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Canon Rebel XT opinions

Southern-Nupe

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Originally Posted by DarkNWorn
Many of the new Nikon lenses have built-in motors in the lens, so you don't actually need a camera with motors in the body for the AF function. For example, most of the new VR lenses, including the 18-200, are set up this way. So, the AF function will work just fine even with the D40. But, if you must, the D80 is the first entry-mid level Nikon with a built-in body motor.
I think the D-40 is a decent camera, but IMO the Nikon line doesn't really start to get good until you step up to the D-60.
 

whacked

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Originally Posted by Southern-Nupe
IMO the Nikon line doesn't really start to get good until you step up to the D-60.

You must have meant the D80.
devil.gif
 

Southern-Nupe

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Originally Posted by whacked
You must have meant the D80.
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lol.....The D-60 is pretty good at it's price point, atleast it has more than 3 AF points unlike the D-40.

But I agree the D-80 is a nice cam.

edit: The D-60 also has 3 AF points as well.
 

GQgeek

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One of the reasons I would shy away from canon is all the bad **** I hear about htem, even at the Pro level. There's rarely an unhappy nikon customer, but you seem disillusioned canon people all the time.

I'm honestly not that familiar with the lower end offerings. I never looked below the d80 level when i was comparing SLRs. I ended up going with Olympus for reasons already stated. People tend not to consider them because they don't have the market share of the other two, but there's a lot to like about olympus.
 

grimslade

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Originally Posted by GQgeek
One of the reasons I would shy away from canon is all the bad **** I hear about htem, even at the Pro level. There's rarely an unhappy nikon customer, but you seem disillusioned canon people all the time.

Gimme a break. Canon has a huge following "at the pro level," and they are the people most likely to jump ship for Nikon if it weren't meeting their needs.

The point is, they're both big players, both make serious cameras and both have strong and weak points in their lineups and equipment. You hear more complaints about Canon, if you, because you meet more of their customers.

Originally Posted by GQgeek
I'm honestly not that familiar with the lower end offerings. I never looked below the d80 level when i was comparing SLRs. I ended up going with Olympus for reasons already stated. People tend not to consider them because they don't have the market share of the other two, but there's a lot to like about olympus.

Quoted for irony. "I heard a lot of bad things about Canon, so I decided to buy a camera system that nobody, especially 'Pros,' ever uses."


The Rebel is fine. A used 20D or 30D would be much, much better. The Quantaray lens is worthless and shouldn't factor into your decision. The Canon 18-55 is OK, but only costs about $100 itself, so also isn't a huge factor here. good luck.
 

GQgeek

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Originally Posted by grimslade
Gimme a break. Canon has a huge following "at the pro level," and they are the people most likely to jump ship for Nikon if it weren't meeting their needs.

The point is, they're both big players, both make serious cameras and both have strong and weak points in their lineups and equipment. You hear more complaints about Canon, if you, because you meet more of their customers.



Quoted for irony. "I heard a lot of bad things about Canon, so I decided to buy a camera system that nobody, especially 'Pros,' ever uses."


The Rebel is fine. A used 20D or 30D would be much, much better. The Quantaray lens is worthless and shouldn't factor into your decision. The Canon 18-55 is OK, but only costs about $100 itself, so also isn't a huge factor here. good luck.


Do I sense a canon user in our midst?
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You're right, I bought in to a system very few pros use, but that is irrelevant. I wasn't looking for a pro camera and didn't want to spend 5-8k on a body alone. The lack of a competitive pro body did not impact Olympus' ability to make very good pro-sumer cameras, and with the E-3, a very good semi-pro camera. However, before I went with olympus, I was going to go Nikon after reading tons of reviews on each. I hadn't owned a camera until then and I was completely unbiased at that point. Olympus only came on to my radar when a Canon 1d mk II user at work recommended I evaluate the system. What biased me against canon was the sheer number of articles and threads I saw about people with their top L (going off memory here, but the white ones) series lenses having all sorts of QC problems, not to mention the notorious AF problem on their 8k+ body. Is it only because there are more Canon than nikon users? Perhaps, but it's impossible to be certain. There are more Canon users not because Canon has better QC than nikon, but because they were the only option at the pro level for a long time, and for some things, still are.

Will most people have problems? Probably not. But it was nonetheless troubling to me and was enough to turn me away from them (more the lens issues than anything else). Even so, I will still evaluate a product on its merits and my intended use of it, which is why I'm interested in the G9 for underwater photography, despite the fact that I'd go with a d300 over a 40d.
 

