Canon Digital Rebel XSi 12.2 MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens (Black) Reviews

• Great camera, one of the best low(er)-end DSLRs on the market

  
  By AY5IL05TZPIZO on 2008-04-24
  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.
  
  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.
  
  

• The next/best thing from Canon

  
  By A3D56IGUKCXSDD on 2008-05-03
  We'll start with what this camera is NOT:
  
  1) It's NOT a full-frame camera. That means it's smaller, lighter, and the resulting 1.6x crop factor is important to remember if you have EF lenses already. But because it's smaller it offers less features making it easier to use at the expense of being slightly less functional. These are, for the most part, obscure features nobody will ever use anyway. Also, because it doesn't have features like 6.5 fps, a pentaprism, and Flash Exposure Bracketing, it is less expensive than the x0D series.
  
  2) The XSi is NOT a point-and-shoot digicam. Don't expect it to do videos, sound, or to incorporate all kinds of convenient uber-automation. While 'cool', this automation usually just keeps you from controlling what you want to do yourself. Most of the time, this camera will stay in "P" or "program mode" for me. There is a green setting for point-and-shoot operation, but all this does is disable most of the features that you buy the camera for.
  
  2a) Live View is NOT the same as the LCD viewfinder on point-and-shoot digicams. Don't expect it to focus fast or provide the same functionality. Live View is intended for a camera mounted on a tripod or held steady. It is a GREAT way to get perfect focus when you need it. You just zoom in to 10x magnification and manually focus or let the contrast detection do it for you. But, it is NOT an LCD viewfinder. As long as you don't think it will be (I was stupid enough to think that way) then you know before you buy.
  
  The bad: (in all fairness, these are true of most modern DSLR's)
  
  1) The battery is improved, yes, but it's REALLY expensive. I bought a generic battery for a backup. Keeping the Canon battery fully charged, of course, and only using the generic when the Canon is charging.
  
  2) The LCD screen is right where my nose and cheek go. You can't avoid getting the glass all dirty and that gets annoying. And if the S5 can have an articulated 2.5" screen, why can't the XSi?
  
  3) A cheesy rubber cover. I like that all of the inputs are on the side, but I just hate these cheesy rubber covers. I would prefer a sliding cover or, better yet, use the space next to the XD slot.
  
  4) Battery door on the bottom. On my tripod, I can't access the battery without removing the camera from the tripod. This was also an issue with my first two digital Rebels.
  
  Now, we'll do a reality check:
  
  1) To those who say, "It's only 12mp," they're right. But, understand that unless you're printing bigger than 8x10", this resolution is better than adequate. In fact, the majority of the lenses out there don't have sufficient resolution to go above 12 megapixels. What I mean is that you can have a 100 megapixel camera but your lens is only really pushing out 10mp worth of quality resolution, what's the point? Many point-and-shoots have too much resolution for their lenses. Just try blowing up a typical 10mp p-&-s image to 8x10 and see what you get. Chances are, the 8mp sensor from the Digital Rebel XT did better.
  
  2) Some will say "It feels flimsy." I completely disagree. It feels solid and durable to me. Now, if you don't know this already, the plastic is actually a covering and environmental seal. Underneath, there is a stainless steel frame that holds everything solid. Your strap attaches to the frame directly as does the lens mount, tripod mount, and sensor. The plastic isn't structural so however it might FEEL to you, the camera is, in reality, stronger than you might think. Now, I can understand if you're used to tough magnesium shells that you might be prejudiced against the plastic, however this camera costs hundreds less. One cannot justify criticizing the Rebel series if they aren't willing to pay the extra for the x0D series.
  
  3) Critics say that APS-C is going to be obsolete. That's absurd! Remember that there are now scores of APS-C lenses from Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sony, Sigma, Tamron, and Tokina and those numbers continue to grow. Further, APS-C cameras are selling like hotcakes without any sign of slowing down. These people are the same ones that kept their Reel-to-Reel players because they were higher quality. Higher quality, yes, but you can't say that CD's aren't going to sell well because reel-to-reel is higher quality. APS-C is becoming the DSLR equivalent of what 35mm film was. Meanwhile, so-called "full-frame" sensor cameras are going the way of older 6x7 and 645 film cameras. They are limited to professionals and high-end enthusiasts. Why? Film was limited and topped out at resolution long ago. To get higher resolution, you needed bigger film. Not true with digital sensors. APS-C has not maxed out on resolution yet. Smaller sensors haven't even hit their stride. There is no reason sensors cannot hit 20-30 megapixels in an APS-C in the near future, but why? The lenses are still the limiting factor. In fact, it might be true soon that SMALLER will be better. As sensors get better, they can get smaller. It's cheaper to make a four-thirds or APS-C than a full-frame of the same quality level.
  
  Here's where I get to play designer... what does the XSi need?
  
  1) Articulating LCD. Like I said earlier, if Canon can add the articulating 2.5" screen to their S5 camera for $350 total, why in the world can't they put it on their best-selling DSLR?
  
  2) Sliding door for the inputs. Cheesy rubber covers are not as cool as designers think they are. Why can't Canon just put one environmentally sealed door for the battery, XD card, and all the inputs? And, hey, why not put it on the side so you can access it while the camera is on the tripod?
  
  3) Why all the inputs? Just have one USB slot to connect to the computer, to the TV, and use the same USB port for a DC input?
  
  4) One dial? Why not two? The Pentax K20D allows you instant access to the aperature with one dial, shutter with the other. Cool.
  
  5) Where did FEB go? Flash Exposure Bracketing? They had it on the XTi. Why did they take it away from me?
  
  

• are you looking for a good DSLR that does not break the bank? This is it.

  
  By ADVG53CA4FTWI on 2008-04-24
  i sold my beloved Nikon D70 after four years of use. I still miss it. I purchased a D40, but it never felt right. Picture quality was good, better than the D70, but I had to go through menus to do most everything (changing white balance, ISO, formatting the card, you name it), whereas the D70 had dedicated buttons. That makes all the difference in usability. Besides, the D40 does not even autofocus with my beloved 50mm 1.8 lens. Are you kidding me? I returned the D40 after 3 days of use.
  
