Canon EOS Rebel XS Body only 10.1 Megapixel

Which one to buy? Rebel XS or XSi?
Done a lot of research and reading. XS is the best buy. It is not worth the price premium on XSi just to get a few extras/upgrades. Lets take a look of what they are (XS vs. XSi):
(1) 10.1MP vs. 12.2MP. You will only see the differences if you print the picture in to a size larger than a poster. 99.999% of the time I print them either in 4x6 or 8x10.
(2) 5.7micron vs. 5.2micron. Believe me you cannot tell the differences.
(3) 3.0fps vs. 3.5fps. This is a good to have but I am not sure of paying a big premium for it.
(4) 7 AF points vs. 9 AF points. 7 AF points already fills up your view finder. Extra 2 AF points make little different.
(5) 2.5 vs 3.0 inch LCD. Sure the 3.0 inch screen in XSi is better. However it hard to justify big price premium.
The rest of the features are virtually identical between XS and XSi. Canon is responding to the market and the competitions with this low entry level price point Rebel XS model. They did an awesome job of making sure it has very competitive pricing and product feature sets. In fact they did too good of a job and sold me down to this greatly priced product. Canon is leaving money on the table. They will have to upgrade the XSi as soon as possible. Otherwise, many folks like me will buy down to XS and not XSi.
If you want a solid entry-level DSLR, Rebel XS is your best choice and best buy. You will enjoy it very much. :-)

I'm a beginner to DSLRs and was thinking about which camera to buy to suit my budget. But I only had to decide between Canon and Nikon. I was comparing Rebel XS, XTi, XSi and Nikon D40, D40x and D60. dpreview.com helped me a lot for the decision.
I thought Canon *entry level* cameras are somewhat better and elegant than Nikon. So it came down to selecting XSi vs XS. XSi had larger display, remote control shutter, live view finder, etc., but have to pay abt $180 over XS for that. So decided to buy XS and so far I'm really happy with the camera.
I guess the secret is to get a reasonably good camera body and save money to buy lenses. All in all I think XS is a very good investment for a entry level person.

good lens and very handy to take control of the camera. i can have great pictures. backdrop about the camera is zoom.

I have been using this camera for around a month. It works very well in most lighting situations (although the indoor white balance w/out flash is a bit warm). It's extremely fast for being a budget DSLR, and it gets the exposure right most of the time. The noise levels are much lower than any compact I've used.

The 18-55 kit lens is perfectly acceptable for most uses. The image stabilization is a nice addition and it really helps in low light situations. My kit also came with a 75-300 telephoto lens. It's very good for the price, but I'd recommend the 55-250 over it, because of the better optics and image stabilization.

I shoot using the viewfinder most of the time, so this is not an issue for me, but if you're upgrading from a compact, you'll want to know that the live view is not nearly as good as it is on a compact camera. The focus and exposure readings take much longer than normal. However, almost all DSLRs with live view have problems like this.

Overall, I'd highly recommend this camera. Just realize the live view isn't on par with compacts.

There are numerous professional reviews of this camera with very high scores. They will tell you it is feature packed and has one of the best image qualities for an entry priced camera. I feel that it does live up to its promise.

Pros:
Excellent price. $360 with live.com cash back.
Easy to take good indoor pictures, even for a novice.
Image stabilization on the bundled lens works well with unsteady hands.

Cons:
The live view feature requires quite a few menu steps to enable, and it doesn't auto focus w/o pressing this separate button before you shoot. You also need to be in one of the manual modes. They also have warnings against using in certain conditions such as leaving it on too long or having the sun directly enter the lens. This feature is too cumbersome to use regularly, so I enable it only if I really can't use the view finder.
On the full-auto mode with flash, sometimes it takes 2-3 seconds to make a shot, and this time isn't consistent. It makes it a bit hard capture a quick event. This may be due to my lack of knowledge in how to configure all the manual settings.

Wanting to break into DSLRs for awhile, I expected to go w/Nikon because of my experience w/their old film SLRs. But I chose the Rebel because many people raved about it and I got a very good deal on it. The menus are very easy to navigate; the Nikon menus seemed overwhelming to me, although I do prefer how they have put their most-used buttons on the camera. All of the Rebel's adjustments are on the right side, so you're doing a lot of maneuvering w/your fingers on that side of the camera. It could be a little awkward at times. The picture quality is great! I am very happy with the camera. It's small and light enough to carry, but perhaps larger hands would find it too small.

The 40D's little brother. I use a Canon 40D at work on an almost daily basis, but knew that the basic 'guts' of the camera were similar (if not the same). This is the only reason why I considered the version of the same that was four hundred dollars cheaper.

As an entry level DSLR camera, it is a fantastic piece of hardware. It is lighter than the 40D physically, and has a considerably different interface in terms of the camera body itself, but takes fantastic photos like it's big brother. Frankly, if my only experience with Canon cameras had been my Powershot A510 (my personal point and shoot camera), then the Rebel XS would have blown my mind and destroyed me for any other digital camera.

That said, if you can afford the 40D, it is definitely a better camera, longer battery life, physically feels nicer, despite the increased weight, and has an interface more suited to a professional DSLR camera. If you want to take effectively the same photos for much less expense (which I had as my personal constraint), the Rebel XS is a fantastic choice.

this is going to be a random rant about thei camera
I used to own a canon S3 ultra zoom camera. I used to think my camera was the best camera as it did use to give great pics and a success rate of 8/10 being not blury and best of all the video feature was the best which i am missing on this SLR.
But after handling the Rebel XS and taking over 600 pics in last 2 days with a wedding and a birthday party NOT a SINGLE pic came out blury with auto focus On and on Auto mode...
I have 2 hyper kids and am shooting pics now left and right both indoor and outdoor and all pics are in focus... other than the convenience of compactness and video shooting ..No more point and shoot for me.

