Canon Rebel XSi review roundup
By Donald Melanson 
posted May 9th 2008 7:36PM
posted May 9th 2008 7:36PM
We've already seen it unboxed, but if you've been waiting for a slightly more thorough look at Canon's new Rebel XSi DSLR (otherwise known as the EOS 450D) before you drop $800+ on it, you can now get your fix thanks to a steady stream of reviews that are now pouring in. Among the earliest to get its hands on a unit was Digital Photography Review, which reserved final judgment because it only did a preview but nonetheless provided one of the most exhaustive looks at the camera, complete with comparisons to its predecessor and its nearest competitors. Offering more opinions was Camera Labs, which found the XSi to be a "worthy successor" to the XTi, although it warns that new buyers should consider whether the upgrades are really worth the extra cost. The folks at LetsGoDigital were a bit more enthusiastic, calling the XSi a "perfect camera for everybody," although they were slightly disappointed by the camera's plastic casing. That also proved to be sticking point for Digital Camera Review, which went as far as to call the camera "cheap looking" and "less refined" than those with a lightly textured finish. On the upside, it says that the camera's low-noise sensor "raises the bar for entry-level DSLRs," with its extensive customization options, and Canon's expectedly strong AF system also winning it some high marks. If you're still not swayed one way other the other, you find plenty more details by diving into the links below.
Read - Digital Photography Review (preview)
Read - Camera Labs (88%)
Read - LetsGoDigital (82%)
Read - Digital Camera Review ("a fairly conservative upgrade")
Read - Digital Photography Review (preview)
Read - Camera Labs (88%)
Read - LetsGoDigital (82%)
Read - Digital Camera Review ("a fairly conservative upgrade")
What about the Pentax K200D? I just got one and it's an excellent camera, why does it always have to be Canon and Nikon only?
Popularity. I'm a Nikon and Cannon user. But Pentax has historically made excellent cameras. Most notably in my mind being the Pentax K1000 which people still use today.
I can attest to that. My K1000 is snug in my camera bag right next to my Nikon F100.
(Both of which can theoretically take 112 megapixel photos, mind you.)
So what you're saying is that Pentax cameras can dance better than white people?....racist
Canon and Nikon had a headstart in digital photography. Pentax was a little late which is why it has less fan following and less range of accessories than Nikon and Canon.
Canon and Nikon have also sold more 35mm than Pentax, which is why a lot of people already own lenses.
The Pentax K200 is a good camera but I think XSi's performance at high ISO's and ease of use beats any entry level DSLR
@Gabe
That was kind of like dumb but only a lot dumber.
Once again gabe, you fail.
coz canon and nikion r better.
That's just kind of narrow minded, Josh. If you're going to post something like that you should at least cite reasons WHY you believe that Canon and Nikon are better.
Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sony, Olympus... they are all ok for the most part and may be able to blend just fine, but can they make bacon?
For $800 bucks, no thanks.. i'll take the 30D instead
Or, if you want to swing the other way, grab a 350D or 400D, both of which are dirt cheap now that this baby is out.
@ Paul.
And with a saving of $0.04!!!
Incidentially, why do Canon's entry-level DSLRs have such silly names in the US?
They're sillier in Japan (Kiss Rebel)
I really wish that the branding was simply EOS 450D.
I love my EOS 400D, and I wish that the little badge just said that, instead of having REBEL XTi written in bright red right there. dpReview's model pictures seem to usually have the number designation badge instead of the "name," and I'm jealous.
Does anyone know how to go about purchasing a rebel bearing one badge or the other?
Any review that claims that a DSLR is "perfect for everybody" just isn't worth the read. I'm sure the camera is a great entry level, but without weather sealing and a magnesium alloy body I won't consider it. dpreview.com's preview of this body gave more information than that review on LetsGoDigital.
This has been a long pet-peeve with me, not just with camera reviews but alot of other tech, even software like games.
There should be a moratorium on "reviews" like these, where one can only wonder if the reviewer did anything more than take a peak at the gadget at their local Best Buy. It doesn't help (sorry Engadget, but really) when other sites link to these so-called reviews, encouraging more of this crap to be written to get cheap hits and ad revenue.
Sigh...
I was obviously high when I wrote the comment above, my apologies. I didn't realize that Engadget linked to the last page of the LetsGoDigital review instead of the first. I thought it was a one-page review.
My bad =( Please disregard my above comments on reviews.
The price mentioned (799$) is for the body only, with lens it costs 899$. Mind you the stock lens that comes with this camera is Image stabilized and is way better than the one that comes with 400D.
Interesting to note that the cost of Rebel xti (400D) has gone up by 50$ on amazon.com since the time xsi officially got released.
Hah I just bought a Sony A700 from best buy for $800 :) Yeah I did get lucky, but still!
FYI - another good review site that focuses mostly on Canon gear, The-Digital-Picture.com, posted their review.
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EOS-Rebel-XSi-450D-Digital-SLR-Camera-Review.aspx
Meh. I spent weeks mulling it over. Friday of last week I bit the bullet and ordered a 40D for just over $1000 online. For just over $200 price difference from the XSi you get some pretty attractive features, coupled with the Canon EFS 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM it seems to be a good setup...but as my first SLR this is a lot of hardware for a noob. warning: Learning cliff ahead.
The XSi was tempting but again the price differentiation made all the difference. And frankly 12mp does not impress me all that much. Quality....not quantity Canon. The MP race needs to end...sadly for the uninformed it won't.
I've had a 450D for the last 3 weeks, well not really a 450D, a Kiss X2, that I bought while I was on Holiday in Japan.