  I was lookind at the D80, 40D, the D300, the XTI, and this one. All good cameras (at the end of the day, they all take excellent pictures). it's the usability/sweet price/new features factor that counts. 40D and D300 are expensive for me (not a pro). The XTI is getting old (still good though, and very good price). The D80 is very good, a bigger brother of my beloved d70, but still old: no sensor cleaning, to highlight tone priority, does not ship with a bundled VR lens. You are basically buying a 2006 camera in 2008. I did not like that.
  
  I found this XSI at Circuit City. It felt right in my small hands. It had most of the buttons I need to make changes quickly. I still have to go to a menu to set my custom white balance (the D70 had a button for that). Same thing to format the card (button combination on the D70). Auto ISO is not as smart as Nikon's implementation. Other than that, the camera is excellent. All the other buttons are there. It has an RGB histogram (very important; it lets you see if you are clipping individual colors). Picture quality is great. Very little noise (Canon's CMOS sensor is cleaner than Nikon's CCD on the D80), very pleasing skin tones (I take lots of pictures of my daughter and wife).
  
  If the D80 had the same 2008 features as this one (highlight tone priority, self-cleaning sensor, bundled VR lens), I would have gotten that one. It's still a great camera. This one is just a 2008 camera with features found in the semi-pro 40D and the pro 1DS.
  
  I'm very happy with it.
  
  

• Why not buy a 40D when the prices are so close?

  
  By A2NRDRB3907XOL on 2008-05-28
  You have the choice of buying a XSi for 800 dollars (body only) or buying a Canon 40D for $950. I can't see why anyone in that position would choose to go with the XSI. The build quality on the 40D is infinitely better. It has weatherproofing and a magnesium alloy body. It's shutter is rated for 100,000 shots whereas the rebel series has been rated for about half that (That means the 40D could last twice as long for 150 bucks more). It has a much better and clearer viewfinder; a pentaprism instead of a pentamirror. It is faster in terms of burst shooting and can reach faster shutter speeds than the XSi (1/8000 sec vs 1/4000). It also has a much larger memory buffer for when you take bursts of photos. The 40D can be pushed to 3200 ISO while the XSi tops out at 1600. This is a big deal when shooting in low light. The 40D also has longer battery life.
  
  Further, most people will never use 12 Megapixels. 10 is perfectly adequate. I can understand buying an XTi over a 40D. The XTi is half the price. But for the small difference the 40D is definitely the smarter buy when compared to the XSi. If the price comes down, then the XSi will be worth it. Until then. Do yourself a favor and get the 40D. Just my two cents.
  
  My three stars are strictly based on a price to performance consideration. I'm sure the XSi performs great. Canon dSLR's are excellent all around.
  
  

• Great camera, amazing battery life, now the perfect price!

  
  By A2LV4MQP3WISQP on 2008-04-22
  I have had the XSi for about 3 months now and I am thouroughly impressed with it. This is my first DSLR and I was a little wary about going with a brand-new and untested camera, but I have always like Canon (I used an ELAN II in High School and I bought a SD600 about 2 years ago to take snapshots of my son). Overall, I have not been disappointed with the quality of the photos that the XSi produces. The IS lens works great and I have taken some pretty amazing photos (for me at least). I do have just a couple of issues, both good and bad, that I think those who are looking at buying this may want to know.
  
  Battery life -- Great battery life. I should say, AMAZING battery life. I have taken over 5000 photos and I have only had to charge the battery twice.
  
  Live View -- LiveView is not for beginners. It is not a replacement for your Point-and-Shoot. You can't use it in the AUTO mode (Green Square). This isn't that big of a deal for me, I prefer full manual myself, but the whole point of this feature, I thought, was to make it more user friendly for the Point-and-Shoot photographer. My wife can't use Live View in it's current form (I specifically bought a DSLR with a live view function so she could still use the camera). So, if Live View is a big selling point for you, You may want to look at some others (If it isn't that big of a deal to you, then this is still an amazing camera -- added 4-23-2008). If you do studio work, though, you can hook the camera up to your PC and use it as a remote viewer. But it is not a point-and-shoot camera in Live View. In my earlier review, I said that it would be nice if Canon fixed some of the Live View issues with a firmware update, I was mistaken. Live View is a nice feature once you figure out it is not meant for beginners. Studio and landscape photographers will find Live View a great tool.
  
  Image Quality -- I have had some great success shooting in a studio setting as well as some great outdoor shots. In the studio, I used tungsten "hot" lights with the subjuect against a white background. The photos turned out great. Skin tones are perfect and there is very little, if any, chromatic abberation at the edges. It shoots great outdoor shots as well. We just got into beekeeping and I was able to get some AMAZING shots of our bees up-close outdoors. The bees looked dirty and not very interesting from a distance, but the macro photos I got up close are beautiful and full of wonderfully crisp details. The lens is a little short, the image quality you get from it is pretty good considering it only costs $100. I do plan on buying a longer lens in the near future.
  
  Overall, the camera is solid and feels nice in the hand. It isn't too heavy, yet still feels sturdy. If you can afford the higher price, I don't think you will be disappointed. If you can't, the XTi is still a great camera. And if you can afford to wait a few months for the price to drop a little (LIKE IT ALREADY HAS!!) I would. I was able to work a few extra weekends so I could afford to get this, and I can tell you, I don't mind it a bit, because the quality of photos I am getting has been totally worth it.
  
  --- Update ---
  I was incorrect when I said you couldn't use the 9-Point autofocus in Live View. You can use the 9-point autofocus while in Live View, but the mirror flips down and focuses so you can't see what you are trying to focus on until after the camera has actually gone through the autofocus process.
  
  
  --- Update #2 ---
  I have now had this camera for almost two months and I am happy to report that the more I use it, the more I love it. Once you learn the layout of the camera and you load the MyMenu with the tools you use most often, the camera becomes an absolute delight to use. I have taken over 5000 photos with it so far and now I need an extra hard drive to put them all on.
  
  I was able to rent a Canon EF 24-105 IS L lens and a 580 EX II Speedlite for my sister's wedding. WOW! What great photos. The camera interfaced with the flash flawlessly and I am more convinced than ever that much of the quality of your photos comes from the glass you use and not as much from the camera itself (I think it is about 65% lens to 35% camera body give or take a few points-- I know there will be those who disagree, but that is my take on it, and I am sure if I had a 1Ds MkIII I would think that there wasn't a peice of glass good enough for my camera).
  
