The first two paragraphs are me trying to convince you NOT to get this camera. Whereas the last two paragraphs attempt the opposite.
don't get it
This is the first camera I have ever bought. I got it back in October of '09 and it has been wonderful. I still plan on using it for years to come. The buying process of an SLR is a tough one. You really need to research them, see what they can do, see what your needs are, and analyze whether it would be a good fit before buying one. Getting an SLR is an expensive decision. They can cost anywhere from 500 to 5,000 dollars (and you'll still need to factor in what lens' you'll want to buy). But I'm sure you already know all of this. What you need to know is whether the XSi will be a good match for your needs.
In short, my answer would be no, for just about everyone that's reading this right now. When I bought mine, video recording was still a feature found on the higher end SLRs and it wasn't all that great of an experience. Now SLRs are used to make absolutely stunning works of art using video features. And the XSi doesn't do that. It's a great camera, and I have no regrets in getting mine when I did, because I have been able to capture some amazing memories since then that I wouldn't have been able to if I had waited. I would advise that you spend the extra couple hundred dollars and get one that can make some movies. ISO is also a factor. On more modern cameras in this class you'll see ISO going up to 6400, whereas this one only reaches 1600.
do get it
This camera is a great choice for someone who has just discovered their passion for photography. Getting an SLR after you have had a point-and-shoot for years is like going from driving a bike around, to being able to drive a car. And this camera would be an excellent first car. It has many of the luxuries of other higher end cars yet it is still affordable when compared to what else is out there. If you get this camera you will be very pleased with it for the next five years. And keep in mind, it's not so much the camera body that makes great pictures, it's the lens. So if you start to feel limited by the camera, just get a new lens.
Since this camera is affordable (compared to other cameras out there) you have room to go and spend a little more on lens from the start. The XSi is a wonderful starting point that will hopefully allow you to expand you photography in all kinds of ways you never considered. So if you're looking for a camera that will give you a good base that you can work up from, with a good value, I'd recommend this camera. The nicer more expensive cameras out there are great, but they still lack things that they should have in their featured features, such as stereo audio recording, more control over video recording settings, and auto-focus during video recording.
Either way, just remember, getting a camera is an extremely personal thing. It should fit your needs for now, as well as five years from now. Cause I doubt you'll want to get a new SLR in just a year.
There is a newer model of this item:
Canon EOS Rebel T5i 18.0 MP CMOS Digital SLR with 18-55mm EF-S is STM Lens
$322.00
(600)
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$322.00
(600)
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
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 | Canon EOS Rebel T3 Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens (discontinued by manufacturer) | Canon EOS Rebel T3i Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 is Lens (Discontinued by Manufacturer) | Canon EOS Rebel T100 / 4000D DSLR Camera (w/ 18-55 III) (Renewed) | Nikon D3100 DSLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Auto Focus-S Nikkor Zoom Lens (Discontinued by Manufacturer) | Canon Rebel XTi DSLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens (OLD MODEL) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customer Rating | (1015) | (1266) | (2517) | (40) | (1215) | (1000) |
| Price | $99.95 | $229.99 | $226.39 | $315.00 | $185.00 | $499.95 |
| Sold By | GG.Tech. Service & More INC | Replay Tech | TLC Cams | BH 52 Innovations | Chumdog, LLC | BYDEALS |
| Color | Black | Black | Black | Black | Black | Black |
| Continuous Shooting Speed | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.0 frames_per_second | 7 | 3 |
| Screen Size | 3 inches | 2.7 inches | 3 inches | 3.00 inches | 3 inches | 2.5 inches |
| Focus Type | TTL secondary image-registration, phase detection (9 AF points) with AF-assist Lamp (uses Built-in flash) | Automatic with Manual | Automatic with Manual | Auto Focus | Automatic with Manual | Automatic with Manual |
| Image Stabilization | Optical | Optical | Optical | Digital | Digital | — |
| ISO Range | 100-1600 | Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400 | Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400, (12800 with boost) | — | Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 (12800 with boost) | 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 5.1 x 2.4 x 3.9 inches | 5.12 x 3.07 x 3.94 inches | 5.24 x 3.15 x 3.94 inches | 8.8 x 6.6 x 5.5 inches | 4.88 x 2.95 x 3.78 inches | 5 x 2.56 x 3.7 inches |
| Item Weight | 1.16 lbs | 1.09 lbs | 1.57 lbs | 2.57 lbs | 1.30 lbs | 1.23 lbs |
| Max Resolution | 12.2 | 12.2 | 18 | 18.0 megapixels | 14.2 | 10.1 |
| Optical Sensor Resolution | 12.2 megapixels | 12.2 megapixels | 18 megapixels | 18.0 megapixels | 14.2 megapixels | 10.1 megapixels |
| Optical Zoom | 3x | 3.1x | 3.00x | 3.00x | 3x | 3x |
| Photo Sensor Size | 14.8 | APS-C | APS-C | APS-C | APS-C | APS-C |
| Style | Black XSI w/ 18-55mm IS Lens | Body + 18-55mm lens | w/ 18-55mm lens | Renewed | 18-55mm VR Lens | Black 18-55mm Lens Kit |
| Video Capture Resolution | 4K UHD 2160p | HD 720p | FHD 1080p | 1080p | FHD 1080p | FHD 1080p |
| Viewfinder Type | hybrid* | Optical | Optical | Optical | Optical | Optical |
| Wireless Communication Technology | Yes | EyeFi | EyeFi | Yes | EyeFi | — |
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HONEST Review of Canon 50D - Watch First
✅ Before You Buy!