It's amazing :D
I got the 17-55mm f2.8 IS USM lens at the same time, and it's huge! but also very sharp, and with the constant 2.8 f-stop through the zoom range and IS it is great in lowlight conditions.
Tthe only problem with the combo is that the buildin flash is virtually useless as the lens causes shadows even without a hood, so now I'm thinking of a Speedlite :). Not that I've needed the flash much as I'm finding I can happily take decently long exposure hand held shots :)
Why Canon keeps using these cheap feeling bodies for it's low end cameras is beyond me, I can't imagine it costs any significant amount more to put some meat in them. When I bought my D50 two years ago, it was incredible the difference in feel between the Rebel XT and the D50. Unfortunately, Nikon has followed Canon's lead and revamped it's low end into the inferior D40/60 body.
Seriously Nikon/Canon, low end cameras don't need to come in toy packages. Lets get a real grip on there, at least.
Product differentiation is beyond you?
Is it okay if drool a bit
I love good low end cameras. They do everything you need them to do, and you can spend the money you save on some nice glass.
I purchased this camera about a month ago in Japan (called "kiss X2" here lol), and I love everything about it so far.
As a film studies/fine arts student who s taken a few photography classes, I find the image quality quite good, and for this price I would recommend anyone who is thinking about getting an entry level DSLR.
I think the reviews are fair and quite accurate, except I wouldnt say this camera "cheap looking."
sorry, I'm cheap. I get most use from my Casio. Granted, I'm not a "professional" and maybe if I were it would be different. I wonder how many of us "non pros" get snagged by big $ cameras that we don't even know how too use.
I picked up the XSI and it blows the XTI out of the water. love the optical image stabilization
Eh?
We've had one in the shop for ages, what is with this talk of "new".
Yeah its a 400d with live view and an extra 2 megapixels squeezed out of the sensor, so what? The whole thing smelled of "lets nail something together quick before they start asking questions about the 5d replacement"
I have had mine for just over a month.
I kind of laugh how people say the MP wars need to end, yet, the 450D, has a better sensor at 12 MP, than the XTi does. There are more pixels, AND less noise. Give me the best of both worlds, EVERY day.
The nice thing about the "cheap" plastic body, is that it is LIGHT. VERY light, compared to the other, heavier bodies. Now, I don't know how good of plastic they use, and if it can withstand much wear, but thus far, it has been solid. This thing performs great in low light, bright light, whatever I throw at it. While I am definately an new photographer, I am picking up more advanced techniques.
Here is a recent landscape photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ryfter/2484411888/
This is using the Image Stabilzed lense, with a macro type shot:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ryfter/2437871152/
Here is some low light: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ryfter/2416481073/
With a little experience, you can really get a lot of use out of these cameras. They are a REALLY good camera, and what it seems a LOT of people are missing, is this is really a lateral moove to those that have the XTi/400D, while it is an UPGRADE to those using P&S. It is the logical porgression of the P&S family, and it uses SD cards, just like most modern point and shoot cameras.
As for Canon and Nikon vs all others. They are just more popular. When you consider that you are really buying a lense SYSTEM... that becomes all the more important. It donesn't matter so much WHAT body you are using... but it has to work with your glass. You do not want to buy ALL new lenses, with each body. I have a 1 month old camera, and I am using a lense my mom had one one of her old 35mm rebels. I bet the lense is well over 10 years old.
I found an interesting review with many photos and test about Canon 450D in this italian website http://www.techup.it/articoli/prova_canon_eos_450d
See more up to date Canon Rebel XSi reviews at http://www.dprguru.com/?model=733170443&ref=eg
(Or, for all Canon DSLR reviews - http://www.dprguru.com/?model=slr&mfg=Canon&ref=eg )
Hello,
i would like to find out difference between Canon Rebel XSi and Canon Kiss X2. I tried to order camera in the internet, but they told me, it' a Japanese version and i can not use in the USA , becouse camera has Japanese language. Please give me advice .
@ Alex
Some say since Kiss X2 is made for Japan market, it goes through more strict quality control ...
There's really not much of differences ( kit packaging, badge, canon image gateway option for Kiss X2 ) between XSI and Kiss X2 and of course you can use your Kiss X2 in the US... the only thing you have to do is turn your Kiss X2 on, some how find the language selection menu displayed in Japanese (don't worry this needs to be done once :)) and change the language to English or any other language of your choice. After that you won't need to come back to Japanese language selection page :)) and everything will be in English......as long as you want them to be.
I have a Kiss X2 and I'm happy with it. There's enough quantity and quality in this camera to consider it semi pro.
i have Kiss/300D and using with manual adapters (main reason of keeping this machine). recently it changed its language to Japanese while attaching it with apple laptop firmware lepord 10.5.5...Firmware installed is 1.1.1 on the gear. I am making efforts since few days to change to english but no positive result. I goodled and other forum. In a forum i read install earlier version of firmware and change the lenguage. Downloaded firmware but remained Japanese language. Will appreciate if someone help me to get rid of this problem. Thanks in advance. Gill
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@ Alex
Some say since Kiss X2 is made for Japan market, it goes through more strict quality control ...
There's really not much of differences ( kit packaging, badge, canon image gateway option for Kiss X2 ) between XSI and Kiss X2 and of course you can use your Kiss X2 in the US... the only thing you have to do is turn your Kiss X2 on, some how find the language selection menu displayed in Japanese (don't worry this needs to be done once :)) and change the language to English or any other language of your choice. After that you won't need to come back to Japanese language selection page :)) and everything will be in English......as long as you want them to be.
I have a Kiss X2 and I'm happy with it. There's enough quantity and quality in this camera to consider it semi pro.
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