A little help please

[jefflesh]

First off, my name is Jeff and I am new to the forum. I am steping up from a Sony DSC-W30 (at least that's what I think it is) to a Canon Rebel XTi kit. I have a few questions about this camera.

1) All the reviews state that it does not have spot metering. When I looked over the manual onlilne it did have metering. Is there different types of metering or am I just getting confused.

2) How does this camera compare to the EOS 30? The 30 is an 8mp camera while the XTi is a 10.1. Someone told me that the 30 has a bigger image processor, does that make a big difference? What is more important mega-pixils or the image processor?

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Jeff

 

[Thru_These_Eyes]

I just recently bought the XTi. It has taken amazing pictures this month and I absolutely love it.

I've always been told not to buy a camera based on how many mega pixels. I am not good with comparing cameras to say which one is better because I don't really believe its all about the camera...its about the eye of the photographer..wow, that's cheesey.

The XTi is light in weight, comfortable in your hands, and user friendly.

 

[jefflesh]

Thanks for the reply. Have you taken any pictures in lower light situations?

Last week I went up north with my family, we went on a hike through the Jordan River Vally. At different spots through the hike I thought it would be great to take some photos of the family and nature. When reviewing the pictures on the computer I noticed that in the pictures of the family did not come out when shooting in the shadows of the forest. Needless to say, most of my pictures are not that good. They are really grainy, dark, and fuzzy. The camera I have does not allow for manual adjustment of the ISO settings and I think that this is a cause for the problems.

Now, I was reading that the XTi does not have good low light image quality. I would hate to spend the money on this camera only to be in the same boat Im in now.

Thanks again for your post.

Sincerely,

Jeff

 

[Seefutlung]

Hey Jeff-

The difference between 8MPs and 10MPs is insignificant. The human eye will be incapable of seeing a visible difference between the two sizes.

As to noise/grain ... many things cause noise/grain. The higher the ISO the increase of noise. Also packing in too many pixels together will increase noise (as exhibited in most P&S cameras will a small sensor and high MP count.) Canon, has the best noise control at higher ISO of any dSLR camera manufacturer. But, (the big but), the XTi is clearly the worst
of Canon's present lineup (seems too many pixels on the APS-C sensoris producing more noise in shadows and high ISO than normal.) While the XTi exhibits more noise than other Canon dSLRs ... the noise should be better/more acceptable than the noise of a P&S.

Remember that the 30D is a whole level up from the XTi and has features which are considered "professional". I don't understand what a larger "Image processor" is ... Both the 30T and XTi share the same processing chip, the Digic II. Perhaps he/she was making reference to the large buffer of the 30D ... the buffer is a holding tank which stores image information while the processor take that information and creates a RAW or JPEG file. The buffer really comes to play when using the 5FPS of the 30D because the image information cannot be processed as quickly as being shot.

 

[subimatt]

The camera is a great entry SLR, Ive been playing around with mine for awhile and with the right settings and knowledge, it can take amazing pictures. feel free to check out some of my photos below, all were taken with the XTi and factory lens. As far as dark areas, it depends on the settings of the camera, the lens you are using and flash setup. The 30D is a great camera, its also alot more camera, more options, a bit faster, and if this is your first SLR, more confusing. thats just my .2$ and I dont consider myself a professional.

 

[lifeafter2am]

First off, my name is Jeff and I am new to the forum. I am steping up from a Sony DSC-W30 (at least that's what I think it is) to a Canon Rebel XTi kit. I have a few questions about this camera.

1) All the reviews state that it does not have spot metering. When I looked over the manual onlilne it did have metering. Is there different types of metering or am I just getting confused.

Yes, there are different types of metering. On the 30D they are: evaluative, partial (approximately 9 percent), centerweighted average and spot. I don't know what is on the XTi, as I do not have one. But from the sound of it, and from what I could guess, there are not at many options.

 

[Garbz]

There are multiple metering modes in a camera. Spot metering is one where only the very tiniest sample from the currently selected point is used to evaluate the exposure. I personally rarely use it. If my metre stuffs up I switch to manual or jump to the compensation settings which are reachable with my thumb on my camera, the metering mode is not. It does have what it calls partial metering which is similar but takes the exposure from a larger portion of the frame.