  This is a great beginner dSLR and a great camera all around. I am very happy with my purchase and I have had no regrets whatsoever about spending the $900 to buy such a great tool. Amazon now sells it for $799, you can't go wrong at that price!
  
  
  
  
• LEFT MY NIKON D40 BEHIND AND NEVER LOOKED BACK
  By A2RUUTTFJQ7CBH on 2008-04-23
  After using the Nikon D40 for the past 6 months I was in desperate need of a new DSLR camera. Not wanting to break my bank account I had been eyeing up the latest consumer level SLR from Canon, the Rebel XSi, and eagerly awaiting its release date.
  
  Compared to other SLRs in this class the Canon Rebel XSi includes the following:
  
  - 12.2 Megapixels: They just keep going up! This alone gives the Rebel XSi an advantage because (at this point in time) there is no other consumer level SLR camera with more megapixels on the market. I've even had a few friends tell me they're looking to upgrade from last years Rebel XTi which had 10.1.
  
  - 3.0" LCD Panel:. Just when you thought they couldn't make it any bigger Canon upgrades their LCD screen yet again. Another reason amateur photographers will be happy to either upgrade or flat out purchase the Rebel XSi is because Canon has added an extra half-inch of screen space on the back, making for easier viewing and putting a stop to blurry photos before they get a chance to spread.
  
  - 9-Point AF: The EOS Rebel XSi has a high-precision 9-point wide area AF sensor for fast, accurate focus even in dim lighting. It has a number of focus modes, including One-Shot AF, AI Focus AF, AI Servo AF and Manual. In Live View Function, the EOS Rebel XSi has two AF modes: Quick mode, which uses the camera's standard 9-point AF system, and Live mode, which is a contrast-based AF system that reads the sharpness of subjects right from the imaging sensor, and can be overridden by pressing the AF mode selection button. A familiar feature in PowerShot cameras, Live mode AF uses similar technologies to achieve focus, while Quick mode is more appropriate for capturing action or for shooting in low light.
  
  - Outstanding Image Quality: Canon's CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) sensor captures images with exceptional clarity and tonal range, and offers the most pixels in its class. It offers many of the same new technologies to maximize each pixel's light gathering efficiency that were first seen with the professional EOS-1D Mark III model. It's an APS-C size sensor (22.2 x 14.8mm), and there's an effective 1.6x increase in the lens's marked focal length when attached. Canon's DIGIC III Image Processor dramatically enhances image quality and speeds up all camera operations for intuitive operation. It works in concert with the EOS Rebel XSi's sensor to achieve unprecedented levels of performance in all lighting situations.
  
  
  - 14-bit A/D Converter: With the EOS Rebel XSi, analog to digital signal conversion is executed by a 14-bit processor, which generates digital data with incredibly smooth tones. Formerly a feature only present in top-of-the-line pro digital SLR cameras, the 14-bit conversion gives incredibly smooth transitions from light to dark colors, with far less risk of "banding." A sky at sunset is a perfect example. With this rich 14-bit gradation the EOS Rebel XSi offers RAW images of the highest quality that can be processed with Canon's Digital Photo Professional software. Even JPEG files, which are always finished at 8-bits per channel, use the full 14-bit conversion initially to generate the best possible color and tonal detail. Another huge benefit of the 14-bit conversion is the Highlight Tone Priority option, which allows critical shooters to increase the level of detail in bright areas of a scene up to one stop, without affecting overall exposure.
  
  - Auto Optimization: The EOS Rebel XSi's Auto Optimization is yet another image-quality tool that comes to the rescue in tricky lighting conditions. It can actually lighten dark areas of a scene while ensuring that bright areas maintain tonal detail. It's now available in all shooting modes, including P, Tv, Av, and Manual.
  - Precision Operation: The EOS Rebel XSi operates with such effortless speed that operation is nothing short of intuitive. With instant startup times, speedy autofocus and minimal shutter lag, the EOS Rebel XSi is one of the fastest cameras available today. It can shoot up to 3.5 frames per second, in bursts of 53 JPEGs or 6 RAW files, so you'll never, ever miss a shot.
  
  - Advanced Features: The EOS Rebel XSi's 35-zone evaluative metering system with improved white balance analyzes light based on each zone in the viewing area, enabling the camera to choose the overall best exposure for the entire scene. It now features a spot meter, which reads a tiny area (about 4%) of the picture for extremely precise metering. It also provides Center-weighted average metering and partial metering for accurate exposure no matter the situation. The EOS Rebel XSi also has an improved, high magnification viewfinder that provides a larger overall view, and increased brightness and clarity. And the EOS Rebel XSi has a Display-Off sensor that automatically turns the LCD monitor off whenever the camera is at the photographer's eye. All relevant shooting information, including ISO, is displayed right in the viewfinder so it's easy to change settings without moving the camera away from the eye.
  
  - Flexible Storage: The EOS Rebel XSi is the first EOS Digital SLR camera to use popular SD and SDHC memory cards only. Compact, inexpensive and available in increasingly large capacities, SD and SDHC memory cards are a perfect complement to the EOS Rebel XSi's compact and lightweight body design.
  
  - Self Cleaning Sensor Unit: It's Back! A key element of minimizing dust is preventing it from clinging to the front surface of the imaging sensor. To combat against this, the EOS Rebel XSi features a Canon-designed Self Cleaning Sensor Unit. The low-pass filter at the front of the sensor shakes off dust automatically with ultrasonic vibrations, removing dust from the sensor assembly. The EOS Rebel XSi has a new coating on the front surface of the low-pass filter, to increase its resistance to dust sticking to the sensor.
  
  This is about as good as it gets for consumer level SLRs. Canon has done it again with it's innovation and user-friendly design. Well worth the upgrade from the Nikon D40.
  
  
• first time DSLR owner
  By AC6R0N36XEPVY on 2008-04-29
  If you do a search on reviews of this camera you will find a lot of first time DSLR buyers deciding to get this camera. I am one of them. After years of Point and Shoot camera use thinking the convenience of carrying them and using them was worth it, I came to the realization that I wasn't happy with most of the pictures I took. They preserved the moment but almost none of them were worth blowing up or printing. Mediocre flash, zoom, megapixels, etc limited me and the pictures.
  
