I ordered Canon’s Digital Rebel XL a few days ago. I’ve enjoyed my Canon PowerShot S200 Digital Elph in the year and a half since I bought it, but it’s a toy, a mere point-and-shoot for a guy long accustomed to a K1000. For three years before the Elph I shot with my Canon IX, an APS SLR that I like very much. And my grandfather recently gave me his Minolta SRT Super (aka SRT-102), a 35mm veritable tank of a camera with a well-deserved reputation as one of the finest consumer SLRs ever made.
Film, though, is expensive to shoot. After taking a photography class last year, I have a great appreciation for it, and hope to someday invest in darkroom equipment. For many applications — notably slides — there’s no replacing film. But for the bulk of my totally amateur photography needs, it’s clear to me that a digital SLR is the way to fly.
So now I’m obsessively tracking the progress of my new toy as UPS conveys it across the nation to my home. Those of you who did your RSS homework know how I’m tracking the progress — with a UPS RSS feed.
I think I’m about to get a whole lot more use out of Flickr.
We have a Digital Rebel (original model) at work, and yeah, it’s super-cool. I would not mind having one at home.
Congratulations! A digital SLR is a huge upgrade from a PowerShot. While the PowerShot is a great little camera, the functionality you will with the new one is like comparing night and day. I love my Canon 20D, upgraded from a Fuji FinePix. Also, I hope that you ordered a kit that includes something other than the 50mm lens. Ah, the accessories…
Since I already have the IX, I just bought the Digital Rebel body. One of the great things about Canon’s SLRs is the interchangeability of lenses — I knew I could buy their digital SLR and use all of the accessories (filters, lenses, external flash, etc.) that I have for my IX. Of course, there are lots more accessories that I’ve already decided I can’t live without — 1GB flash card, lens hood, tripod, extra battery, handheld flash, etc.
This could get expensive. :)
I saw a news item a few days ago that one of the major camera manufacturers (Minolta?) is ceasing production on all but two, highly professional SLR cameras. I’ve just upgraded to a new Kodak (5.1 megapixels) from a 1 or 2 MP camera. Now, all I have to do is explain to my mother why the pics of her grandsons are of higher quality with the camera she gave us…..
I believe you mean “2 GB flash card.” No sense skimping. ;)
Right you are.
What’s the difference between the Canon offerings and, say, the Nikon D50 or D70?
Somebody smarter than I will have to answer that. It’s my understanding that both of those Nikons are quite nice, but I didn’t shop around at all, since I knew that the Digital Rebel would support my existing Canon equipment, and that the Digital Rebel is quite a nice camera.
The differences are, well, a little like religion. Some folks are in the Canon camp and others are in the Nikon camp. I am slowly gravitating toward Canon and my father thinks that I am becoming the anti-christ, Nikon lover that he is.
Really though, good objective reviews of each can be found at dpreview.com.
When I upgraded from the exact same Canon Elph (which I loved for it’s photo stitch functions and ability to actually mess with exposure compensation and shutter speed), I decided to go with Nikon’s D50.
The decision was part price, part my experiences with my Dad’s beefy Nikon F2 (loyalty to a brand seems to be the biggest thing for most people), part reviews (from the above mentioned dpreview) and most importantly how it felt in my abnormally small hands. The long debate between systems and when to buy ended when B&H had a great price that included the all important 1GB card. I’ve gotten some great shots with it and would only find myself happier if I had more time to use the thing.
Regardless of system, you’ll love the upgrade to a DSLR. Have fun with it!!
My wife bought a Rebel XL a month ago and we love it. It is the first Digital (other than the more expensive EOS-20D) that is fast enough to capture decent shots of ballroom dancers in motion (tricky because of relatively low-light for action shots, even under spot lights).
I still carry arround my PowerShot S410 (which replaced an S400 that I dropped, and an S100 that finally got out-dated after years of steady use). The little point-and-shoots are very handy for documenting daily life. Small enough to carry around all the time.
The two cameras can exchange CF cards.
Does anyone know if you can hook up the Canon Digital Rebel XL to the computer, shoot a photo and view on the computer (as the shots are taken)…different than a whole card download. I would like to take “prom type” pictures and view them at a larger scale to make sure I got the shot I wanted before I let my client leave. I need to print on sight. Any suggestions will be helpful.