Canon Digital Rebel XSi: Highly Recommended by dpreview.com
›Read the full Canon Digital Rebel XSi review at dpreview.com
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Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2010
Style: Black XSI w/ 18-55mm IS LensProduct Packaging: Standard PackagingVerified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2008
I got it from Amazon.com three days ago, and have given it a pretty good workout since then, having shot about 650 shots under a variety of shooting conditions and with a number of different Canon and third-party lenses. The following are my impressions.
The build feels very good. The camera feels wonderfully light yet well built. I'm 6ft tall with average size hands, and the camera feels good in my hand. The battery grip, to me, defeats the purpose of having a small, light DSLR, so I opted for a Hakuba/Opteka grip (it's a plate that screws into the tripod socket that enables you to use the excellent Canon E1 hand strap with it) and I couldn't be happier. I'm not a fan of neck straps, so this works well for me (see the uploaded photo for the configuration).
Most of the menu buttons on the back feel different from the ones on the original Digital Rebel and the 30D; the XSi buttons feel more tactile and have a definite "click" to them when you press them. The exception are the Exposure Lock (*) and AF selector buttons, which have retained the deeper, softer feel of the older cameras. Just different, not better or worse, for me.
The LCD is now 3" with 230K pixels. The playback images look great, and probably because of the higher resolution of the sensor, there's a very slight delay when you zoom in to 10x while the image loads and displays properly. People coming from other cameras or brands might not even notice it--I only did so because of the difference between it and my two other Canon DSLRs (which have lower resolution sensors). The viewing angle of the LCD screen (how clearly you can see the screen from side and up and down) is excellent; you can still see the screen holding the camera almost straight up for an overhead shot (more on this later). I'd estimate the viewing angle is about 160-170 degrees both horizontally and vertically.
The Digital Rebel has a separate status screen above the main LCD screen, and the 30D had one on top of the camera, so I wasn't sure if I was going to like the big LCD acting as the status screen and no top screen. I'm happy to say that this arrangement works well, at least for me. The back screen makes it really easy to take all the settings at a glance. The viewfinder is much larger and brighter than that in the Digital Rebel. A humongously welcome feature for me is the always displayed ISO value in the viewfinder.
The camera is only 1/2 of the image quality equation, the other being the lenses being used. Coupled with my favorite lens, the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L telephoto lens, the XSi turns out fantastic images. The supplied kit lens is very light and compact for being an image stabilized lens, and turns out good performance. The IS is certainly very useful.
Two features that used to be missing from the Digital Rebels and found in the more expensive DSLRs are now featured in the XSi: spot-metering and flash exposure compensation (these may have been available in the previous Digital Rebel model, the XTi, as well). The inclusion of those two features make the camera a much more complete and compelling photographic tool. The timer function now has a custom mode, where it'll count down from 10 seconds then take a number of shots (specified by you) in succession. No more running back and forth to reset the timer after each shot! There's also the traditional 2-second timer.
Let's talk for a minute about sensor and the ISO values. XSi/450D has five ISO values you can choose: 100 (best image quality), 200, 400, 800, and 1600. Higher ISO increases the camera sensor's sensitivity to light, thus you can achieve faster shutter speeeds for a given lighting condition. However, the trade-off is that the sensor "noise" (think grain for film photography) increases with higher ISO, so you get a degraded image quality in return for less blurred photos from hand shakes (thanks to faster shutter speed). This may come in handy in situations where flash photography is not permitted, such as a museum or a concert or theater. HOWEVER, compared to point-and-shoot digital cameras, the larger sensors of DSLRs, including the XSi, means that even at ISO 800 and 1600 you get very usable images right out of the camera. Running the images shot at those ISO settings through any number of third-party noise reduction software will improve them even further.
