Canon XTi Users, need an opinion pls.

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I'm seriously considering this camera, but have one problem. I was reading reviews on Amazon and see a few people complaining about poor exposure. It looks like it's mainly a problem when using the auto setting, but as one who is totally new to manual settings (I'm just jumping into photography) I will probably use the auto setting at least in the beginning.

Do you see any noticeable problems with the exposure in the auto setting?
 
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I can check mine out after work this evening. I've only ever used it in manual

And the true complaint is about inaccurate metering. It's widely accepted that the XTI underexposes(i believe) when metering, but this can be fixed in camera with one of the controls. In the camera's menu, you can choose to use Exposure correction, which will make the camera meter a little higher or a little lower depening on how you set it. No biggie...the XTI is a great camera and you can make some huge prints with it...check out here, http://photography-on-the.net/forum to get some good feed back on it.
 
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Thanks. I wasn't really concerned about it since I know I will be able to make the adjustment, but I just wanted to hear more about it from people I feel I can trust a little more here on M-F.
 
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I've read a few posts that the underexposure problem has to do with a combination of the XTi and kit lens. Appearantly the xti doesn't have any exposure problems with other lenses.
 
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auto settings are just lame all around
if your going to be buying an slr camera, learn how to use manual settings beforehand. they may seem intimidating at first, but they are actually simple.
look around on the canon site and theres a really good tutorial type thing... on beggining with slr cameras.
and if you really need to shoot auto, just shoot in raw and then edit exposure in ps.
 
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auto settings are just lame all around
if your going to be buying an slr camera, learn how to use manual settings beforehand. they may seem intimidating at first, but they are actually simple.
look around on the canon site and theres a really good tutorial type thing... on beggining with slr cameras.
and if you really need to shoot auto, just shoot in raw and then edit exposure in ps.

You can't shoot RAW in full auto, just .JPG from what I recall. Plus if it under exposes, making it brighter will make it extremely noisy
 
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I'll just need to take a little practice at first using manual settings before taking anything I want to keep, like a special event. I appreciate all the help though.

I'm still wrestling with what software to get. I can get CS3 Extended for $300 on academic discount, but I'm wondering if I can get something even cheaper to suit my needs. I doubt I'll need the extra options offered in the Extended version, but I haven't found an academic version of anything else.

As someone who has never used Photoshop before, I'm pretty lost in all the options. If anyone can offer an opinion on what I would need from Adobe for photograph editing, layering, or any other basic manipulation.
 
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I'll just need to take a little practice at first using manual settings before taking anything I want to keep, like a special event. I appreciate all the help though.

I'm still wrestling with what software to get. I can get CS3 Extended for $300 on academic discount, but I'm wondering if I can get something even cheaper to suit my needs. I doubt I'll need the extra options offered in the Extended version, but I haven't found an academic version of anything else.

As someone who has never used Photoshop before, I'm pretty lost in all the options. If anyone can offer an opinion on what I would need from Adobe for photograph editing, layering, or any other basic manipulation.

I was too, but manuals and internet forums tend to do wonders when it comes to something like image editing where when you ask a question, you can either get an answer that it can be done or it can't.
 
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XTi is a nice camera, nothing wrong with it.

Like any DSLR system your lens will have a huge affect on your results. Consumer and ameture lenses are not that great despite what reviews say, there is a reason pro glass is what it is. Used pro glass is 10x better than new consumer glass. ;D

If you are using a DSLR don't shoot on auto, that's not going to give you good results. If you want ease of use but still want good results use A or S mode instead. You usually have to tweak exposure settings on them anyway, it's just a fact.

As for software, for basic editing and organizing Lightroom is a great app and quite powerful. PS is the industry for advanced editing, but can be a little complex for new users. Also for anyone shooting digital an app like NoiseNinja is a must have. DLSR's are noisy at high ISO's, 800 and up.

Hope this helps you out some.
 
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Thanks again.

I stopped by my local Best Buy to get a feel for the XTi in-hand. The rep pointed me to the Sony A100 and mentioned the fact that it had image stabilization built in. That caught my attention as IS makes a huge price difference in lenses. But I'm not sure about going with Sony since they're very new to the DSLR market, even with the fact that they inherited Minolta's products. It did, however, get me thinking of upgrading to a 30D, which could save money in the long run when the cost of lenses are considered.
 
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rep pointed me to the Sony A100

Noooo!!! Do not buy that camera...Just a bad camera.

