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639 of 656 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
totally outstanding digital camera,
By
This review is from: Canon EOS 6.3MP Digital Rebel Camera with 18-55mm Lens (Electronics)
I went digital 5 years ago. My first was one of the very old Olypus digitals; no removable storage, just a cable to the computer, 120 low resolution or 30 medium resolution shots and then the memory was full. The colors were always off, there was no zoom, and it was amazing that it worked at all. No wonder I also bought a pocket 35mm camera to take "real" pictures since the Olympus' were so small, grainy, and colorless. At least the 35mm had a datestamp option. 3 years later I bought the Canon PowerShot S30, then when I lost it (or had it stolen?) I replaced it with the S40. The PowerShot S50 sold today is the same body style with more pixels and a couple of annoyances fixed.This camera is NOTHING like those cameras. I had plenty of complaints about the S30 & S40. My biggest gripe was missing the shot. I take pictures of children, especially at school functions. I would line up a wonderful shot, push the button... and they would move! They'd get up and walk away, they'd turn around, they'd crowd into the subject, I was missing 80% of my shots. About a year later, the shutter would finally click. So my hard drive is filled with so-so shots that would have been winners if that annoying delay hadn't gotten me... again! No problem with the Digital Rebel. Press the button, focus is lightning-fast, then click goes the shutter. You look through the viewfinder to frame your shot, not at the back on those hard-to-read LCD screens. Several modes allow multiple pictures, just in case, such as in Sports mode. I am seeing such an improvement in my pictures since I got this camera a few weeks ago. First of all, they are always framed properly, because I'm not dealing with sudden motion after shutter release, nor am I dealing with an LCD for a viewfinder, or a "viewfinder" that makes me correct for parallax. Next, the colors are amazing. Third, 6.3 megapixels... when would I ever want that much? When I want to crop 80% of the picture and still print what's left! It is great to have a camera with some heft that still doesn't feel like a brick. As everyone else says, get the kit lens. It is 18 to 55mm, so a nice wide-angle lens for group shots, etc. I find 55mm not close enough for shooting children; the S30/S40 I mention above has an 11-55mm range which I already knew to be insufficient for shooting kids. Thus I bought the Canon 28-200mm zoom lens and keep that one on the camera, only switching to the kit lens when I do big groups or a lot of similar portraits (that big zoom lens weighs four times as much as the body!) Yes, it is an amazing camera for "under" $1000. Truth be told, I spent more than that on accessories; the 28-200mm lens was almost $500, with 6.3 megapixels you might as well buy the biggest flashcard you can, and that's 2 GB these days; you'll need a case, you really ought to buy skylight filters to protect those lenses from getting scratched, an extra battery is a really good idea... well, you see what I mean. Still an amazing camera, especially after dealing with those tiny toys for all these years.
296 of 302 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thinking about a move from 35mm EOS? Buy This!!,
By mister_t42 (Andover, MA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Canon EOS 6.3MP Digital Rebel Camera with 18-55mm Lens (Electronics)
I've owned three digital cameras before this (a very small Sony, a Canon G1, and an older Kodak), and have been impressed with instant feedback received by viewing your photo 2 seconds after you took it, but was always left with the feeling that I needed to be able to change lenses and have more control over the process.What I really wanted was my old Canon EOS 650 (35mm) camera to work with a digital camara back so that I could make use of my existing investment in lenses. Well guess what, that is exactly what the Digital Rebel provides! Much to my surprise, all of my old EOS EF lenses work very well with this camera and I am getting much better results than I expected. This is a huge improvement over my other digicams - better resolution, color, overall quality, and I am in awe of what I get with my long telephoto lens. A few notes. First, buy the kit lens (18-55mm EF-S); for $100 you'll use the lense and it is an incredible value (certinaly worth 2 to 3 times the cost). Second, if you take many indoor photos you'll want an external flash; I went with Canon's 420EX unti as it provides E-TTL exposure (essentially, the amount of flash is controlled by what the camera meters through the lens - a pretty amazing capability). Third, get a good amount of memory, like 2 512K card; its relatively inexpensive and by taking lots of photos you'll learn more about the camera's abilities sooner. I am getting very long battery life (well into many hundreds of photos per charge), so unless you are headed off into the woods you may be able to hold off on purchasing a spare battery. In summary, if you are an old 35mm EOS photographer, this is a complete no brainer since you get to use your lens investment. If you aren't, I'd highly recommend this camera anyway (and look into the Canon 70-200mm/f4 telephoto lense - its extremely high quality and a reasonable price). Now smile and say "Canon".