  I love all the features of this camera for the price, especially the dedicated ISO button on top and the menu system is very easy to figure out, and the 3 inch LCD screen. There is also the switch to SD memory cards which are apparently easier to use than CF. It is so easy to take the card out, put it in an SD USB card reader, load the pictures and return the card to the camera, rather than have to fiddle around with opening the little door on the camera and connecting a cable from it to the PC.
  
  If you are contemplating buying your first DSLR you must remember that the camera is just the start. You will need to invest in a quality external flash to improve your flash pictures. And there is the various zoom lens, that now utilize Image or Optical Stabilization, a technology worth the extra cost. I was happy to do all this and I am absolutely satisfied with this camera and the Canon lens and flash as well. I now am very happy with carrying a bigger but absolutely superior camera
  
  
  
  
• Great Macros...Poor medium to long range Autofocus
  By AU8E774SC8TWK on 2008-07-06
  I picked up this camera two weeks ago at a local store. Overall, it's a solid camera. Color reproduction is wonderful, it's quick, low noise with high iso, and terrific macros. The camera is blazing fast. Please refer to the other posters for the good points of this camera.
  
  Now i'll discuss the shortcomings. The major one, which has been referenced to in various forums such as dpreview and a few online review sites is poor AutoFocus. Not all cameras are affected, but mine was. If you shoot at an object from w/in 10 ft, it has trouble over 50% of the time picking up the autofocus point and often selects the wrong point. If you use center focus, it gets pretty close but final image is still a bit blurry. It becomes a bit sharper w/ the live view autofocus system. When I took some outdoor pics of some animals, i couldn't quite lock on what i was interested in. Even when taking shots of people outside w/ a prominent background, it seems to have trouble deciding if it wants to focus on the person or the background. I'd say that 20% of my shots were actually in focus and those look wonderful. The remaining ones had the focus off. So i'm gonna send my camera to canon for repair. I went to best buy and tried out a 40D and the focus was rock solid. If you get a good camera, kodus to u.
  
  
• What a great camera!
  By A2Z5UBRTCCTTDW on 2008-05-31
  The XSi is a significant step forward for Canon, and brings features to the upper end of the consumer market that were previously only seen in much more expensive professional equipment.
  
  The most important reasons I like this camera are:
  
  1. The kit lens (EF-S 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 IS) is very good for the price. It is as sharp as lenses costing $700 to $1,000 and has only minimally greater barrel distortion and no vignetting to speak of. There is a little bit more chromatic aberration than with more expensive lenses, but again it completely acceptable, especially for the price. The autofocus and image stabilization work reliably and quickly. For aficionados of professional grade lenses, the build will seem light, but a light and small lens is also easier to carry around. Overall, a big improvement over earlier Canon kit lenses.
  
  2. The 12.2 megapixel sensor provides more than enough resolution. Even 8"x12" enlargements are highly satisfactory. We can look forward to the day when consumer-priced 35mm SLRs will have 30 megapixel full size sensors. At that point, the 35mm format will be maxed out in terms of resolution, as the lenses will not be able to keep up. In the meantime, this is as good as it gets. To give you an idea how good, on a shot of a 25 story building, every brick was clearly visible.
  
  3. The camera is fast enough for essentially all non-professional use. With natural lighting (no flash) it shoots 3.5 frames per second, perfect for capturing kids or sports action.
  
  4. Another great feature of the XSi is that it has all the manual controllability that advanced photographers want, but also has automatic modes that even a complete beginner can easily use. The performance of the preset automatic modes is surprisingly good under a wide range of conditions.
  
  Having only had the XSi for a few weeks, I cannot yet say anything about the reliability of this new model. What I can report is that in more than 30 years of photography, I have found Canon products, both SLR and point and shoot, to be by far the most reliable. The Nikon, Olympus, and Pentax cameras I once owned have long since fallen by the wayside, but every Canon I have ever had, all the way back to a 1978 35 mm AT-1 SLR, is still going strong.
  
  
  
• Wonderful digital camera!
  By A2UKDCS2ZLYNP7 on 2008-06-03
  This camera is impossible to beat at this price. I won't write a lengthy review, but, you can set this camera in fully automatic mode and hand it to a "point and shoot" person, and they will obtain fantastic results. For the amateur photographer, this has all of the bells and whistles, what I love is I can reset the camera rapidly for multiple shots of the same scene on very different settings. Married with a decent photo program on your computer, it is possible to achieve professional results.
  
  Many reviews say, get this with the stabilization lens.... I wholeheartedly agree... the extra $100 is a bargain price for this lens... It is almost (and I do say almost) like having a tripod. I set the camera for 1/10th second exposures with no support, and obtained steady pictures with it, slower than this, and the stabilization did not fully correct for any unsteadiness.
  
  We'd buy it again in a heartbeat, and I wish I could get one for everyone I know!! Best photos that I have ever taken and a joy to use! Connecting it to the computer and downloading photos takes a matter of seconds.
  
  Get the largest SD card you can afford with it... We have a 2GB card with it, and it fills fairly rapidly. 1GB is far too small for this camera (primarily because you will take numerous shots with it, not because the pics take up a great deal of memory), I'm guessing 4GB would be near perfect (or a couple of 2GB cards, but one 4GB is safer, the cards are too easy to misplace).
  
  
• Amazed Simply
  By A3HXXS8D6BGVLD on 2008-06-05
  I'm a professional photographer. I shoot editorials and advertising. I own a couple Canon 1Ds Mark 3. That being said, I wanted a small compact camera to take around with me. I first purchased a Sigma DP-1, but found it limiting and too slow. I sold it and decided to purchase the Canon 450D (XSi). And I am simply amazed at the functionality and speedy feel of the camera. Yes, it's not as small as a DP-1, but compared to a 1Ds Mark 3, it's tiny. Every feature of this camera is well thought out and they loaded it with much current technology as possible. I can't think of a single thing to complain about. I see people complaining about the buffer, but honestly if you NEED high buffer on RAW shooting then take the plunge and buy a 1D or 1Ds.
  