30D or a D80 or even the K10D. If you look hard enough you will find 20D's for great prices and that's a very nice camera. ;D

The K10D is an awesome camera, the only consumer DSLR that is weather sealed and that is a huge thing to consider if you are shooting in dusty or humid conditions.
 
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Thanks again.

I stopped by my local Best Buy to get a feel for the XTi in-hand. The rep pointed me to the Sony A100 and mentioned the fact that it had image stabilization built in. That caught my attention as IS makes a huge price difference in lenses. But I'm not sure about going with Sony since they're very new to the DSLR market, even with the fact that they inherited Minolta's products. It did, however, get me thinking of upgrading to a 30D, which could save money in the long run when the cost of lenses are considered.

Sony bought minolta, there for can use most of their older lenses from what I under stand. IS in a camera isn't always good. I think Sony claims it can effectively add one stop when shooting hand held. Canon uses IS in some of their higher end lenses which can add as much as 3 stops when using handheld, which is a huge difference. Plus if the IS were to break, you would have to send the camera in and not just a lens.

Also, Sony is not exactly new to the DSLR market. Nikon uses Sony sensors, so they're tried and true, it's just the body that is new and with Minolta's technology, it's still not like you have a brand new camera with only 3 lenses to choose from.

The only negative, which really isn't that big of a negative, when deciding on a 30d vs a xti is the 10mp in the xti vs the 8 in the 30d. Other than that, every single thing about the 30d is better imo. In fact, my last upgrade was from an XTI to a 30d. It's much larger, heavier, sturdier, and has better features. The jog wheel on the back is much easier to use when navigating than the arrows and if you have larger hands, it just fits better. The 30D also goes up to 3200 ISO which you may never come to appreciate unless you're trying to shoot with no flash in the dark. The other downside is the $400 difference if you're shopping for something cheaper.

The 30D can be found for around $1100 from www.bhphotovideo.com with just the body.
 
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I was considering the 30D over the XTi because I was under the impression it had built-in image stabilizing, but after another look at the specs, I guess it doesn't. Since I'm just getting into this hobbyist level of photography, I think I need the 30D, at least not now.

I'm sure the L-series lenses are worth the money, especially considering resale values are very high, but it will definitely take longer to save up for them!
 
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It's worth the effort and time if you want quality and don't want to second guess some of the things that crop with say having a lens that isn't fast enough to shoot in less than perfect lighting.

It's like golfing with 100 dollar clubs at a public course with range balls, yes you're golfing but try it with 1200 dollar clubs and pro class balls. I thought I was just a really bad golfer, I'm not great now but at least when I swing properly I know the shot has a better chance because at that point I'm the weak link. :D
 
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Canon will give your the best low light pictures since it uses a CMOS sensor to pick up the light. The sony and nikon use CCD which can get noisy in low light conditions. From the reviews the nikon does give good pictures in low light and is pretty close to the canon. The sony on the other hand does not fair well in low light.
 
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I was considering the 30D over the XTi because I was under the impression it had built-in image stabilizing, but after another look at the specs, I guess it doesn't. Since I'm just getting into this hobbyist level of photography, I think I need the 30D, at least not now.

I'm sure the L-series lenses are worth the money, especially considering resale values are very high, but it will definitely take longer to save up for them!

As a young amateur photographer (i've been doing this for a year and a half), i'm excited and delighted to see someone move into DSLR.

From my impression of your posts, you are fairly new to this but definitely have a level of excitement in your tone. Good stuff. But I do have a few things to add that i'm sure will help you.

First, to address your initial issue with exposure. I have a Rebel XT, essentially the same interface, just a different sensor and a few features than the XTI. I know the manual settings are daunting at first and its mighty discouraging learning all that new stuff. Do not, absolutely DO NOT look away from these things. Understanding exposure is essential to even shooting in Auto. To give you a basic rundown of Canon cameras, theres three main manual settings.

M, AV, and TV. M is full manual, where you have to set the shutter speed (the speed in which the sensor captures light, this deals with capturing fast motion, or slow flowing waterfalls etc.) and the aperture (deals with how much light is let in, practically, this is basically how blurry the background is or how much of the picture you want in focus, of course it goes much deeper than that, but intially, thats what you should know). AV is aperture priority. In this manual mode, you set the aperture, and the camera automatically sets the shutter speed. After a week with my Canon, this is pretty much what i've been using for the past 18 months. Its really not hard, I could even play with words a little bit and say its easy, because it really is. TV is shutter priority. This is direct opposite of AV, where you set the shutter speed and the aperture is set automatically, this might be usefull for sports shots where capturing fast motions is your "priority", hence the name shutter priority.