This ties in to another very useful feature of the XSi/450D that makes life easier for the photographer: The Auto ISO function. By default, Auto ISO sets the ISO (the sensor sensitivity to light) between 100 and 800 (by using custom functions, this can be changed to 200-1600). If you are, for example, shooting your kid's indoor basketball game and you know that you need a shutter speed of at least 1/200 sec to "freeze" the action, then you can set the camera to Tv (shutter priority mode) and set the value to 1/200, and set the camera to Auto ISO. Then the camera will match the aperture and the ISO to achieve proper exposure at that shutter speed. With my other DSLRs, setting the camera to shutter priority only allowed the camera to adjust the aperture value; ISO setting had to be adjusted manually. With the XSi/450D, the ability for the camera to adjust the ISO value automatically makes it one less thing for you the photographer to worry about.
I've only tested the Live View function to see how it works, but I can already see how useful it's going to be in studio and macro shootings. Just a note, you can't half-press the shutter to autofocus while in Live View mode. You can either manual focus, or use one of the two autofocus methods, quick (the mirror flips up, the LCD goes dark for a short while, and flips down with focus locked) or live (the camera uses the LCD's contrast detection to achieve the focus--this method is slower than the quick method), both by pressing the exposure lock button (*) while in the Live View mode. Using either the RS-60E3 wired remote or RC-1 wireless remote in Live View mode will ONLY trigger the shutter, and has no bearing on focusing.
Some people seem to be under the impression that the inclusion of the Live View feature will enable them to use the XSi/450D as they do point-and-shoot digital cameras, to compose their shots. That is not the case. You can't really make a functioning use of the Live View feature unless the camera's securely mounted on a tripod or on a flat surface. Both Live View focusing modes, while precise, are too slow to be used for hand-held shooting.
Having said that, there is one use of Live View in hand-held shooting that I've come to value. When shooting overhead or over an obstacle, I can, with the same hand holding the camera, trigger the Live View, compose the scene through the LCD monitor (even if it's out of focus, it's easy to get the general framing right), disable Live View, and take the photo normally. With a little practice, this can be accomplished very quickly. Very handy when you're just holding the camera overhead and hoping for the best.
The Direct Print button that's been much ridiculed and maligned in most Canon cameras now double as the white balance menu button. The Set button in the middle of the four-direction arrow keys can be programmed for a number of different functions: Change image quality, flash exposure compensation, LCD monitor on/off (same as Display button, but can be triggered by the same hand holding the camera), and Menu display (again, can be triggered by the same hand holding the camera).
There is a dedicated ISO button, which is also very welcome. It can easily be accessed during shooting with the right thumb, thereby minimizing the interruption to shooting.
The battery life seems very good. I've shot about 500+ shots on a single charge and the status monitor is still showing charge at full.
I'm using Transcend 8GB Class 6 SDHC card with it. At ISO 100, the camera reports it can fit 396 RAW+JPG (highest quality) on it, but in reality it can probably fit about 420-450 (the camera's always conservative when estimating). With RAW only, it can fit 507. With highest quality JPG, it can fit 1,822. Note that as ISO increases, so do the file sizes and thus you can store less images per card. For example, on ISO 1600, the same card can only hold 323 images, compared to 396 at ISO 100.
My only gripe, and this is more about me than the camera, is the RAW+JPG buffer. I always shoot RAW+JPG, and the buffer will only hold four images at that speed (this is a limitation that's built into the camera's memory buffer system, and thus using a fast memory card doesn't help--see p.64 of the manual). When the buffer's full, you can take two additional images at about a frame a second, then have to wait until the buffer empties (finishes writing to the memory card). When shooting RAW only, it's 6 images. When shooting JPG only, then it's no problem at more than 50 frames. I've found myself switching the mode dial to Sports mode when I'm shooting a fast-moving subject and the buffer simply can't keep up with it. Well, that's why Canon produces different grades and ranges of DSLRs.
I've uploaded some photos that I shot of the local wildlife. Most if not all of those were taken with the EF 70-200mm f/4 L lens.
All in all, it's a fantastic camera. Pretty amazing to see how far the entry-level DSLRs have come in just a few years in terms of features, interface, ergonomics, and quality. I'm very pleased with my purchase and intend to have lots of fun shooting pictures with it.