  It's not a professional grade camera by functionality and build. But the image quality is on par. sRAW on a 1Ds Mark 3 is precisely the same as this camera MP size. I would feel very comfortable with the image quality of this camera to do a editorial shoot (non-sport) with it. But of course, the client always wants to see the big expensive camera, since they're paying you. :)
  
  
• Very poor autofocus and noise performance
  By A5E6YDGQ6HTO1 on 2008-07-22
  This might be a quality control issue but about 50% of my shots are out of focus. I have used a 350D for years and was planning to upgrade to 12 MP - but I am very disappointed. I am always using center point autofocus and have used several different lenses - Canon's 50mm/f1.8, the Canon 17-85mm IS, Sigma 10-20mm, Sigma 30mm/f1.4 - with all lenses there are focus issues in many many shots.
  In addition, I can not attest to the low noise comments. I see lots of chroma noise even at ISO 400 which was never the case with my 8 MP 350D. This one is going back today - I guess Canon has serious quality control issues, though the noise issue can not be explained by that.
  
  
• Exceeded my expectations.
  By AZQUJWF2SBRP9 on 2008-05-04
  My first dSLR purchase, but I come with a strong analog photographic background (medium- and large-format photography).
  
  The XSI is very nice. It is nice and light-weight, great image quality, and is snappy in operation. I couldn't ask for much more (well maybe in-body IS like Sony, Pentax, and Olympus cameras).
  
  I laugh at the people who call this an "entry-level" dSLR. The image quality exceeds Canon's $1300 semi-professional 40D model. The features that more-expensive models include are mostly minor conveniences. I took plenty of "professional" pictures with my 4x5" view camera. I get about 1-frame-per-15-minutes with a large-format camera. And yet people seem to think that the XSI's 3.5 frames/per/second makes it entry-level?! Most photographers need nothing more. Yes, if you are a professional wildlife or sports photographer, you want the upgrade. If not, then this camera should meet your needs and then some.
  
  
  
  
• A Great Camera Overall
  By A2G1UUFDUJ2C5G on 2008-06-22
  This camera is really great!
  
  UPDATE: I've had mine for 3 months and I've taken more than 3000 pictures. I still like it a lot. Amazing.
  
  It's easy to use, the LCD screen is big and clear, it's quite light, and the packaged kit lens (18-55 IS) is good. It's not a top lens, but it delivers sharp photos across the zoom range. Default settings will give you great shots out of the box.
  The 9-point auto focus is good most of times, but I found myself using the central point most often, even more so when using larger apertures (when right focusing matters most).
  
  For under $700, this is the best DSLR you can find.
  
  * Pros and Cons *
  Pros:
  - An easy to use, quick camera.
  - Intuitive menus.
  - 12 mega pixels.
  - Great pictures, sharp, good tones.
  - Small and light weight for a DSLR.
  - Live view mode to almost mimic point and shoot feel-it's slow though.
  - 3.5 shots per second-could be more.
  - Sharp kit lens for the price.
  
  Cons:
  - Somewhat expensive compared to the Canon 40D (much lighter though).
  - ISO limited to 1600.
  - Relatively low fps.
  - Exposure compensation range limited.
  - Does not have video.
  
  * The competition *
  The closest competitor is certainly the Canon 40D, which is a bigger, more professional camera. It has more options, higher iso, remote flash, higher shots per second rate, fewer pixels but a definitely tougher feel.
  I went for the rebel Xsi because I found the 40D too hefty.
  Still, if you really want a professional camera you should look at the Canon 40D.
  If you have a bigger budget, you should also look at Nikon, I really recommend the Nikon D300, it's a really impressive camera.
  
  * Lenses *
  Canon has LOTS of lenses.
  If you're tight on budget, you should get the 50mm 1.8, a great lens for portrait. It's a very sharp lens. You'll enjoy the 1.8 wide aperture that allows blurred backgrounds and sharp , all of this for under $100.
  It's also a good start to get used to shoot with primes (lenses with a fixed focal length).
  The 18-55mm kit lens is often paired with the Canon 55-250mm IS lens to give you an almost 14x zoom (13.9), this Canon 55-250 is a very good telephoto lens if your budget is under $300.
  If you don't want to change lenses, Canon just released the 18-200 IS and it comes highly recommended so far.
  The Sigma 18-200 OS is good too. It's cheaper and it's been in the field for longer.
  
  
• Don't order this camera online
  By A3U5H8PA2PS7C9 on 2008-06-18
  I'd love to write a review for this camera, but it was shipped broken so I haven't had a chance to use it. Don't order this camera online, and especially don't buy it from Pavilion Electronics.
  
  
• Comparison: 400D v 450D v D60 v E420
  By A5V9729A9OXRF on 2008-07-04
  This review is strictly comparison of image quality of these four SLRs, I am completely leaving out ergonomics, features, size of LCD etc.
  
  After shooting 100s of shots and pixel peeping images of identical scenes.
  
  Color reproduction:
  1st: Nikon D60
  2nd: Canon XTi and Canon XSi
  4th: Olympus E420
  
  D60 has sliglty more vibrant and punchier colors than the Canons. Casual user will be much happier with Nikon over the other three. XSi and XTi and identical in this regard inspite of the former's 14-bit A/D converison advantage. Upgarding from XTi to XSi will not give any advantage in real world improvements in terms of color reproduction.
  
  Image Noise (at 400 and 1600 ISO)
  1st: Canon XTi
  2nd: Canon XSi
  3rd: Nikon D60
  3rd: Olympus E420
  
  XTi has the least image noise, as it has less megapixels in the same area CMOS sensor when compared XSi. D60's CCD is noisier but it also has more color information at higher ISOs where Canons mutes colors to suppress the noise. E420 smaller LiveMOS sensor has worst of both worlds. It's images are as Noisy as D40 but colors are as muted as Canon's.
  
  If you factor in the prices, the best choices are either XTi for D60. The trade off is between better color and less noise.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Simple to use, Nice feel, Great photos.....
  By A3R4GQQIU4YYL4 on 2008-04-28
  This Camera seems to do it all, quite nicely, I was a little suprised that the Live View feature does not function in the automatic/program modes, but the three inch monitor is a big improvement for viewing the pictures after you take them. So I am still happy, and won't discount my five point enthusiasm.
  
  I like the weight and the grip, it just feels right to me. I got some really nice photos with the kit lens. Using it with my 580EX flash was also a breeze.
  