83 of 83 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
C'mon, join the revolution... it'll feel real good!,
By
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This review is from: Canon EOS 6.3MP Digital Rebel Camera with 18-55mm Lens (Electronics)
I have been intrigued by this camera since its release. My old camera is a Canon PowerShot S30 (3.2MP). I wanted to buy an SLR to advance my photography skills and capabilities. When this beauty came along bearing a price tag under $1,000 and received prestigious acclaim I knew I wanted one. But I decided to delay for a few months, waiting to see what competition would arise, and how quickly the price would drop. That competition presented itself as the Nikon D70. Ultimately, I decided to get the D-Rebel because the price-to-quality ratio is exceptional; the ~$300+ more for the Nikon doesn't seem justifiable for what I think are negligible factors. Besides, my PowerShot has served me well and I'm used to the Canon system.I've played with mine in the field for two days. Last weekend was my introduction day and I made a lot of mistakes -- camera shake, off-focus, underexposure. Today I went back to the same spots [in similar weather] and received much better results by using my tripod, setting the exposure compensation to +1/3 (most of the time) and sometimes forcing a longer shutter than 'auto' suggested. My photos went from dull to incredible with a few easy adjustments. If your photos come out poorly always exhaust the manual solutions before blaming faulty camera construction. If you're moving up from a [Canon] SLR, many of the characteristics of the D-Rebel will be familiar. If, on the other hand, you're used to a P&S like myself some things will be awkward. For example, using the viewfinder instead of the LCD monitor to compose shots; using the Main Dial and LCD panel to implement settings; and manual focusing. My PowerShot allows manual tweaking, but it is usually easier to let the processor handle certain functions. The SLR is different -- it invites you to play. I have read complaints about the camera's construction. Indeed, it is an all-plastic body, whereas the D-Rebel's big brother, the 10D, is magnesium alloy. But I think this will be an insignificant point for most people; the plastic body is sturdy enough to handle a day's work. It has a nice firm rubber grip on the right side. A friend has an EOS Elan 7 (n or ne) and the weight is approximately the same. I also know some people don't like the fact that the D-Rebel uses the flash as an AF-assist lamp -- particularly because once the flash pops it will take a flash exposure. But the solution is simple enough: push the flash back down. The camera automatically re-evaluates the shutter speed, maintains focus and takes the shot. You will need to have it on a tripod for the shot to be successful, though. After a lot of reading and searching for components to make up a great system, I ended up buying: Rebel with 18-55mm lens; EF 55-200mm II USM lens; 1 Gb Sandisk Ultra II CompactFlash; 420EX Speedlite flash; Sto-fen Omni-Bounce diffuser (for 420EX); Tiffen 58mm Deluxe Enhancing Filter Kit; Samsonite Worldproof 3.2 Download SLR bag; Tamrac Small Lens Case. (I wrote a review for the Samsonite bag. I think it's fantastic for carrying all my gear. I use the Tamrac bag when I want to travel light.) Here's a stupid mistake I made that I'd like to enlighten others to, so that they may avoid doing the same. When I first tested the camera most of my shots were indoors and required the flash. In many of those shots I noticed a black blob. I thought maybe my flash was defective. The manual says there are certain conditions where the flash may be obstructed. My solution was simple enough: two of my fingers were in the way. With my PowerShot, I had become used to lifting my ring and pinky fingers away from the flash and lens so they would be out of the way... now doing it put them in the way of the flash. Sometimes the simplest answer is the right one. Here are two things I feel quite fortunate to have learned (i.e., stumbled upon), as I did not read this in any review. I am exceptionally pleased with my purchase -- not with just the D-Rebel, but the whole system. It pays to do your research and decide what's right for you. Personally, I think I put together an excellent 'amateur SLR' package that will allow me to grow and explore for a long time. Hopefully you will feel the same with a D-Rebel over your shoulder.
148 of 153 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
amazing camera, incredible price! canon has outdone itself.,
By jemaerca (River Forest, IL, United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Canon EOS 6.3MP Digital Rebel Camera with 18-55mm Lens (Electronics)
canon's competitors must be scratching their collective heads wondering how canon has managed to deliver a true interchangeable-lens digital SLR for less than a thousand bucks. this is nothing short of a revolution in the d-SLRs world and it's hard not to get excited!pros: cons: there's nothing in the market that can touch this camera today. if you're shopping for a camera in the thousand dollar range, make sure you take a close look at the 300D. i hope this helps you with your buying decision. peace.