Style: Black XSI w/ 18-55mm IS LensProduct Packaging: Standard PackagingVerified Purchase
Great camera, one of the best low(er)-end DSLRs on the market
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2008
My journey with DSLRs began back in 2003 with the original Digital Rebel. DSLRs changed my photography for the better like nothing else. Five years and some 25,000 shots later, it's still going strong. Along the way I upgraded to the Canon 30D, which is a fantastic camera as well. When the 40D was announced, I decided to wait until the 50D sometime in 2009, but wanted a newer backup/second body for my photography needs. So when the XSi/450D was announced, it sounded like a perfect fit for my needs.Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2008
I got it from Amazon.com three days ago, and have given it a pretty good workout since then, having shot about 650 shots under a variety of shooting conditions and with a number of different Canon and third-party lenses. The following are my impressions.
The build feels very good. The camera feels wonderfully light yet well built. I'm 6ft tall with average size hands, and the camera feels good in my hand. The battery grip, to me, defeats the purpose of having a small, light DSLR, so I opted for a Hakuba/Opteka grip (it's a plate that screws into the tripod socket that enables you to use the excellent Canon E1 hand strap with it) and I couldn't be happier. I'm not a fan of neck straps, so this works well for me (see the uploaded photo for the configuration).
Most of the menu buttons on the back feel different from the ones on the original Digital Rebel and the 30D; the XSi buttons feel more tactile and have a definite "click" to them when you press them. The exception are the Exposure Lock (*) and AF selector buttons, which have retained the deeper, softer feel of the older cameras. Just different, not better or worse, for me.
The LCD is now 3" with 230K pixels. The playback images look great, and probably because of the higher resolution of the sensor, there's a very slight delay when you zoom in to 10x while the image loads and displays properly. People coming from other cameras or brands might not even notice it--I only did so because of the difference between it and my two other Canon DSLRs (which have lower resolution sensors). The viewing angle of the LCD screen (how clearly you can see the screen from side and up and down) is excellent; you can still see the screen holding the camera almost straight up for an overhead shot (more on this later). I'd estimate the viewing angle is about 160-170 degrees both horizontally and vertically.
The Digital Rebel has a separate status screen above the main LCD screen, and the 30D had one on top of the camera, so I wasn't sure if I was going to like the big LCD acting as the status screen and no top screen. I'm happy to say that this arrangement works well, at least for me. The back screen makes it really easy to take all the settings at a glance. The viewfinder is much larger and brighter than that in the Digital Rebel. A humongously welcome feature for me is the always displayed ISO value in the viewfinder.
The camera is only 1/2 of the image quality equation, the other being the lenses being used. Coupled with my favorite lens, the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L telephoto lens, the XSi turns out fantastic images. The supplied kit lens is very light and compact for being an image stabilized lens, and turns out good performance. The IS is certainly very useful.
Two features that used to be missing from the Digital Rebels and found in the more expensive DSLRs are now featured in the XSi: spot-metering and flash exposure compensation (these may have been available in the previous Digital Rebel model, the XTi, as well). The inclusion of those two features make the camera a much more complete and compelling photographic tool. The timer function now has a custom mode, where it'll count down from 10 seconds then take a number of shots (specified by you) in succession. No more running back and forth to reset the timer after each shot! There's also the traditional 2-second timer.
Let's talk for a minute about sensor and the ISO values. XSi/450D has five ISO values you can choose: 100 (best image quality), 200, 400, 800, and 1600. Higher ISO increases the camera sensor's sensitivity to light, thus you can achieve faster shutter speeeds for a given lighting condition. However, the trade-off is that the sensor "noise" (think grain for film photography) increases with higher ISO, so you get a degraded image quality in return for less blurred photos from hand shakes (thanks to faster shutter speed). This may come in handy in situations where flash photography is not permitted, such as a museum or a concert or theater. HOWEVER, compared to point-and-shoot digital cameras, the larger sensors of DSLRs, including the XSi, means that even at ISO 800 and 1600 you get very usable images right out of the camera. Running the images shot at those ISO settings through any number of third-party noise reduction software will improve them even further.
