Canon Rebel XTi or XSi?

[Acoisa 0]

If you were buying a new camera for skydiving now would you rather get the new Rebel XSi or the old XTi (because you know it's reliable)?

[PhreeZone 20]

I'd wait for the XS. Its going to be at the XTi price point buy have more of the XSi's feature.

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[monkycndo 0]

What he said.

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http://www.dpreview.com/previews/canon_1000d/page2.asp

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[DougH 270]

I am really happy with my XSi so far. The shots it has been taking have been real nice. I can't wait to see what it does with a better lense.

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

[frost 1]

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If you were buying a new camera for skydiving now would you rather get the new Rebel XSi or the old XTi (because you know it's reliable)?

what is your reasoning for considering the XSi? If it's just the 2 more mega pixels, then it's just a hype. You dont need that. You dont even need 10. 8 is more then enough, unless you're planning to create prints larger then 16 x 20"

Instead of wasting your cash on a "more mega pixel" camera, invest in a good lens - that will create a HUGE difference.

Now, if money is no object ... ;)

[pilotdave 0]

XSi has some real improvements over the XTi... spot metering, better grip, better lens, and a bunch of other stuff that probably isn't all that important.

On the other hand, the XSi uses SD memory instead of CF. Not so good if you might upgrade to a higher end camera in the future. If I was starting from scratch now, I'd get an XSi. But I won't upgrade to it.

I disagree about the lens thing. I upgraded lenses and don't see much of a difference in my pictures except that I can get a wider angle. There are definitely technical improvements, but it's not a night and day difference. The kit lens with the XTi or XSi is perfectly fine for skydiving.

Dave

[PhreeZone 20]

I've noticed softness on my kit lens in some of the details that my Sigma 14 is not showing with the same exact settings when viewed in Lightroom. Is it enough to worry about on 90+% of the jumps? Nope since I doubt I'll be blowing the tandem or 4 way photos up to 16*20 anytime soon but some of the 20 way photos I'm kicking myself for not taking the sharper lens on since those will be blown up to larger then 8*10 and the softness shows once you start croping and printing at that size.

The Mark III and Mark II both support SDHC cards so CF/SD is not that big of a concern. The Mark III even lets you write Jpg to one while writing RAW to the other at the same time. I expect to see the replacement for the 40D to offer SD in some fashion also since the price point is easier to afford multiple 16 gig SD cards.

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[frost 1]

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XSi has some real improvements over the XTi... spot metering, better grip, better lens, and a bunch of other stuff that probably isn't all that important.

It does indeed have improvements! I was just wondering if the OP was making the decision based on those, or on the 12 MP hype :)

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I disagree about the lens thing. I upgraded lenses and don't see much of a difference in my pictures except that I can get a wider angle.

I saw great improvements over the stock kit lens, which belong in the garbage i now agree with the pros on that. Or on a tandem vidiot's skydiving helmet :)

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The kit lens with the XTi or XSi is perfectly fine for skydiving.

Absolutely. But if it's to be used for tandems then XSi and even XTi are an overkill. An XT is more then enough. I would say a 5 mega pixel camera like a Kodak V570 (or the 7MP V705) AKA "the Laci Cam" would do just fine. If the goal is to make nice quality freefall stills for which the power of XTi/XSi is warranted - then a GOOD lens is in order.

This is my opinion as a photo amateur :)

[parachutist 2]

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If you were buying a new camera for skydiving now would you rather get the new Rebel XSi or the old XTi (because you know it's reliable)?

3 months ago I bought an XSI to replace my XT and I've felt the extra $$ were well worth the expense.. The XSI kit provides a lot of performance that the XT didn't have, including much faster auto-focus and much better environmental seals (My XT had problems with weather changes such as very humid and very cold). No complaints on the kit lens either... We view tandem photos on a 37" HD screen and they're sharp, even when zooming in a ways in Photoshop.

Chris

[Acoisa 0]

Thanks for your answers guys!

I guess I'll be getting the XSi because I will use it for more than skydiving...

Thanks again,

Mike