boBQuincy
<font color=green>I am not carrying three pods<br>
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2002
Hopefully this little report will be of some value to someone who is considering purchasing a dSLR.
My "downgrade" strategy goes opposite of what most people would consider an upgrade, but this is not the first time I have taken that path. The primary goal here was to reduce weight without losing any capability or image quality. I believe (and hope) that this is exactly what I have done, the next photo outing will show if it worked.
My 30D is not that old and still works just fine, I do not need a new camera so I started looking for one. Isn't that how this group works?
I looked at a 50D, Rebel Xsi, and even a 5D MkII. Price was not the big issue, size and weight were. After reading far too many reports I went for the Rebel Xsi.
The first thing I noticed about the Xsi, after 7 years of carrying D30/10D/30D is the size and weight. This camera is tiny! Those with large hands would probably not like it at all. The next thing is the layout. The Xsi is a great improvement over the previous Rebels, which I did not buy because of the clunky handling. On this model the ISO button is well placed, all the information is in the viewfinder, and it seems as quick and easy to use as the xxD models. The viewfinder seems much larger than previous Rebels and even though it is not supposed to be quite as large and bright as xxD models I can't tell any difference from my 30D.
After an hour of playing around with this camera it felt comfortable to the point that I don't think I would miss any shots due to slow handling. Again, that's a huge improvement over the last Rebel! The only thing I miss from the xxD is the wheel to quickly change exposure compensation, but on the Xsi it only takes pushing a button and turning the top wheel.
The menus and custom functions needed some tweaking, like 2nd curtain flash. I shoot RAW so picture styles are not important to me. Image Quality remains to be seen but I would not expect it to be any less than my 30D or even a 40D. A number of web sites have tested and reported on this and found the IQ to be excellent, even good at ISO 1600.
SD cards have come down in price to less than CF cards, they still seem kinda' small but with 8GB they shouldn't have to be changed often. The IR remote is a welcome feature, it is amazing that Canon has still not included it in the xxD models. So now I need a new tripod clamp, and ReallyRightStuff already has them in flat and L models. The Rebel looks kinda' funny with a 24-105 on it, like the lens is too big for the camera. The 18-55 IS is ok but the sensor resolution has probably far outpaced that of this kit lens by now, to get the most out of the camera will take L lenses.
Again, price was not the main issue and that's a good thing because as I figured, as soon as I got the Rebel home DW adopted it and I had to buy another! Now all we need is a trip to properly test the camera(s), leaf season in October and WDW in December are not that far off! 
My "downgrade" strategy goes opposite of what most people would consider an upgrade, but this is not the first time I have taken that path. The primary goal here was to reduce weight without losing any capability or image quality. I believe (and hope) that this is exactly what I have done, the next photo outing will show if it worked.
My 30D is not that old and still works just fine, I do not need a new camera so I started looking for one. Isn't that how this group works?
I looked at a 50D, Rebel Xsi, and even a 5D MkII. Price was not the big issue, size and weight were. After reading far too many reports I went for the Rebel Xsi.
The first thing I noticed about the Xsi, after 7 years of carrying D30/10D/30D is the size and weight. This camera is tiny! Those with large hands would probably not like it at all. The next thing is the layout. The Xsi is a great improvement over the previous Rebels, which I did not buy because of the clunky handling. On this model the ISO button is well placed, all the information is in the viewfinder, and it seems as quick and easy to use as the xxD models. The viewfinder seems much larger than previous Rebels and even though it is not supposed to be quite as large and bright as xxD models I can't tell any difference from my 30D.
After an hour of playing around with this camera it felt comfortable to the point that I don't think I would miss any shots due to slow handling. Again, that's a huge improvement over the last Rebel! The only thing I miss from the xxD is the wheel to quickly change exposure compensation, but on the Xsi it only takes pushing a button and turning the top wheel.
The menus and custom functions needed some tweaking, like 2nd curtain flash. I shoot RAW so picture styles are not important to me. Image Quality remains to be seen but I would not expect it to be any less than my 30D or even a 40D. A number of web sites have tested and reported on this and found the IQ to be excellent, even good at ISO 1600.
SD cards have come down in price to less than CF cards, they still seem kinda' small but with 8GB they shouldn't have to be changed often. The IR remote is a welcome feature, it is amazing that Canon has still not included it in the xxD models. So now I need a new tripod clamp, and ReallyRightStuff already has them in flat and L models. The Rebel looks kinda' funny with a 24-105 on it, like the lens is too big for the camera. The 18-55 IS is ok but the sensor resolution has probably far outpaced that of this kit lens by now, to get the most out of the camera will take L lenses.
Again, price was not the main issue and that's a good thing because as I figured, as soon as I got the Rebel home DW adopted it and I had to buy another!
Now all we need is a trip to properly test the camera(s), leaf season in October and WDW in December are not that far off! 
well at least i can wait till the 50d comes out and see how it stacks up with the xsi
