Sparkplugs

Gorgeous and I agree...sanity is important right now. I've been taking pictures (albeit they are crapola atm) but it still gets my mind off other things.

Beautiful, just beautiful. I never did follow up on my dream to pursue photography; I'm glad you're taking the opportunity to do so. It's marvelous all around, and you have a knack for it.

Yay sanity... it's good to see you engaging in some. (And the results are nice, too.... the feel to each of those is different, but each one is engaging.... )

How do you find the Rebel XTi? I've been pondering the Rebel vs. the 40D; not sure the 40D is worth the difference in price and weight, but I have yet to decide. :)

I got a Rebel XTi largely because I liked the feel of the body. For almost two years now, the XTi has served me faithfully; my only complaint has been that the inability to push past 1600 ISO makes it difficult to do low-light shots (one of the things I most enjoy) handheld or short-exposure. Not a killing issue, but one worth considering.

In general, my gut feeling is that if...

• ...you like lighter camera-bodies, the XTi is your best choice.


• ...you would prefer an on-camera flash instead of carrying around a big hotshoe flash, the XTi is your best choice.


• ...you do a lot of low-light handheld or action shots, the 40D is better.


• ...you need studio wireless sync, the 40D is better.

In my case, I've discovered that the two latter points are now relevant for me, so I'm going to upgrade to a 40D. If they were not relevant, I'd still be perfectly happy with the XTi (and indeed, I'm still shooting with the XTi quite happily in the meantime). I'll be sad to give up the lighter carrying weight of my XTi, that's for certain, but I've discovered that it's still an inconvenient 'stuff it in a bag' camera in most cases; for just carrying in a purse, I really do still need a point and shoot, alas!

I do enjoy low-light shots, but I also want the camera primarily for travel -- which means having a lighter body and built-in flash is probably more advantageous. I think you've sold me on the XTi (you certainly get some nice shots with it). It'll be a shame to retire my EOS 33, but I fear the days of 35mm film are passing.

Thanks for the info!

I dunno about that; I still shoot with a Rebel K2 fairly regularly, at least for black and white stuff. 35mm may be passing as a general-use thing, but I still find I do not like digital black-and-white as much as what I can get off of Kodak TMax monochrome film.

But the K2 is also a no-brainer; it shares accessories with the XTi (or 40D); flash works on both, lenses work on both, etc. So I don't need anything special other than the film body for the times I actually want to do film.

The Rebel XTi is a nice camera. Don't know if I'll run out and replace it with a XSi just yet.

I'm jealous of the L-series glass, been wanting a L-series 50mm lens. I rented the lens and it was incredible. It has amazing depth of field.

The wireless sync isn't too bad on the XTi, with a couple Speedlite 580EXs it works ok but your mileage may vary.

I agree that you need a point and shoot that fits in a pocket, never know when you need to capture something. Only get out my SLR when I'm in the studio or with the intent of taking some nice shots while I'm out.

The XSi seems nice enough, but the main thing I want off of the 40D is the ISO 3200 capability. XSi is still limited to 1600, plus I gather it has a greater noise problem than the XTi. Seems to be a nice camera otherwise, though!