143 of 148 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome camera -- very few "cons",
By Jeff Chrisope (Kirkland, WA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Canon EOS 6.3MP Digital Rebel Camera with 18-55mm Lens (Electronics)
I've had the Rebel for about a month now, and it's been an amazing blast up the photography learning curve for me. It is my first SLR, though fortunately my third digicam, and ... well, wow, what a great camera to learn on.I'd like to just run down the "cons" listed by a different reviewer below (or above? how do they order these things? ;-): - "to minimize cannibalization of 10D sales, the 300D has been pre-programmed to have less flexibility (forced AI focus, forced evaluative metering, etc)" - no spot metering. - low noise levels at ISO 1600. - no flash exposure compensation. - cannot fine-tune white balance. - make sure you don't open the memory door while the camera is writing into the flash memory or else you will lose everything that's left in the internal memory buffer. - plastic body with compartment doors that should be meatier. - LCD has no anti-reflective coating. - reduced continuous shooting rate and buffer size (2.5 fps for max 4 images) vs the 10D. - ISO sensitivity not displayed on viewfinder status bar while being changed. - no flash memory provided so add a few $$ to your budget to get at least 128MB. - proprietary battery - again, a few more bucks for a spare.
45 of 45 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superlative camera,
By
This review is from: Canon EOS 6.3MP Digital Rebel Camera with 18-55mm Lens (Electronics)
I am a semi-pro photographer and have used high-end Canon film cameras for years. I bought the Digital Rebel about four months ago and have been absolutely delighted with it. One of the most amazing things about it is the number of shots on a battery charge (Li-ion) with the flash. I use two 512 MB Compact Flash cards and I can fill one of them up in a session on a single charge and can start on the second flash card.One proviso: The 18-55mm lens that comes with the kit is excellent--it is light and versatile. However, most of my shooting is done with the Canon 28-70mm 'L' lens which is a professional, high quality, very fast lens with incredible resolution. This lens is also much heavier and the large lens barrel partially blocks the little pop-up flash. I have set up my film cameras on a tripod and side by side, shot Velvia film using the same lenses and subject, along with the Digital Rebel. While the saturation of the digital images is not as pronounced as with Velvia film, the detail is quite similar. Very few editors could spot which image was Velvia, except for the color saturation. Otherwise quality is comparable. For demanding pro work, photographers will probably want more than the 6.3 MP of the Rebel. For me, it is absolute heaven. My marketable shots are heavily composed and lit. Getting instant feedback, even on the small monitor is just heaven. I see no drawbacks for the Digital Rebel. If you are a casual snap shooter, or more advanced, prepare to be wowed. One additional note: I made a great shot--good enough for a poster--so I had Kinko's make a 2' x 3' poster from this shot. The poster was only 200% of the original and there was absolutely no discernable pixelation. Simply incredible! I am a tough judge of photographic equipment, but Canon got nearly all of this camera right. The sensor, metering, auto white balance,bracketing,lack of shutter lag, auto power shut-off are so consumer friendly and common sense right out of the box, I was bowled over. The more sophisticated controls are available too, when I want them. This is one tremendous product. My biggest complaint is the interface is USB 1.0 and downloading to a computer is slow. Zoom Browser Ex, a supplied software that comes with it is adequate, but there are better programs out there. Ron Gollobin/New England
85 of 90 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
break trough digital slr camera,
By A Customer
This review is from: Canon EOS 6.3MP Digital Rebel Camera with 18-55mm Lens (Electronics)
Have had the camera for 3 weeks. I already owned canon lenses and a flash. for those complaining or concerned about money that has to be spent on lenses,well thats the fundamental question of is a camera with interchangalbe lens right for you.Pros: No delay in taking pics. 2.5 fps. 6.3 MP. Interchangable lens. I found focusing to be perfectly accurate and fast. recomend disabling the 7 point focusing, and switch to center, with recomposing picture. as for those complaining that pictures arenot Sharp or lively, that is a function of two things. First the lens being used. the stock lens is good, but not great. A little slow. I took a lot of pictures with an 80 dollar 50 mm, f 1.8 lens, including in candle light, and bright day light, and the results are amazing. second thing is processing of the pictures. the camera has 3 preset processings for "sharpness" and saturation and contrast, as well as 3 custom ones, so you can make your pics as sharp, saturated, and contrasty as you desire. learn to use to camera. I found the camera to be excellent up to iso setting of 800, ,with minimal noise, with better quality than film camer. I also like the palstic construction. its lighter, and nicer to carry. You cant use the lcd as a viewfinder, which I never used, cause it eats your battery and never works well in bright light. Cons: Auto white ballance is useless in low light, and indoor ligt situations. that needs to be manually set.
