Canon EOS Rebel Xs vs Canon EOS Rebel Xsi?

by jbdenham

This will be my first D-SLR camera, and I have just spent an hour or so weighing up the pros and cons of these two camera. However they seem pretty similar for a £130 price difference. Here are the key features I came up for each camera.

Canon Eos Rebel XS
-£370
18-55mm EF-S zoom lens
10.1mp
7 focus points
2.5 inch LCD screen
Live view mode

Canon Eos Rebel XSi
-£500
18-55mm IS zoom lens
12.2mp
9 focus points
3 inch LCD screen
Live View mode

so the advantages of the Canon EOS Xsi are;
-IS zoom lens over EF-S zoom lens
12.2mp over 10.1mp
9 focus points over 7 focus points
3 inch over LCD screen over 2.5 lcd screen

And the only disadvantage I can find is £130, but it seems the advantages are worth +£130
So would you recommend I just get the XSi instead of the Xs?
And the photography I will be doing is still life and portraits, sometimes candid
I have been doing my research all night as I am purchasing the camera tomorrow morning, and still can’t make up my mind.
What do you recommend? Thankyou

Answer by T. Le
To me, the differences are not that much. Whether those differences are beneficial or not, that’s up to you – but I would personally buy the XS. By spending less money, you may have some money left over to invest in a quality lens for the photography you are interested in.

P.S. Both cameras come with the same lens – the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS.

Give your answer to this question below!

St. Paul Cathedral


Image by jbdenham
View On Black

Canon EOS Rebel XSi, EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS, f7.0, ISO100, 18mm, HDR, 3 Exposures

In trying to find the best angle to capture a skyline image of St. Paul, one thing became very obvious: The most recognizable building in St. Paul, with maybe the capital building being the only exception, was the St. Paul Cathedral. One of the reasons it’s so easy to spot is that it is not clumped in with the rest of the downtown buildings and is kind of on its own to the West of the main skyline. Another reason is that it is MASSIVE!

On Thursday of this week I was able to see just how big this glorious church was up close and personal. Prior to volunteering at the Salvation Army in St. Paul, I was able to make a couple of photo stops in the area. Fortunately, the cathedral was in the area, being just a few blocks North of the SA.

This image really does not do justice in conveying just how big the cathedral really is, although you can get an idea based on the size of the front doors. I do not have a full frame camera, so my viewfinder is not as broad as others and it was very difficult to get the entire building in the frame. Even though the image would have been cool with a close up of just part of the building, the awesomeness and beauty of this mammoth structure really needed to be shown.

The lights perched in every door or window made for great accents to the image as well. Fortunately, they waited until the last shutters were snapped before they shut automatically due to the increasing light. As much as I like the glow from the sun, the accent lights were that much brighter due to the overcast sky.

Being up close to this church presented a certain awe and intimidation that’s hard to convey. Being brought up in Southern Baptist churches in rural Tennessee, I used to think that large churches could not possibly channel God’s Spirit through them as well as small ones, but just being around this one moved me quite a bit. It was truly impressive!

This will be my first D-SLR camera, and I have just spent an hour or so weighing up the pros and cons of these two camera. However they seem pretty similar for a £130 price difference. Here are the key features I came up for each camera.

Canon Eos Rebel XS
-£370
18-55mm EF-S zoom lens
10.1mp
7 focus points
2.5 inch LCD screen
Live view mode

Canon Eos Rebel XSi
-£500
18-55mm IS zoom lens
12.2mp
9 focus points
3 inch LCD screen
Live View mode

so the advantages of the Canon EOS Xsi are;
-IS zoom lens over EF-S zoom lens
12.2mp over 10.1mp
9 focus points over 7 focus points
3 inch over LCD screen over 2.5 lcd screen

And the only disadvantage I can find is £130, but it seems the advantages are worth +£130
So would you recommend I just get the XSi instead of the Xs?
And the photography I will be doing is still life and portraits, sometimes candid
I have been doing my research all night as I am purchasing the camera this afternoon, and still can’t make up my mind.
What do you recommend? Thankyou

Answer by ERIC
you have correctly pointed out the significant differences between the 2 cameras.
The IS lens has a $ 50 resale advantage over the Non-IS lens.
The IS lens will certainly get you fewer blurry shots…
the 3″ LCD is a Must have in my opinion,
The Auto Focus is a bit better than the XS, but I really liked the function on the Older models, so I wouldn’t spend the extra money for this.