  I am a point-and-shoot kinda guy, and this camera gets pro-looking shots in full automatic mode most of the time.
  
  
• First SLR camera ever owned, beginner.
  By A2F9MGLWFOEXM7 on 2008-05-06
  What can I say, except that this camera is the best thing that's ever happened to me, next to my dear wife that is.
  
  I came from point-n-shoot cameras, owned alot of them; mostly Sony and some were even half the price of this SLR. I've always had two major problems with point-n-shoot cameras. First, I always had to take 2-3 pictures for something to come out decent. It seemed that even if shooting in the same modes the color definition was always different in each picture taken. Second, it was a real challenge for me to capture objects in motion, most came out blurry; again I had to shoot 4,5+ times to get one acceptable result.
  
  On the contrary, I decided to spend 900 bux and get this camera. It simply refuses to break pictures. I've taken pictures from busses out the window while in motion, i've taken pictures at fast moving objects, and it just refuses to break focus. I'm extremely surprised at how well it behaves, even in auto mode. It all feels like a dream.
  
  The next thing i tried is the macro mode function at the Botanical Garden; and you can see some sample photos - the blue flower is one of the best :) I took about 5 pictures of each flower, because that's how I used to do it in the past. I shouldn't have. Each picture came out clear and sharp, however, keeping in mind that the kit lens is not really a macro lens, while shooting the really small flowers, there was some blurr, which is totally understandable. Some things are just too small to capture the details with the kit lens, not the camera's fault.
  
  Another nice feature is the ability to update the firmware yourself, which we all know improves stability, adds new functionality, and, if there are any, corrects any software bugs.
  
  The build quality is really solid too. It feels as solid as a rock, but not as heavy :)
  
  Lastly, the battery. I haven't drained the battery but I have taken about 230 pictures, about 30 of those were at night with the flash. By the end of the day, I was still running with a full battery. So while I can't say exactly how many shots u can get on a full charge, I can confirm that the battery does not get exhausted easily.
  
  Overall, if you have the money to spend and new to SLR's I would definately recommend this camera. Sure it's a bit expensive, but SDHC memory cards are cheap these days.
  
  
• Another outstanding Rebel offering
  By A5KMMY627T3W on 2008-10-17
  I am a semi-pro photographer who usually shoots with much more expensive bodies. Every now and then, however, I need to bring a smaller camera with me for whatever reason, and this is the one. Also, like a lot of pros and semi-pros I need to have an APS-C body in order to use the cult-followed Canon EF-S 10-22mm lens that only works on APS-C boides such as the Rebels.
  
  In fact Rebels have been the one I go to to fill those needs for a few years now. A lot of semi-pros and pros criticize the performance of these cameras and/or the perceived weaknesses in ergonomics, size, and available functions. Is this a $1000 camera body? No it is not. Is this a $2600 camera body? No it is not. Is this a $6999.99 camera body? No it is not. I am hammering that point home because some people insist on comparing the Rebels to cameras like that. The comparisons are fine as long as price is factored in; if you leave price out of the equation then yes, this camera will likely lose out to a body costing more than a grand.
  
  The following are some my random thoughts on this camera; I am not going to cover everything because others have done that well enough. I am going to address the issues important to me, a semi-pro photographer who sometimes needs to travel light.
  
  ISO performance (this is most important to me in any camera for any price):
  
  ISO 100: Outstanding
  ISO 400: Great (and professionally competent) except for higher than desirable noise in the darkest shadows. Even shooting RAW and carefully post-processing, you will probably need to leave the shadows alone and not bring them out too much. I am nitpicking a little here for the sake of being thorough in the review; it is not by any means a terrible or "deal-breaker" level of noise in the shadows.
  ISO 800: Usable for sure and better than expected, but noise certainly is apparent at this level--or rather the effects of noise reduction are apparent--and the in camera noise reduction is aggressive enough that some detail and sharpness is lost as a result of cleaning out the noise. Certainly usable but best at smaller sizes (8x10 or smaller) when printing and viewing.
  ISO 1600: To me it's out of the question. I do have a higher standard than the average consumer as a semi-pro, so keep this in mind. I would use this setting only in such a dire situation that ISO 800 would be completely unusable. The noise reduction in ISO 800 is too aggressive, but it does result in the elimination of a great deal of noise. It seems they didn't even bother in ISO 1600. There is noise all over the place in ISO 1600. I haven't used a camera that I can remember that had such a huge difference between ISO 800 and ISO 1600. So, bottom line, IMHO you should stay away and only use in a pinch. I can't see printing anything larger than 4x6 with this setting. If that's your bag then you will probably be fine.
  
  I do want to say regarding my opinions on the ISO handling that I did not buy this camera for high ISO performance. If you are planning on doing that I would think twice. Is it better than the Rebel, Rebel XT, and Rebel XTi? Certainly. Does that make it a good performer at high ISO? Not necessarily.
  
  I do the vast majority of my shooting between ISO 100 and 400. I use fast lenses and I typically shoot during the day. This is especially true of the times I am using this camera. I don't go to a camera like this for high ISO performance. For that I grab the 5D. I go to this camera for the few times the 5D is not best for the situation. This camera delivers an outstanding image quality at ISO 100-400 and a usable one at ISO 800. To me this is all that matters. a 12MP DSLR with outstanding image quality for a little over $500 is what this is. You throw a nice Canon lens (nicer than the kit lens) on this and you have professionally acceptable results. I wouldn't use this camera if it didn't provide those results.
  
  The only way the aforementioned 5D will outshoot this is (in an image quality respect) is if you are making enlargements or shooting higher than ISO 400. If you are using good glass, shooting RAW, and setting the ISO manually (which is what I do) this is an awesome camera. I don't care if anyone says otherwise, either. I don't have to--and won't--argue that point because I've seen the results.
  
  Now, if you have never used a Rebel I do have to inform you that it is much smaller than the 20D, 30D, 40D, etc. bodies that you may or may not be used to. It is much harder for me to keep a good grip on this body than, say, the 40D. Again this is OK with me because I am not buying this for ergonomics. Again, I am buying this for value. Price combined with performance is how this arrives at a place of value. I need to keep repeating that because for some reason people always feel the need to compare cameras that are incomparable. If you are looking for the best performance in a DLSR combined with best price, it is my firm opinion that this is the camera.
  