I got mine new XS kit with 20-55 IS lens for just around $400 from ebay and the ultra zoom are selling in the same range..so why buy a buik when they are offering the Hummer at the same price :)

** It a bit uncomfortable for someone like me so used to point and shoot to look through the lens to take pics..but once you get over the inhibition it pays off.
moreover i quit using the live view feature because it does affect the quality of the pic especially when taking pics of moving objects
So i would highly recommend this camera to anyone who is griping about the high amount of outof focus pics in your collection....Put an end to it get a SLR

I purchased this camera and received it on a Tuesday. And I love this camera! It takes really good pictures and the camera is very light weight. I recommend this camera to someone who wants a light weight camera and that takes good pictures. I love the fact that you can take pictures in the dark. My last digital camera took horrible pictures in dark rooms. And this one you can use and it looks as if you took the picture in a room full of light. So I recommend this camera to anyone who is wanting to have a good light weight camera to take pictures of your memories.

Takes great pictures of kids. I love it. I am still trying to figure all the features out. I am new to the DSLR.

I am very pleased with all aspects of my purchase. The quality of the product, the professionalism of the staff, and the fast shipping.

At beginning, I am suspisious about the low feedback and with such high value risk. End up I have received the camera with good working condiiton. And one extra camera bag which is not memtioned in the bid. It is a good buying experience with this seller.

This is a great camera package for the money. Terrific Cannon SLR camera with all the bells and whistles needed for the intermediate photographer. This package included the wide angle, telephoto, zoom lens, filters, tripod and many other extras to make your photography experience enjoyable. This book is a little "stiff" reading unless you have worked with this type of camera before. We have prior experience with an AE-1 Program film camera, and the settings are similar, so that makes it a little easier to use. Good step up from your standard point and shoot digital, but be prepared to read the book to understand how to set it up and use properly for expected results.

Everything was as described and great in communication. Quick response and willing to help out. Great Seller.

I love my new camera, it was simple to put together and easy to use right out of the box. The pictures I am capturing are beautiful, and by later on reading the manual I found different ways of capturing pictures with different lenses and special effects. I love my camera and would not trade it for anything else.

Ecxelente equipo , rapida entrega gracias....................................................

it was a very good purchase. This model is super. This kit is excellent value for money. fast and safe delivery. I recommend this seller to all

I was looking for a dslr with certain options and this was the winner. I was undecided whether or not to go with Canon or Nikon. I can say I love my Canon. Buy one!

Love the Camera!!!!!!!!!!! I am a beginner with this type of camera and I was able to use it right out of the box. It takes great pictures in comparison to my point and shot 10.1 megapixel camera. I would recommend this camera to any beginner.

Well, it's difficult to say whether the Canon XS is a good camera or not as my experience with the seller (Pyxis) was so awful it tainted my experience with the camera as I did not get the proper IS lens with the camera and was instead forced to use the lens that the dealer had swapped for the canon kit lens. I can say, however, that using a Tamron 28-80mm AF lens with this camera produced less than optimum results. Problems with focus and proper image reproduction of white areas of the images. Specifically, white halo ghosting along the edges of the white areas of the image and out of focus or overly soft-focused images. I don't know whether the issue was with the camera or the lens.

I am not sure if i had an authentic Canon XS or some knockoff or grey market item as my serial number wiped off the bottom of the camera when I ran my finger over it once. I called canon and they confirmed that that should not happen. I sent the camera back for a refund, and purchased a Rebel XSI from another dealer with the proper lens. I can say that I am perfectly happy with the XSI (and no serial number wiping off), and since the XS is similar to the XSI but with less megapixels, I can assume that the XS is a very good camera at a very good price---provided, of course, that you get an authentic Canon. I liken the sharp detail of the XSI and overall control and ease of use.

I still don't know if the XS I tried was a real Canon or not, but based on the XSI, a real Canon XS should be just fine and at a great price if you want to save a couple hundred bucks. Also, the XS kit comes with the same lens as the XSI, so the image quality should be very comparable. But if you can afford the XSI, step up and get the better of the two as the XSI has some extra bells and whistles such as nine-point autofocus instead of seven on the XS and faster multi-shot shooting.

All I can say, is that whatever camera you choose, do your homework and buy only from reputable dealers, and check that serial number--it should not rub off. Also, make sure an authentic Canon warrantee card is included with your camera, or you may not be able to send your camera to Canon for repair should you need to.

This is my first digital SLR camera. I really love the quality of its pictures. No wonder it was rated one of the best cams by CNET when it comes to pictures quality. The only advice I have for some one buying this cam is to get the lens with image stabilizer as it makes some difference when it comes to blur reduction. A final advice, always try it before you buy it. It is selling at Target so go there and play with it and if you feel comfortable then voila.

I love this camera! The price was right, and the bang for the buck is there.
I was looking for a dslr that was priced right, and an entry level camera. The ease of use, and affordablity, along with the quality pics sold my on this camera. I would recommend this camera to anyone looking for a beginner dslr with quality results. It is so easy to get great pics with this camera. I have never used a dslr before, and after reading the manual, I took some practice shots, and am very, very impressed with the pics.

I have only taken about 700-900 pictures so far, but this is a fantastic camera. There are a lot of easy pictures to be taken with this camera. Don't be intimidated by all the options on the dial. Set it to any of the ones on the lower half, point, picture! In time I hope to use the advanced options more as I'm sure I have yet to use this camera to it's full potential.