Which Canon camera should I buy?

Question

My first choice was the Canon Digital Rebel Xti but I have not yet saved enough money for it. And there's a sale and my second choice the Canon EOS Digital Rebel Xt is now affordable for me. It comes with a 18-55mm lens ( Note that this would be my first Reflex camera and I don't know much about lenses)

So should I buy the Canon EOS Digital Rebel Xt now or wait till I have enough money for the Canon Digital Rebel Xti?

Answer 1

Hi,
You can use the following to compare and contrast:
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/stats.asp

I have the digital Rebel Xt (350D) because it was given to me as a gift. I love it. I take better pictures with it than I ever took with a film camera. The lens it comes with is good, not "stellar" but solid, so maybe by buying the less expensive body you could afford to upgrade the lens quicker? Just food for thought.

Answer 2

Which camera has the features you want most? If its the Xti then by all means keep saving until you can afford it.

While you're waiting you can educate yourself about lenses. There are several photography magazines on the newstands. Most all of them publish reviews of various lenses as well as Buyer's Guides. Canon probably has a catalog of all their lenses and that would be useful to have. I like Shutterbug magazine myself.

I strongly encourage you to purchase your camera from a camera store - not mailorder or a discount house. Buy from a local camera store and you'll have ready access to their knowledge and help when you have questions or problems. If you buy from Billy Bobs Super Discount Mailorder House of Cameras its unlikely you'll get any technical help when its needed. Same for Wal-Mart or Target or K-Mart. Yes you'll probably pay more buying from a real camera store but that extra cost will be made up with service.

(Years ago I managed a camera store part-time. One Sat. morning a gentleman took almost 3 hours of my time comparing the Nikon and Canon systems. A couple of weeks later he came in with the Nikon he'd bought from a mailorder house. He had some questions about his new toy. I told him to ask the store that he bought it from. I didn't answer his questions. Had he bought from us he would have gotten his answers.)

Answer 3

Prices are always dropping. Personally I'd wait untill you have the money. It is worth it. The Xti has a self cleaning sensor and 2 more Mpix, and a bigger and better LCD screen. Faster and longer contious shooting.
A good website for research is www.dpreview.com