Should I buy the Canon EOS Rebel xt for $600 or the rebel xti for $800?

Question

I have a point and shoot digital camera and ready to step up to a digital SLR. Now that the 400 (eos xti has come out) the 350 has seen a nice price drop to ~$600.

Do you think the extra features are worth the extra $200?

Or is that extra $200 best spent on lenses?

I am already "invested" in staying Canon-loyal because I already own several EOS A2 compatible lenses, so going Nikon is not something I'd go with.

Answer 1

Keex summed up the features nicely, and I agree with his assessment (and also think you should spend the extra money). The thing that I will add:

Two years from now, will you be happier you bought the xti, or content to keep on using the Rebel xt?

I'm assuming you are fairly responsible with your cash, and therefore not very likely to go out and buy a new camera every year for Christmas. With that mindset, the xti will be a respectable camera longer, and the $200 today may be worth not having to buy another camera sooner in the future.

[I'm also assuming that the lens you would buy, already having some Canon lenses, is one of the nice Image Stabilization ones, which cost over $1000, so the extra $200 isn't going to go that far...]

Answer 2

I'd get the 350D and put the $200 price difference towards a new lens. For me, the biggest attractions of the 400D are the extra 2MP and the dust-reduction system. Both are usefull, I'm sure, but not worth the extra money.
If you look at Nikon - where they replace models less frequently - jumping from the D70s to the D80 gives you an extra 4MP and a bigger viewfinder. Those are upgrades you'll notice.
If you're a hobbyist sports shooter, as someone above is, the 350D and the 400D are *both* the wrong tool for the job. Pony up the extra dough for a real upgrade and get a 20D with 5 FPS. The last few are selling for under $1000 retail.

Answer 3

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_... says the only difference is the pixel count and the LCD size, which is 3/4" bigger on the 400D. There may be other differences that you would find in a written review, but they sure spec out pretty similarly.

Personally, if these were my choices, I think I'd shop for a reduced price on the REbel XT and buy a better quality lens than you typically get in the intro kit. I don't know the Canon lenses, but they must have a nice IS lens that you'd like to own...

Answer 4

This is valid question, and there is no easy answer.

The main changed things are:
- more megapixels
- bigger shooting burst
- integrated sensor cleaning

There are still more things, which are nice, but not essential (in my opinion)
- bigger LCD,
- improved usability
- 9 AF points

Whether these things are worth 200$ for you, depends on what kind of photography do you do.

As of me, I would probably go for XTi, just because of the bigger burst speed - I do often hobby sports photography, where having bigger burst is necessary. Extra 2 Megapixels I would trade for better lenses without thinking.

Answer 5

Are you Canon brand loyal? If not, the 'budget' end of the Digital SLR market is (IMHO) better with Nikon. You could ask the same question with the Nikon D50 & D70/s

Answer 6

properly, you have picked the perfect digicam. i'm a 13 twelve months previous female,yet am great in photos. I havery the Canon rebellion t3i and it rather works magnificent. the backside cost is around $seven-hundred and the main costly is around $a million,221. wish this helped!