  Lastly, I want to say that if we are talking strictly image quality and nothing else like ergonomics and construction, IMHO the IQ from this camera is just as good if not better than the mildly overrated 40D. Given the vast difference in price of the two--almost 100% different actually--unless you are an ergonomics stickler I think the decision is a no brainer. You buy this and save the $500 for better glass, or just save the $500 for no reason other than saving $500 is cool. What I am looking forward to doing down the road is comparing the IQ from this to the IQ from the 50D. Again it equals or bests the 40D if we are talking strictly IQ. I returned the 40D last year after using it for 2 weeks. It just wasn't worth the price. The 40D to me is simply a Rebel XTi (XTi; not XSi) with better ergonomics.
  
  
• Great for astrophotography
  By ALZL5S502QTII on 2008-05-06
  I love this camera. With the Live View, all I do is hook it up to my laptop, and find a bright star, and magnify the view on the laptop and I can focus in seconds. With the Xti and no Live View, it was a long, painful process that never really focused right. Once focused, I can take several long exposure pictures with no problem. Much less noise at higher ISO's than the Xti. I was able to get great pictures, first night out.
  
  For other uses, its a great camera as well!
  
  
• Great Camera, but a warning to you all...
  By ABX65RYSB4N4H on 2008-07-10
  I just got this camera and am beyond delighted with it. The quality and clarity of the images it captures are no less than mind-blowing.
  
  However I would like to warn you all of something;
  
  If you are plannning to buy this BECAUSE of the live-screen feature, DON'T!
  
  In buying this, I could do without the live-screen feature, but I fear that there are people planning to buy this camera on the merits of this feature alone. The truth is, using the live-screen feature greatly diminishes the quality of your photos, and the feature is not available in all shooting modes.
  
  If the live-screen feature is a large reason of yours to buy this camera then, I repeat, DO NOT!
  
  If, however, you are purely looking for a very good camera that is worth its price (around $800 now) and can do without the live-screen than go ahed and buy!
  
  
• Canon Digital Rebel XSi review
  By A1BH6M598UL1KB on 2008-05-16
  I received my XSi on April 28th, just two days before I went chaperoned an 8th grade trip to Washington DC. I used the camera for the first time in Washington and it took a bit of time to get used to the controls, but I managed to get some really good shots. I used the kit lens that is included with the camera, as well as my 70-300mm zoom lens and my 24-70mm lens (both Canon lenses) and I got some excellent photos.
  
  I subsequently took this camera and lenses with me on a one week vacation to Orlando, Florida and I shot around 1200 photos, and I got lots of excellent shots. The colors are great, and its a big step up from the first generation Digital Rebel which I previously used.
  
  
• Canon XSI Live View Review
  By AHD4XXAA4WGEY on 2008-07-04
  Hello everyone! Well I got the Canon XSI the other day and i wanted to let you all know how the live view work. Not good!!! Let me explain how it works and why it will not work underwater.
  1.You Have two choices in Auto Focus in Live View.
  Quick View: Samples a Focus points
  Live View: Samples in center
  Both are slow.
  2.When you think how live view should work it doesn't. You would think to focus you would press the Shutter botton down 1/2 way and it would Focus. Well in Live view it doesn't. Strange? How you do it is.You press the AE Lock Botton. Then after it focuses you press the Shutter Botton. The biggest problem it take 1 to3 Sec. just to Focus. Good by fish!!! Man i had high hopes for this camera but i am going to send it back. If someone else has seen a better way of doing this let us know. But i don't think so. Man this camera Sucks!!!!!
  
  
• Has potencial, but its AF is not soooo good
  By A1QQZZD1USU4KM on 2008-10-04
  I bought this camera after graduating from an old Olympus C-5050 point and shoot camera. The C-5050 offered almost every DSLR feature except for bulb, which I need for my Astrophotography. After spending several years understanding the manual features of the C-5050 I thought is was time to graduate to my first REAL dslr.
  
  After shopping around testing out various models such as the Olympus evolt, Nikon D80, and this one, the Canon XSi, I found the XSi was the best choice for the money, features and quality (as noted in all the reviews online). I thought I made an informed decision and couldn't go wrong with all the research I did.
  
  After I got the camera out of the box and set it up I began my many adventures testing it with long exposure light painting, landscape photos, and close-up portrait photography. One thing began to emerge as I used the AF feature on the camera. I couldn't for the life of me get the thing to focus on anything past 10ft. I always had to use manual focus to get the pictures the way I wanted them. I shot in all AF modes: AI Focus, One shot and AI Servo without any luck. I studied the 9-point wide-area AF feature very closely to be sure I wasn't the cause of all my problems, but still the problem AF persisted. After taking about a 1000 actuations, I gave up. BACK TO AMAZON WITH YOU!
  
  Although most of my photography will be using MF, there will be those times when I need to take a quick photo of something that rushes past me and I just need to pull out the camera and shoot. This issue eliminates that as a choice, which is not a trivial thing.
  
  BTW: I tested the camera using two Canon IS lenses, the 28-135mm and the stock 18mm-55mm IS lens. Both had the same issue with focus. Below you will find two photos. One I took at short distance and the other with the oak tree at infinity using AF.
  See for yourself.
  
  After 10 days of frustration, I returned my camera to the good folks at Amazon. I really wanted this camera to work and had high expectations.
  
  [...]
  
  
• Excellent camera
  By A3VKXTBE2POITN on 2008-05-13
  I bought this camera a week ago as a replacement to my 5 year old digital rebel. I can experience the differences clearly. It is lighter and much faster. The speed in terms of start-up and shot-to-shot as well as auto-focus is incredible. It is dead on for the most part. This camera is a lot lighter too especially for someone used to the original digital rebel. I was not hugely impressed with the kit lens even though it has received rave reviews. I am still playing with it. My Canon 28-105 produces sharper images than the kit lens.
  
  All in all, this camera is definitely a step-up from the older digital rebel. Compared to the XTi, the 3 inch LCD and live preview is a major enhancement. Spot metering is a huge plus. I am very satisfied with this camera.
  
