The complexity of this camera made me hesitate to take the plunge, but I'm glad I did! I received it the day before our family vacation in Disneyland. With three young children running all over the place, it doesn't matter how trained you are, there isn't time to fiddle around with the controls. With this camera, I took over a thousand pictures in fully automatic mode, and got fantastic results. Our vacation photos are far better than I could get with a point and shoot.
Many of the photos I took were inside the rides, such as Matterhorn, Dumbo, and so forth. The lighting and vibration is obviously a huge challenge, but virtually all of my photos came out with excellent sharpness and clarity.
I'm very excited about using this to get other pictures I couldn't get before, like shots of my kids playing baseball, school assemblies, school plays, and other activities that our older cameras just couldn't work in.
There are many reasons why the XSi creates better pictures: It's 12.2 MP sensor has much better light sensitivity, so it can be used in darker conditions than a "point and shoot" camera. In addition, you can use lenses which have many times more light gathering capability. With these large aperture lenses, you can also throw the background out of focus, for better portrait photography. The bundled IS (Image Stabilization) lens is the reason why so many of the pictures I took from roller coasters came out sharp as a tack.
So, yes, there is a lot of technology here, and learning it makes your photos better, but I get great photographs simply because this is a better camera and it can take pictures that point and shoot cameras can't. A great book to guide you is The Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi/450D Companion.
The best technique I've developed so far is to change the focus to use only the center point, and to use the star-shaped button to hold exposure. These techniques are great for photographing people, as you can focus on the eyes, then set the exposure for the composition you want -- in other words, it separates the exposure and focus points.
Although I've owned many SLR's in the past, this is my first digital SLR. With today's high capacity cards, the biggest difference is that you can shoot hundreds of pictures without changing (let alone buying) film. Photography is much more enjoyable when you can just shoot to your heart's content.
I have a lot to learn with this camera, but I've found that doesn't get in the way of taking pictures. My pictures have been getting better and better, and I'm having a blast trying to improve my technique. I ordered the Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras from Amazon, and I'm looking forward to taking the kids to the zoo. The image stabilization feature will be an even bigger help with that lens. Get more detail about Canon Digital Rebel XSi 12.2 MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens (Black).
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