This ties in to another very useful feature of the XSi/450D that makes life easier for the photographer: The Auto ISO function. By default, Auto ISO sets the ISO (the sensor sensitivity to light) between 100 and 800 (by using custom functions, this can be changed to 200-1600). If you are, for example, shooting your kid's indoor basketball game and you know that you need a shutter speed of at least 1/200 sec to "freeze" the action, then you can set the camera to Tv (shutter priority mode) and set the value to 1/200, and set the camera to Auto ISO. Then the camera will match the aperture and the ISO to achieve proper exposure at that shutter speed. With my other DSLRs, setting the camera to shutter priority only allowed the camera to adjust the aperture value; ISO setting had to be adjusted manually. With the XSi/450D, the ability for the camera to adjust the ISO value automatically makes it one less thing for you the photographer to worry about.
I've only tested the Live View function to see how it works, but I can already see how useful it's going to be in studio and macro shootings. Just a note, you can't half-press the shutter to autofocus while in Live View mode. You can either manual focus, or use one of the two autofocus methods, quick (the mirror flips up, the LCD goes dark for a short while, and flips down with focus locked) or live (the camera uses the LCD's contrast detection to achieve the focus--this method is slower than the quick method), both by pressing the exposure lock button (*) while in the Live View mode. Using either the RS-60E3 wired remote or RC-1 wireless remote in Live View mode will ONLY trigger the shutter, and has no bearing on focusing.
Some people seem to be under the impression that the inclusion of the Live View feature will enable them to use the XSi/450D as they do point-and-shoot digital cameras, to compose their shots. That is not the case. You can't really make a functioning use of the Live View feature unless the camera's securely mounted on a tripod or on a flat surface. Both Live View focusing modes, while precise, are too slow to be used for hand-held shooting.
Having said that, there is one use of Live View in hand-held shooting that I've come to value. When shooting overhead or over an obstacle, I can, with the same hand holding the camera, trigger the Live View, compose the scene through the LCD monitor (even if it's out of focus, it's easy to get the general framing right), disable Live View, and take the photo normally. With a little practice, this can be accomplished very quickly. Very handy when you're just holding the camera overhead and hoping for the best.
The Direct Print button that's been much ridiculed and maligned in most Canon cameras now double as the white balance menu button. The Set button in the middle of the four-direction arrow keys can be programmed for a number of different functions: Change image quality, flash exposure compensation, LCD monitor on/off (same as Display button, but can be triggered by the same hand holding the camera), and Menu display (again, can be triggered by the same hand holding the camera).
There is a dedicated ISO button, which is also very welcome. It can easily be accessed during shooting with the right thumb, thereby minimizing the interruption to shooting.
The battery life seems very good. I've shot about 500+ shots on a single charge and the status monitor is still showing charge at full.
I'm using Transcend 8GB Class 6 SDHC card with it. At ISO 100, the camera reports it can fit 396 RAW+JPG (highest quality) on it, but in reality it can probably fit about 420-450 (the camera's always conservative when estimating). With RAW only, it can fit 507. With highest quality JPG, it can fit 1,822. Note that as ISO increases, so do the file sizes and thus you can store less images per card. For example, on ISO 1600, the same card can only hold 323 images, compared to 396 at ISO 100.
My only gripe, and this is more about me than the camera, is the RAW+JPG buffer. I always shoot RAW+JPG, and the buffer will only hold four images at that speed (this is a limitation that's built into the camera's memory buffer system, and thus using a fast memory card doesn't help--see p.64 of the manual). When the buffer's full, you can take two additional images at about a frame a second, then have to wait until the buffer empties (finishes writing to the memory card). When shooting RAW only, it's 6 images. When shooting JPG only, then it's no problem at more than 50 frames. I've found myself switching the mode dial to Sports mode when I'm shooting a fast-moving subject and the buffer simply can't keep up with it. Well, that's why Canon produces different grades and ranges of DSLRs.
I've uploaded some photos that I shot of the local wildlife. Most if not all of those were taken with the EF 70-200mm f/4 L lens.
All in all, it's a fantastic camera. Pretty amazing to see how far the entry-level DSLRs have come in just a few years in terms of features, interface, ergonomics, and quality. I'm very pleased with my purchase and intend to have lots of fun shooting pictures with it.
Images in this review
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Michael Boschat
My backup camera
Reviewed in Canada on August 6, 2023Style: Black XSI w/ 18-55mm IS LensProduct Packaging: Standard PackagingVerified Purchase
Amazon Customer
Non functional
Reviewed in Canada on September 15, 2020Style: Black XSI w/ 18-55mm IS LensProduct Packaging: Standard PackagingVerified Purchase
Katie Skarlett
No Battery Included
Reviewed in Canada on September 13, 2020Style: Black XSI w/ 18-55mm IS LensProduct Packaging: Standard PackagingVerified Purchase
