Posted: 10/9/2006 7:13:51 PM EDT
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I've been shopping for a new camera for about a month. I think I've settled on the Canon Rebel XT. Looking around on the internet I'm finding huge differences in price. I've seen several websites (those with the lowest prices) that have them marked as "camera body only". What does that mean? I probably won't buy for a month. I'm hoping the price comes down more now that the XTI is out. |
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Well, buy from a reputable dealer if you buy online. Many stores from the NYC area are...shady. B&H, Adorama and Canoga are generally ok to deal with, though. The XT's been replaced with the XTi, so there may be deals going as well...retailers will want to clear them before the end of the year. The XTi has a couple of useful features, though. Also get a good lens or two. 
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Some dealers sell the camera in a 'kit' with a lens included. 'Body only' simply means there is no lens included. There are a lot of 'deals' advertised, but lots of the dealers are switch-and-bait shops. I'd stick with B&H (bhphotovideo.com) or Adorama (adorama.com). They are solid dealers who stand behind their stuff. Also, ask if the camera is a USA model or an import. Often, imports are not covered by the factory warranty in the US. |
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I'm going with a body only version. I have a friend who is a semi-pro photographer and he is going to loan me a professional quality lense with an f-factor of 4.5. Not sure what all of that means, but I'll learn as I go. Has anyone dealt with this company? They have the best price I've found so far. www.thedigitalexpo.com/product.asp?productid=CanonRebelXTbodySilver&tab=1 |
F4.5 is pretty slow for a pro lens. Unless it's 400mm+  Not that it's bad, just not usually that high end.What did reseller ratings say about that store? |
I can't find it now, but the store had over a thousand positive ratings. I didn't find any negatives in the first few pages. Here it is: www.everyprice.com/item.asp?item_Id=115486&partner=g123&keyword=canon_xt&gclid=CMj5j9eQ8IcCFRAnUAod7EYfgQ |
Erm, what? Reseller Ratings I see 13 very dissatisfied consumers. Use reseller ratings.
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Intersting. The reveiws I was reading on the other page must be older. I did find a couple of negatives in those as well that mirror that other page you linked. I'll have to shop elsewhere. I don't want any headaches over a $300 internet order. |
That's a useful site. All of the websites that have the camera for less than $400 have very poor ratings. Who else can I price check and buy from with confidence? |
I've got the XTi. Buy more lenses. The lens that comes with it is a great macro lens but shooting across the room in anything less than brilliant light the lens is no better than a "point & shoot". My next purchase for my Canon will be the 100-400 image stabilized telephoto lens as soon as I can come up with the $1500 for it. I may get a similar, unstabilized Tamron instead. |
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Stick with a reputable dealer like B&H. As far as the quality of the images, the camera and lens are part of a system, and the quality of the results will only be as good as the weakest part. If you are looking at a film camera, the camera body is just a fancy box that keeps the film in the right position--the quality of the image will be largely determined by the quality of the lens. If you are looking at digital, the camera body plays a greater role in the total quality of the final image. For best results, expect to pay more for the lenses than the camera. The kit lens is cheap, and will get you started, but is not the best quality. While better than most anything you will find on a point and shoot, there will be a difference between the $100 kit lens, and a $500 or $1,000 lens (or $1,500 or $2,000). You will likely see a difference if you move up to the L series lenses. Once you get there, often the cost is dictated by the maximum aperture (f stop) which is a measure for the lenses light gathering ability. For example the 17-40 F4.0L is about the same quality as the 16-35 f/2.8L, though the later will allow in twice as much light at the maximum setting (though at twice the cost, and is considerably heavier and large). A larger maximum aperture will make the viewfinder brighter, and allow you to shoot at higher shutter speeds in lower light situations. |
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To add to dmin; spending your money on lenses is your best bet for now. My sister has the older digital rebel and with any of my better lenses that camera does as well as my 20D. They have the same CMOS sensor as well. One thing to keep in mind about the lower end digitals is that the sensor is a 1.6:1 ratio. In other words, 100mm on a 35mm camera equals 160mm on the digital. We had a pretty good selection of lenses when we were shooting film, but after upgrading to digital we realized that we lost all of our wide angle capability. On the upside, it has really extended the reach of our 70-200 L series and our 300mm L series. If I were in your shoes, I would really consider the Canon 28-135mm Image Stabilized lens as an early purchase. It is around $500, but it is really versatile and rarely comes off of our camera. One of the better deals going is the 50mm f1.8 for around $75. You wont believe the clarity of this little lens. It is super compact and light as well. Unfortunately, as I said above the 1.6 ratio makes this about an 80mm lens, but it is still a dandy. |
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I'd get the rebel XTi if I were you... It's not last years model. www.adorama.com is a great place to buy stuff. I've spent thousands with them over the years. Good place to do business. You have the choice of either gray market equipment (doesn't have usa warranty) or USA warrantied stuff. The gray market is a little cheaper. I've always purchased USA warrantied stuff. |
you're right. i can't believe how crappy the canon 20d is. it's such a horrible camera, thank GOD they finally came out with a new model.  get whichever model fits into your budget with the most features you're looking for. who cares if it's a slightly "lesser" (term used loosely) model. with good glass, i doubt there's anyone here that would know WHICH camera body (XT vs. XTi) you used to take that one sweet picture. |
So what's up with the 20D? |
Absolutely nothing. Just like the 350/XT. I was using it as a facetious example to show how labelling something as 'last year's model' doesn't mean it's horrendously inferior to the newest, flashiest version. It's like saying a Ferrari F40 or a McLaren F1 is a piece of junk because it's "last decade's model". We all know that's hardly the case.