Please, do not be discouraged by those reviews, its trivial at best. If you want to master the unlimited potential of a Canon DSLR, I believe its almost mandatory to jump right into the manual stuff. Generally, auto exposure features are for moments when you don't have the 1-2 seconds to capture something, which honestly is rare.

Now to address your Image Stabilization problem. If your going to buy the Sony for that purpose, you're killing yourself. Image Stabilization is rarely rarely necessary unless you're shooting in low light conditions. Now, granted, you may absolutely need that, however, with a decent flash (a worthy investment), and some time playing with manual exposure, you can easily dodge that necessity. Plus, with a steady hand, you can get some awesome moments in your photographs. Of course, if you have a case of Parkinson's like Ali, then you have a different story...

Now you may be reading all this and saying "man, this is too much for me." When I started with DSLR, i felt the same way buddy. But reading forums for maybe a month, I was well into everything and working on skills rather than learning the camera. Do not be discouraged. I am open to anything you need, questions, whatever. PM me if you want my email or samples of pictures.

If you want a friendly camera focused community that teaches you a lot about photography. You should first and foremost check out this forum: photography-on-the.net Its got a creative name, so don't think its a typo. ;D .

You should also check out this website: http://the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EOS-400D-Digital-Rebel-XTi-Review.aspx
This author knows his stuff.

Also, I recommend an author named Scott Kelby. Look him up on Amazon, but this guy has books that are focused on noobies. His digital photography book, a sort of small handbook, is absolutely genius for new photographers. Basically, he ditches the complicated scientific approach to photography and tells you what you need to do to achieve different shots, without the fancy smancy language.

I hope this helps, I fully fully fully support you getting a Canon. You'll fall in love with it. Plus, the accessories, lenses, equipment compatibility and all the support will keep you on your toes for years to come.
 
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I'm seriously considering this camera, but have one problem. I was reading reviews on Amazon and see a few people complaining about poor exposure. It looks like it's mainly a problem when using the auto setting, but as one who is totally new to manual settings (I'm just jumping into photography) I will probably use the auto setting at least in the beginning.

Do you see any noticeable problems with the exposure in the auto setting?
yes there is sometimes a problem on auto mode, but this is why you use aperture priority mode (semi-auto) or shtter-priority which reduces the problem. For past months i have been shooting on manual all the time so i never experience this problem. Besides if you shoot RAW files then you can adjust the exposure slightly if they turn out badly at first.
 
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Now to address your Image Stabilization problem. If your going to buy the Sony for that purpose, you're killing yourself. Image Stabilization is rarely rarely necessary unless you're shooting in low light conditions. Now, granted, you may absolutely need that, however, with a decent flash (a worthy investment), and some time playing with manual exposure, you can easily dodge that necessity. Plus, with a steady hand, you can get some awesome moments in your photographs. Of course, if you have a case of Parkinson's like Ali, then you have a different story...

Image stabiliser wount help much in low light, well at least it wount stop movement any better than non-IS lens/camera. It only reduces camera shake, not making the sensor capture the light faster (thats the ISO job...).

The main use of this feature is hand-holding long focal length lenses, as the longer, the higher shutter speed you need to avoid camera shake. I believe for 200mm lens you will need around 1/250th.

As you said there is no point of going for a sony just for this feature. Firstly because you can easily shoot without it, and secondly, you can buy image stabilised lenses for canon. Fine, they might be more expensive, but canons have a lot bigger range of lenses than sony!

Vamks: you probably knew this already, i just wanted to make sure other people didnt misunderstand what exactly image stabilizers do, as it is a usual misconception!
 
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Thanks again for the info. I've been doing a lot of reading on settings, effects and IS, so I'm getting a pretty good foundation in the basics. Actually, Canon's website had a very nice little tutorial on e the basic settings and how they affect the photograph. Someone referred it to me and I'll have to remember to send some rep.

I've also been lurking around www.photography-on-the.net the past few days, and have picked up some additional basic lingo and ideas from there just by reading. It has tons of great photos and commentary too. I'll have to check out Vanks recommended site too.

Welcome to the forum, Vanks! I assume you do, but wondering if/what Mac you use.
 
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