  
• Excellent quality & price
  By ABBHHQAKXYC7X on 2008-05-27
  I waited for months debating on whether to go ahead and purchase the Canon 40D or hold out for the new XSi. I am thrilled that I waited on the XSi. The quality is excellent! I purchased the XSi with the 18-55mm IS lens. The lens is a good walk around lens but I also purchased the 50mm 1.8 and the Sigma 70-300mm zoom. I tend to the leave the Sigma on more than any.
  
  The XSi has nearly all the features of the 40d at a fraction of the cost. It's features are definitely well above the XTi and totally worth the upgrade. The 3" LCD screen is great for the live view shooting or reviewing. The buttons are placed great and it's very easy to navigate.
  
  The body itself is not as heavy as the 40d but also doesn't feel cheap and weak. It's a huge step up from my Canon S3 IS, however, I still love that camera and all it's power too.
  
  I have used the camera in numerous situations already and it prevails in all. Of course as with most, it does extremely well outdoors in light. It also exceeded my expectations indoors in low light. Even when I have had to bump the ISO to 800 or 1600, it performs wonderfully and there is very little noticeable noise. With my former cameras, I was never able to use high ISO settings because they were too noisy to fix with post processing. With the XSi, there is very little if any post processing work needed on the high ISO shots. It's wonderful for low light situations when you don't want that deer in the headlights flash look!
  
  All in all, the XSi was totally worth the wait and the savings. The XSi is a fraction of the cost of the 40D and yet has nearly if not all the pluses of the 40D. I'd definitely recommend anyone debating between the two to go ahead and go with the XSi body and save your money for good lenses.
  
  
• poor focus quality
  By AUMYKBSXFTEVU on 2008-07-28
  I've had this camera for 3 months now and would send it back if I could. This is my first SLR so I thought the focus problem was user error; that I just didn't know how to use it. I've used manual focus on a tripod with a 2 sec delay to make sure the issues wasn't shake. Now I see other's with the same problem so I believe it's a camera problem. I'm going to send it in for repair, so hopefully they have a fix for the problem. It's pretty sad when my little point and shoot has superior photo quality.
  
  On the positive side, I love the ergonomics of the camera. It's easy to use and the battery life is awesome. Over a 2 day trip and 300 photos, the battery held up great.
  
  I actually love the camera except for the focus issue which when resolved will improve the rating significantly.
  
  
• Honestly, I hate it
  By A2906N9V5I3H6H on 2008-07-30
  I hate this camera because it exposes what a crappy photographer I am. Many of my pictures come out "so-so" right now and marginally better than my point and shoot. Spending a little time to get off the autofocus and use manual controls yielded pictures that far surpassed my old 7MP Nikon when dealing with moving objects, which was my primary challenge. I am concerned with the 50,000 picture rating for the shutter since I've already shot 800 pictures in just the first 20 days of owning this camera (you can shoot a lot at a sporting event) but, for the price, it was unbeatable with a decent, versatile stock lens. I'm now realizing the limitations of the lens and what separates the low from the high but this camera is a learning experience for anyone who doesn't really shoot at a high level. It will require you to invest the time to get excellent pictures out. You'll be disappointed like myself in the same way getting a great HDTV brings out the limtiations of standard cable. But look at it this way - once you start learning about the basics, e.g. the relationship of ISO to aperture to shutter speed and setting the priority mode, etc. you're on your way to pictures that are far superior to your point and shoot and difficult to go back. Apparently it doesn't have all the fine settings of the 40D nor the 100K shutter rating but I'm not sure it matters at this price. If you want a sub-$800 SLR with a decent stock lens, there is no better camera, and I was hoping the Nikon D60 would be my choice. Not so. Learning all the detailed options that are still remaining made me realize now that this camera has far more important features than the competition, all which requires an investment in photography to get great pictures. It's a crime with this camera to even think of using the auto-settings.
  
  
• Great but slight disappointment
  By A3AO05B22DE898 on 2008-04-25
  I moved up to this camera from my 8mp Cannon Rebel XTI. I am very pleased with all of the upgrades from the Rebel, but am slightly disappointed that I can not use live view with any of the automatic settings!! Live view was the MAIN reason for moving up. Otherwise, I am happy with my purchase.
  
  
• Ergonomics
  By A1X6S5SZVCZ5HH on 2008-05-25
  I mated the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM lens with the Canon XSI body. Individually they are both incredible components. The camera has most of the features of more expensive dSLRs and the lens is an "L" lens, possessing incredible optics and quality. But I'm not sure they work well together.
  
  When I first lifted the camera from the shipping box I was impressed. The camera felt solid, not like some cheap plastic cameras on the market. And it was relatively light-weight.
  
  The lens was built like a tank, solid, bulky at 77mm diameter, and quite heavy. But when the lens was attached to the camera something strange happened. It didn't feel right. The balance was way off. Since the lens was 50% heavier than the camera, it tended to point downward, like a divining rod, when the camera was suspended by its' strap. But, of course, "heavy" is a relative term. I had just upgraded from a compact P&S. And most quality dSLR lenses tend to be "heavy". I read about photograpers who label camera and lenses even heavier than mine as "light". This is just a personal reaction I want to convey. I had anticipated I would be supporting the weight of the camera almost totally with my right hand, using my left had only for balance. But I find I am also using my left hand to support considerable weight.
  
  I won't go here into much detail about the specifications. They'll be discussed in depth by other reviewers. Suffice it to say this is a quality camera with advanced features and "predictable" controls.
  
  There is one operational issue I think should be addressed, however. It's almost impossible to frame a shot using the viewfinder without smudging that beautiful 3" LCD monitor with your nose. There are eyepiece extenders available, but most users are not satisfied with them. It is said much of the image is blocked with their use.
  
  I have addressed this problem by installing a plastic protector over the LCD monitor. I suggest you do the same. Now I can rub the protector to my heart's content without fear of scratching the LCD glass.
  
  One other thing: Protect your lens with a quality UV filter. it would be pointless to install a cheap UV filter over a high-quality lens. I went for the B&H.
  
  In summary, although I'm not yet comfortable with my combination of camera and lens, I did not let this detract from my grade. After all, this is a review of
  a camera, and not of a lens or even a combination of the two. Hopefully my discomfort will pass as I use the camera more frequently.
  
  

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