Megapixels mean very little, especially the difference between 8 and 10. (less than 10% increase in size of image) In reality even with the 8 megapixel camera you are in a territory where you need to start making serious investments in lenses to be able to achieve images sharp enough to truly utilise the resolution. Ultimately though the megapixels do not determine the quality of the image. In fact less megapixels is better from an engineering point as the pixel density is lower and thus more light can be picked up. But then there's also a whole range of other things that go into sensor design that determine the final quality.

In reality all cameras do not have good quality in low-light. If you are forced to raise your ISO level you introduce noise into the image. However these "reviews" are always done fully zoomed into the image, and no one views images like that. Even at ISO1600 the XTi can produce perfectly acceptable normal sized prints. Run it through a bit of noise reduction and you can start pulling some large prints off it and still get great quality images.

The real difference in the 30D lies in its construction more so than its features. It has a magnesium body instead of the plastic XTi, it is much larger, and more comfortable to use. Both cameras have a very full set of features lacking only in the flash department.

 

[Jon, The Elder]

Hey Jeff......go here and take time to really see what you bought.

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_reviews/rebelxti.html

The 10 megapixel thing is Canons way of making you think it is important to have MORE.
It is not necessarily true.

Anyway, you have a nice little 'starter' camera that will teach you a lot about the basics of photography. You are just going to have to work a bit harder to get what you are expecting.

Set your camera up for center point focus/ISO 200/Evaluative metering and start from there.

Learn how each feature affects the others and you will improve as you practice more.
It's 'free' so shoot a few dozen a day, then study your results.

The real difference in the 30D lies in its construction more so than its features.

That comment has got to be from someone who doesn't know a damned thing about the camera I use professionally.

 

[Garbz]

It's the main reason I'd buy it. Sure it has a lot more features but you hit the nail on the head when you said it. "Professionally" As an amature or someone just starting out in photography I would recommend a 30D just because of it's significantly more rugged construction, I know that much.

 

[sabbath999]

What is more important mega-pixils or the image processor?

First, I have no idea which has the better image processor or if they are the same... I don't own nor have I ever shopped for a Canon DSLR.

But, generically, the image processor is MUCH more important than the difference between 8 megapixels and 10 megapixels. In fact, there is virtually no difference in the quality of prints that you can make from both... assuming everything else in the camera is equal.

 

[Jon, The Elder]

the buffer is a holding tank which stores image information while the processor take that information and creates a RAW or JPEG file. The buffer really comes to play when using the 5FPS of the 30D because the image information cannot be processed as quickly as being shot.

Exactly ! When I'm in the arena with 10-15 horses, I do not have the luxury to wait for the buffer to empty.

 

[Seefutlung]

One more thing Jeff ... in images captured at ISO 400 or less you will not see any difference in Image Quality between an XT, XTi, 20D, 30D, 5D, 1DMKII or 1DMKII-N.

The more $ = better construction and more features ... generally speaking, more features makes it easier for the photog to get "the shot".

An image from your camera can stand up to an image from any of the more expensive cameras and you won't be able to distinguish/identify which camerea took said images.

In the Canon dSLR lineup, skill, expertise (both photographic and photo processing) and good glass separates the "men from the boys" in creating/capturing powerful images.

 

[MACollum]

What is more important mega-pixils or the image processor?

I think it depends on you. I don't know anything about processors but I am crop-happy so I opted for lots of megapixels. Even now, after three years of (very amateur) photography I still can't seem to make myself slow down and look at everything in the frame. I'm always seeing things in my pictures that I would've done differently if I'd been paying attention. I'm so involved in getting the exposure right that I let things slide. Maybe once I get a good handle on exposure I'll start to notice these things...

 

[Jon, The Elder]

In the Canon dSLR lineup, skill, expertise (both photographic and photo processing) and good glass separates the "men from the boys" in creating/capturing powerful images.

You got it bud. It applies to ALL brands though.

 

[jefflesh]

Thanks everyone for your posts. I finally made the splash yesterday and ended up going with the EOS 30D kit with the 28-135 lense. There are a heck of a lot of options on this thing, I think it's going to take me a year to figure it out.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Jeff