obtained by a combination of three settings:
Shutter Speed
Aperture
ISO

Faster Shutter Speed freezes action and camera motion but reduces amount of light hitting the sensor.

Smaller lens Aperture (larger number) lets less light hitting the sensor but gets you to a better part of the lens (for inexpensive lenses) and increases the depth of field (see explanation above)

Smaller ISO make the sensor less sesitive to light but gives slightly better quality.

Didn't mean to steal Bryan Peterson's Exposure book thunder.

Myer

Why do I keep thinking of things after posting.

Of recording your photos. The exposure information is recorded with the photo and can be viewed when you review photos and/or after the trip. No need to write after each exposure like photographer did in the old days.

At large/fine jpg (8 megapixels) each photo takes up a little under 4 Mb of storage. That means each 1Gig card will store about 250 shots.

I have 2 Sandisk Ultra II 1 GIG cards. That's good for about 500 shots. In the days of film I used to take about 1 roll of 24 per day. On a typical 2 week vacation that would be about 400 photos. However, I'm finding that I think less and snap more with digital. I can always delete bad ones after shooting. I may add another card (about $85.) for my next trip.

The camera has to record each shot. That and downloading to a computer takes time. The Sandisk Ultra II card appears to be the choice of most people for a combination of price, speed and quality. I am not a fan of cheap, no name media to store my photos.