Roikins

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Originally Posted by GQgeek
One of the reasons I would shy away from canon is all the bad **** I hear about htem, even at the Pro level. There's rarely an unhappy nikon customer, but you seem disillusioned canon people all the time.

I'm honestly not that familiar with the lower end offerings. I never looked below the d80 level when i was comparing SLRs. I ended up going with Olympus for reasons already stated. People tend not to consider them because they don't have the market share of the other two, but there's a lot to like about olympus.


Heh, I've never heard a pro say bad things about the Canon cameras they use. In fact, when I'm walking around at F1 races, I think I'll see one photog with a Nikon, while everyone else is shooting with a Canon. In my experience, Canons and their lenses are far better suited to shooting fast action, which is why you always see them at sporting events. My friends who have Nikons all are landscape or portrait people.
 

GQgeek

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Originally Posted by Roikins
Heh, I've never heard a pro say bad things about the Canon cameras they use. In fact, when I'm walking around at F1 races, I think I'll see one photog with a Nikon, while everyone else is shooting with a Canon. In my experience, Canons and their lenses are far better suited to shooting fast action, which is why you always see them at sporting events. My friends who have Nikons all are landscape or portrait people.

That's exactly true. For fast action sports, they're really the only choice for a pro. I'm not sure if nikon even has a desire to compete with Canon in that market.
 

grimslade

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Yes, I've used Canon cameras for years. I've owned the original Rebel (digital), the 20D and the 40D. I've also had or have the EOS 650, the 7NE and a bucket full of lenses from the 18-55 mentioned in the OP's post to the 70-200L f/4 IS. Canon's best lenses are world-class, as are Nikon's. They both make good bodies at a variety of price points--the 40D is more camera than 99% of the world could ever want, and it costs $500 less than the D300 (not that there's anything wrong with the D300).

In terms of lenses, Canon is somewhat stronger at the telephoto end, Nikon at the short (wide-angle) end. Nikon has the advantage in backward compatibility with older, manual-focus lenses, if you're into that kind of thing. Canon has certain intrinsic "architectural" advantages by virtue of having gone to an entirely electronic lens mount 20 years ago, but that means older lenses are pretty much unusable. So, YMMV.

The point is, there's nothing fundamentally wrong with making either choice. Even Olympus has some selling points. But to go around propagating scare stories about QC is just silly. If you read photography forums (such as those at DPreview), it's easy to come away with the idea that _every_ manufacturer is nothing but a series of manufacturing flubs and miscalibrations. Don't beleive the hype. Canon makes some great cameras. So does Nikon.

I'd still think seriously about picking up a 20D or 30D if you're looking at the XT though. 20D bodies can be had for about $500.
 

whacked

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Grim, I thought you were strictly a writer. At least, that was my impression looking at those Scafora pics...
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grimslade

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Originally Posted by whacked
Grim, I thought you were strictly a writer. At least, that was my impression looking at those Scafora pics...
tounge.gif


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My wife is the photographer. But she isn't into gear, so I do a lot of the research. She justs wants the equipment to stay out of her way. She takes the nice pictures. I take crummy ones. My pictures from the weekend were taken with a P&S, since my better half had the good gear.

Here's one of hers. Yes, all Canon equipment.

_MG_9575-vi.jpg
 

grimslade

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Here's one done with the original Rebel, and maybe with the kit lens, the 18-55.

IMG_7231-vi.jpg


One more:

_MG_9977-vi.jpg
 

GQgeek

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Those are nice pics, grim. It is certainly possible to take good pictures with just about any modern camera. It was never my intention to suggest that you can't take good pics with a Rebel (and I don't think I did).
 

grimslade

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Really I just wanted to show off some of my wife's pics, since someone had slagged off my photography and I certainly wouldn't want that blamed on the equipment.
 

yfyf

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XT is an excellent great camera, mine unfortunately broke down. My first breakdown in 6 DSLRs. It saw a lot of use though.

Interesting fact: it's the last entry level Canon to have two LCDs, one for status and one for review. I much prefer having two LCDs than one honking big one displaying shutter speed and aperture. A single small readout is a lot more discreet.

However at 450 ... you're better off waiting for the new Rebel XS. The accessories and extra Quantaray lens is worth nearly nothing. I'd jump on it at maybe 300.

Also, Grimslade: those photos are very good, your wife is indeed a smartypants.
 

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