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B&H has the XT for 699.95 with the kit lens, 609.95 without. The only "professional grade" f4.5 lens in Canon's current lineup that a pro is likely to loan you is the EF 100-400 f4.5-5.6L IS USM lens. It's an OK lens buit wih an effective minimum focal length of 160mm would not be anyone's choice for the only lens for a beginner. What's your budget for this adventure? |
There are a number of good lenses to look at, but the cheapest and probably best one to consider is the 50mm F1.8. do you know what lens you're getting yet? And really, shooting pictures you like is what it's all about.
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Unless you've completely settled on Canon, you might want to check out a Nikon. The new D80 has so far (in almost every professional review) surpassed the Digital Rebel XTi. Of course, if you're looking to save money and buy last year's model, go with the Digital Rebel XT... As for lenses, try to get the ones specifically for digital cameras. Some of the older film ones (especially older Sigmas) don't work well with digital SLR's. Unless you really want to spend lots of money on Canon lenses (well, the L series are worth it, but the low end lenses aren't always...), go for Sigma or Tamron - they're both highly regarded 3rd party lense makers... |
Give Allen's Cameras a call www.allenscameras.com They don't have a major website, but they're prices are comparable to B&H et al and they carry a large stock of used and refurbished equipment with warranty. I've bought the bulk of my equipment from them over the last two years. Just tell them what you want to do and your budget and ask them what they can do for you. Canon EOS 5D w/BG-E4 Canon EOS 20D w/BG-E2 Canon EF 16-35 F2.8L USM Canon EF 24-70 F2.8L USM Canon EF 70-200 F2.8L IS USM Canon EF 50mm F1.4 USM Canon EF 85mm F1.8 USM Canon EF 85mm F1.2L USM Canon EF 100mm F2.8 Macro USM Canon EF 135mm F2.8 Softfocus Canon EF 300mm F4L IS USM Canon EF 400mm F5.6L USM Speedlite 580EX (2x) Speedlite ST-E2 Sigma 1.4x & 2x EX APO Teleconverters I started off buying cheaper lenses (and with the XT) but quickly found that what I wanted to do required better equipment (I wasn't new to photography, just digital SLRs). The rest, as they say, is history. In fine ARFCOM fashion, I often "got both." 
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I am brand new to the hobby, other than taking pics of my daughter with my Olympus 4mp. I went and looked at a Canon Digit XT and XTi today. The bigger screen on the XTi and the 10mp might make it worth the extra $100. What kind of warranties do those refurbs come with? Are they factory refurbs or 3rd party? |
Unless you're making big (>8x11) prints, the MP don't mean much. The LCD screen is of minimal value unless you're checking exposure. |
| Megapixels do matter when you start doing your cropping. If you crop out 50% of the picture and then try to get it back up to a 4x6 or 5x8, the data has to be there to build the image. I didn't think I would hardly ever have anything printed above 5x8, but I went ahead and got 2gig memory cards just so I could save on hi-res. Last week my little sister was in town for a wedding and out of 80 pictures that we took while she was here, she printed about 30. 10 of those were larger than 5x8 and several were cropped by my other photoshop whiz sister. Just don't think that the MP count doesn't matter. |
www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos400d/page3.asp there are some worthwhile upgrades (9 point auto focus sensor from 30d) & the price difference is closer to $200 |
did you see the sale here ? accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=A0726001 |
i'm still waiting with baited breath for my XT to show up, along with my 28-105 f/3.5-4.5. silly usps takes too long.  can't wait to get pics of camels with a GOOD camera.
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