Canon Rebel XT digital camera -

[Craig 930 RS]

Anyone own one? Advice?
Anything is appreciated -

[TerryH]

http://www.dpreview.com/

Very thorough reviews here. You can study for days and get really confused.

[EdT82SC]

I have a friend who has one. Great camera. I have a Nikon D70. Also a great camera. I don't think you can go wrong with either one.

[legion]

That's my dream camera. Expecially since I have a 35mm Rebel and the lenses are transferable.

[RallyJon]

My wife loves her digital rebel.

[911teo]

We have a Canon 20D digital and just bought the Rebel XT for my father as Xmas present.
The 2 cameras are very similar. U get the same resolution and just a few less modes. Plus the autofocus is with less points...

There is not much between the 2 and the 20D is a great camera.
We chose the 20D over the Rebel for ourselves because it is much closer to the EOS 3 SLR (my wife's mechanical camera) in feel and functions.

Mind you the autofocus function of the EOS 3 is vastly superior (I think it has 64 points vs 16) to the 20D...

At the end of the day for us it had to be a Canon (all the lenses for the EOS 3 will work on the 20D) and when it came down to buying one for my father we were so positively impressed with the 20D that the Rebel was a no brainer...

[masraum]

I have the Rebel XT, great camera. Get a good big fast flash card. For a site that's like Pelican except for the Digital Canon SLR line go here.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/

They have several different boards, lenses, flash photography, digital EOS cameras, etc... It's a great board with tons of really experienced smart people

If you have any specific questions let us know. The battery life on the Rebel XT (known as the EOS 350D in the ROW) is great. The speed kicks butt.

If you get one make sure you get the "nifty 50" lense which is the inexpensive 50mm f1.8 lens that costs less than $100. It'd be a great lens at twice the price.

How much do you want to spend and how serious do you want to get? That's the key to most recommendations for lens purchases, etc....

[Craig 930 RS]

Wow. Great advice - and sites to look at.
I appreciate it!

[Craig 930 RS]

Here is a 'package deal':

Rebel XT, includes 1GB 4x CompactFlash card and EF-S 18-55mm
f3.5-5.6 zoom lens. $924.99 -

What do you think of the card and lens? Generally speaking, will I 'need' another lens etc - opinions glady accepted.

THX!

[Craig 930 RS]

Steve/Matteo/Jon -

Your opinion on this setup? Price and equipment/rebate - good value?
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11093538&whse=&topnav=&browse=&s=1

[TyFenn]

I heard it was the best, cheapest digital camera with single-lens reflex (SLR).

[trj911]

I've had one for a year or so now and I love it! I got a Tamron xr di 28-300 lens and 2gb memory card and headed to Yosemite and took 900+ pictures. It takes nice action as well as still photos.

[Craig 930 RS]

Thanks -

So what do you think of this lens size:
75-300mm

[trj911]

That lens is good, I have one from my non-digital Rebel, but I bought the 28-300 so I wouldn't have to change back and forth from the 28-100 to the 75-300. I also bought it for hiking in Yosemite so I wouldn't have to carry more stuff and now I find I use it almost exclusively. The 28-300 is small and lightweight and can be used in almost any situation. The 75-300 is good but you will find yourself switching to the 28-75 for some shots.

[RallyJon]

It it's a 75-300 that costs less that $5k, make sure it has Canon's excellent image stabilization or you'll find you can only shoot at noon on sunny days at 300.

Here's a 13 sec exposure with Canon's basic 28-135 at 135, F/8 with IS. We were on the hotel roof next to a huge vibrating A/C unit, so the IS really helped.

[trj911]

Nice picture RallyJon!

A Canon - 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 II/III USM EF Lens is less than $300 and the Tamron Autofocus 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II Macro Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras is about $360. Neither of these have the image stabilization in them and I have found the Tamron shoots excellant pictures under all kinds of circumstances. Why do you say you can only shoot at noon and on sunny days? The ISO is adjustable to 1600 which allows shooting in low light and fast action. Holding the camera still enough at 300 for a clear picture is something you can learn to do or use a monopod or tripod and almost guaranty a clear shot.

[911teo]

Re lenses...
Once we (well my wife) had an Eos 3 body with a Tamron 28-300 lens. It got damaged by sea water so I went and replaced everything but instead of going for the Tamron 28-300 I decided to get 2 Canon lenses... a 28-105 and a 75-300... I must say it was a mistake...
The convenience of the Tamron was umbeatable and we were very pleased with the quality.

Now I have been told (please I am not the expert so maybe this is BS) that for a digital SLR the 24-55 is a must. The standard 28-... zoom lenses are not wide enough... It has something to do with the different optical set up from a normal camera... I don't know...

So if you don't mind carrying the 2 lenses around I think the cosco deal is fantastic. If you want only one lense the Tamron 28-300 is super for a price/quality aspect. U can't go wrong with either!!!

[Craig 930 RS]

Great info all, I appreciate it.
What do you think of:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Tamron-28-300-XR-Di-DIGITAL-Canon-USA-30-Rebate-New_W0QQitemZ7566760230QQcategoryZ4687QQssPageName ZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[masraum]

I'm no expert, but a few notes.

When you increase the range of the zoom to try to make it better at several different things (wide angle/telephoto) you have to make compromises. Generally the zooms that offer that sort of range are considered to be a lower quality. The optical quality has to be compromised to make a lens capable of that sort of range. I suppose it depends on how serious you are.

The convenience and appeal of a one size fits all lens is huge, but at the sacrifice of image quality.

With most DSLR cameras you will have a crop factor, usually 1.5 or 1.6:1. What this means is that with a normal film camera the image behind the lense will be (I think) 24x36mm, but when you go to a DSLR like the XT where the sensor is smaller than a normal film frame you loose some around the edges because the sensor only gets the center of the image.

So, when you think about lenses on a DSLR you must keep in mind that to get the wide end you have to go much wider to get the same field of vision. In other words the lens that comes with the XT is an 18-55 zoom, but the 18 isn't like a fisheye lense, it's got a comparable field of vision of a 28.8mm lens on a film camera. If you want wide angle shots you'll need a really wide angle lens.

[Craig 930 RS]

Teo, Steve, Tom & John -

Overall, what would you recommend for a two lens set for the XT?
I currently have two 2-3 yr old Sony cameras as well as a very nice 5 yr old 35mm Minolta setup, and would want a nice combo to make spending over 1k worthwhile.

Much appreciated -