40 of 40 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
a great intro into digital SLR ownership,
By Shelley Gammon "Geek" (Kaufman, Texas USA) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Canon EOS 6.3MP Digital Rebel Camera with 18-55mm Lens (Electronics)
I had an Olympus 5MP point-n-shoot Camedia camera I was pretty happy with for portraits. I was annoyed w/ the fixed lens that prevented me from taking good photos of wildlife. I have hummingbird feeders in my backyard and unless you've had the opportunity to work with hummingbird families for years, the sweet, tiny animals are skittish and don't often pose for you when you get too close. When my point-n-shoot stopped focusing, I took advantage of this situation by rationalizing this bigger purchase.What a joy it has been to use this camera. The 6.3MP is a significant improvement over 5 and the ability to take photos in manual mode cannot be understated. With the fixed point-n-shoot, the camera refused to shoot if it didn't "feel" that it was in focus... so it was impossible to shoot sunsets, lightning or other natural beauties in the "infinity" range of the focal length. The Rebel makes use of Compact Flash - the oldest, yet still the best technology for taking fast, high-quality photos in digital cameras. My less than perfect rating is due to the small memory buffer. You can take up to 3fps very easily, but if you click-click-click the shutter, it doesn't matter if Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster and Elvis start doing a little soft-shoe right in front of you, by the time the Rebel finishes writing the recent 3 quick shots to the CF card, the shot of the century has already slithered back into the swamp by the time the camera is ready to be used again. If you're taking portraits, not a problem. A click here and there and you'll never notice the lack of memory buffer... but if you're shooting at a ball game or other quick moving objects, you're going to get frustrated very quickly. The flash is decent, but you really need a good flash like the 580 in the hot-shoe if you want a better even spread and avoidance of red-eye. A lot of folks shrug about red-eye since most affordable or free programs like iPhoto or Photoshop Elements have built-in correction for red-eye - but red-eye correction by one click is only available for humans. If you're shooting wildlife, forget about any software that has a one-click (or a million clicks!) solution for blue-eye in dogs, yellow-eye in cats, flaming-demon eye in bunnies or the variety of odd reflections you will get bouncing off retinas of various species. The best way to circumvent this problem is to avoid bouncing flash directly into the retinas of your subjects from the get-go. No more glare or odd reflections when you use a better flash. The ability to upgrade to better lenses is the crux of SLR ownership. The sky is the limit. Get a good wide-angle and a good, fast telephoto and you've got yourself set for some great shots. This camera isn't going to take advantage of CF cards faster than 40x, so you can save money by buying the slightly slower CF cards, but I invested in the 80x cards so I can use them when I upgrade cameras. This Rebel has gotten me back into photography after a decade-long hiatus. The camera automatically detects vertical shots and turns them 90 degrees for you in the LCD window. It is quick and easy to adjust the ISO to "push" the film (so to speak) to take advantage of low-light situations, but you get the same grainy effects as you do when you push real film. With an ISO of 100 and using a 512MB CF card, you have 157 photos at your disposal - if you push it all the way to 1600, 104 shots on the same card. At 400, your shots are already compromized regarding print quality... but if Sasquatch comes-a-knockin' in the wee hours, you'll still get decent proof if you shoot at 1600. Having a background in film photography spanning 2 decades, I didn't even have to consult the manual for this camera to use it fresh out of the box. It handles in many ways like a professional film SLR, and unlike the point-n-shoots, there aren't cryptic settings that have no film parallel. For sunny days and outdoor shots, this camera is a sheer joy to use.
