Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - Buying a Canon DSLR - XSi kit vs. T1i

Icon · 12-04-2009, 11:01 AM

So I'm considering treating myself (and my fiancee) to a DSLR camera this Christmas... This will be our first DSLR camera. We're not looking to really get "into photography", but we do like to take pictures when we go on vacations or daytrips or whatnot. The Camera Store has these two deals which seem to be both in my price range and offering what I'm after:

Rebel XSi 18-55mm & 75-300mm Kit

Rebel T1i with 18-55mm

Basically the same price... but you get the zoom lens (with a nice range) in the XSi kit.

The main differences between the XSi & T1i seem to be:

HD video on the T1i. <-- would be something I'd use for sure, but have heard it's not as good as it could be. Low audio quality etc.
HDMI port on the T1i. <-- nice
3 extra megapixels on the T1i. <-- the likelyhood of me needing that extra quality is minimal. Albeit a cool feature to have.
Higher LCD resolution on the T1i. <-- who cares.
Digic 4 processor vs. Digic 3. <-- ???
"Creative Auto" mode on the T1i. <-- photoshop-like features right on the camera... though odds are if I want to add those effects I'd do it in photoshop anyway.

So basically my question is... is the T1i worth it over the XSi? The only feature that's really swaying me is the HD video. The rest seem like fluff especially compared to getting an extra lens with the XSi kit.

Any photographer gurus care to provide their 2 cents? Or if neither of these "deals" are really a deal that'd be good to know too. I've only really started looking in the past week or two, these prices just seem lower than what I've seen elsewhere.

Thanks.

12-04-2009, 11:01 AM	#1
Icon Franchise Player Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Calgary Exp:	Buying a Canon DSLR - XSi kit vs. T1i - help? So I'm considering treating myself (and my fiancee) to a DSLR camera this Christmas... This will be our first DSLR camera. We're not looking to really get "into photography", but we do like to take pictures when we go on vacations or daytrips or whatnot. The Camera Store has these two deals which seem to be both in my price range and offering what I'm after: Rebel XSi 18-55mm & 75-300mm Kit Rebel T1i with 18-55mm Basically the same price... but you get the zoom lens (with a nice range) in the XSi kit. The main differences between the XSi & T1i seem to be: HD video on the T1i. <-- would be something I'd use for sure, but have heard it's not as good as it could be. Low audio quality etc. HDMI port on the T1i. <-- nice 3 extra megapixels on the T1i. <-- the likelyhood of me needing that extra quality is minimal. Albeit a cool feature to have. Higher LCD resolution on the T1i. <-- who cares. Digic 4 processor vs. Digic 3. <-- ??? "Creative Auto" mode on the T1i. <-- photoshop-like features right on the camera... though odds are if I want to add those effects I'd do it in photoshop anyway. So basically my question is... is the T1i worth it over the XSi? The only feature that's really swaying me is the HD video. The rest seem like fluff especially compared to getting an extra lens with the XSi kit. Any photographer gurus care to provide their 2 cents? Or if neither of these "deals" are really a deal that'd be good to know too. I've only really started looking in the past week or two, these prices just seem lower than what I've seen elsewhere. Thanks. Last edited by Icon; 12-04-2009 at 11:05 AM.