36 of 36 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sweet digital camera,
By A Customer
This review is from: Canon EOS 6.3MP Digital Rebel Camera with 18-55mm Lens (Electronics)
First of all this camera's price point marks a first in the digital SLR field. I would recommend this camera for someone that is tired of missing shots waiting for your CCD based digital camera to recycle. The cycle time with flash is at the most 1.8 seconds unless you have 4 or more pictures waiting to be spooled to the flash card. This is slower than other more expensive digital SLR's, but is FASTER than every non-SLR digital camera I have seen.The battery life is remarkable to say the least of any other digital camera I have seen. The proprietary battery caused me a little concern, but it has such a rich history with Canon's other digital SLR's and PowerShot models, I felt comfortable. The battery just keeps on going and going too. I hope this battery can continue to perform like thes for several years down the road. When the advertisement states that you can get 300-400 pictures out of one battery, BELIEVE IT.. I intentionally ran the battery down one day and I would swear that I took somewhere around 500 pictures (90% of them using the flash) before the battery finally gave up. I have a 512mb flash card and it filled it up more than twice on the SAME battery.. The fit and finish left a little to be desired at first with the plastic body. I have come accustomed to using it and even though it's made out of plastic, I would like to see someone do a drop test to see how the case holds up against another digital SLR with a metal body. My money's on the injection molded Digital Rebel (if there is such a thing as SOLID plastic, this is it).. If purchasing this camera, be sure to get Canon's SLR accessory pack for 69.95 and BestBuy (and others maybe). This pack contains an extra battery and a 58mm Canon UV lens. I use it on my lens as a permanent protector. The battery alone costs around 60 bucks and you get a bag and a filter to boot.. Some folks have complained that indoor photography sucks with this camera. DON'T believe everything you read!! I thought this at first, but when I set the camera in the P mode it allowed me to adjust the ISO level and indoor photography improved instantly. I will agree that the full auto mode should be used sparingly indoors. Now I have to worry about having pictures that are overexposed inside. No need for a mini studio as someone mentioned.. Just play with the camera for a while and you will learn so much. Besides this is digital.. You can see your mistakes before paying for processing.. I haven't taken the camera to any sporting events and it gets dark so early now, I only have time to do daytime photography on the weekends. The amount of correction in the automatic mode works good for daytime photography. The software on the PC for the camera was a little different at first. My last camera just hooked up to the computer and presented a file folder of images for download/review. The Canon software provides far more information about the camera, and all of the elements that went into making the picture. This has been very helpful for me to determine exactly which light balances to use for the best shots. I have also tried the direct capture to the computer and it rocks!! It told me I had like 11,000 shots left to take using the hard drive of the computer to transfer images.. I will say the USB connection between the software and the camera is a little slow. I wish this camera had a USB2.0 connection for faster speed, but hey no other digital-SLR offers that for ANY price (as far as I know).. I would certainly leave some money in the budget for a CF reader that works on USB 2.0.. About $45.. In closing, I find this camera to be a very good value for the money and look forward to other times I can do some creative photography. Availability for this camera may be a little scarce, but if you have to wait, I feel it will be well worth it. I have a friend that has a full EOS 35mm outfit complete with a few lenses, flashes, etc.. It may be time to play Lets Make A Deal since all of his components are (1) authentic Canon accessories, and (2) the Digital Rebel can use some older accessories.. Happy hunting..
40 of 41 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Digital SLR for Canon Lens owners,
By
This review is from: Canon EOS 6.3MP Digital Rebel Camera (Body Only) (Electronics)
This is the first affordable (i.e. <$1000) slr digital camera and although there are some compromises, it produces excellent pictures. Some care is needed to familiarise yourself with exposure modes and focusing. The default settings tend to produce slightly underexposed pcitures, but this is easily corrected.The lack of spot metering in Program and Auto mode is irritating and can cause issues. Also note that the so called spot metering mode used in the "creative" settings is not as a good as that in, say, the Elan. Indoor photography is tricky due to the lack of true wide angle lenses. Your 35mm lenses end up with an equivalent focal length x 1.6 which effectively means the resolution (after cropping and enlargement) is reduced. Not too bad for smaller prints but a compromise nevertheless. The camera is very fast and shutter lag is minimal, a major issue with point and shoot cameras (from my point of view this is a primary reason - along with the interchangeable lenses -for buying a SLR digital) Despite its slightly "cheesy" appearance, it is well built and operates with a good quality feel. If you are Canon lens user/owner this is a no brainer at the price. If you do not have any lenses, look at the Nikon 100D and new Pentax before you make your choice. |
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