In the end, if you have the extra $ $ , then the XSi is definitely the way to go.
but if you’re in the market for a DSLR, and your budget is tight, the XS is a great choice too…

Answer by Jim A
I own a Rebel XS and recommend it. The XSi is also a fine camera. The difference in mp, only 2, is really insignificant… especially if you display photos on your computer screen or other device. The only reason you’ll need more mp is if you plan to make blowups the size of a door. Otherwise the XS will produce wonderful photos for the average user.

You mention focus points. I’ve set my XS to a single, center focus point. My reason, on many shoots I found that the camera wants to grab the closest object. That’s fine except when that closest object isn’t your point of interest, say a single person in a crowd. I had some problems on shoots because of this thus the single point. However you can only set the camera this way using the “P” mode, as in “Program”. In this setting most features are automatic, exposure, focus and so on but you can change certain settings like the focus point.

The screen size. Unless you have poor vision the screen size really makes little difference. All you get from it is the fact that the photo was taken, not the real quality of the photo – no small screen can give you that regardless of the device.

Do you know how to hold a camera steady? If you do you won’t need IS. It’s not a bad thing just more of a gimmick than anything else.

You also mention live view – another gimmick. No one that I know of who is serious about photography uses this. All day long you see the snappers out there with their little pocket toys holding the device two feet from their face snapping away… this is not photography, this is amateur night. If you’re serious you won’t even turn that function on.

Use your SLR the way it was intended to be used and you’ll enjoy it for a long time.

Answer by Mark
Both are excellent cameras but I would favor the Xsi. I have a student in my digital photo class and I have been very impressed with the image quality he is getting from the camera. Below are links to camera reviews for both.

Recently the price difference has not been very much and the extra 2 mega pixels will be helpful if you are making larger prints.

My 2 cents.

Mark

Add your own answer in the comments!

Introduction to the Canon Rebel XSi 450D / XS 1000D

Price: $ 12.99

DISCOUNT LINK WWW.AMAZON.COM Digital Cameras Canon EOS Rebel Xsi 450d This Kit Includes: 1- Canon EOS Rebel XSi (aka 450D) SLR Digital Camera Kit (Includes manufacturer’s supplied accessories) 1- Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Autofocus Lens for Select Digital SLR Cameras 1- 8GB SDHC Memory Card 1- USB SD/HC Memory Card Reader 2- Rechargeable Lithium Ion Replacement Extended Life Batteries 1- Rapid Home and Car Charger 1- 3 Piece Filter Kit Includes: UV, Circular Polarizer and Flourescent Filter 1- Flash 1- Soft carrying case 1- Wide Angle Macro Lens w/Pouch and Caps 1- 2x Telephoto Zoom Lens w/Pouch and Caps 1- Full Size Tripod w/Carry Bag 1- Pack of LCD Screen Protectors 1- Lens/LCD Cleaning Kit 1- Mini Table Top Tripod More about this camera: Canon EOS Rebel XSi Digital Camera incorporates a number of high-end functions and technology found in Canon’s professional SLR models, including an improved autofocus sensor, enhanced 14-bit A/D conversion, and an advanced Live View function. Plus the proprietary DIGIC III image processor ensures that the fine details and natural colors of the images are optimally recorded, and also manages the camera’s efficient energy consumption and high-speed signal processing performance. Supplied Manufacturer Accessories in addition to mentioned above: Front & Rear Lens Caps, LP-E5 Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery Pack (7.4V, 1080mAh),LC-E5 Battery Charger,IFC-200U USB Interface Cable,VC-100 Video Cable, Ef Eyecup, EW-100DBIII Wide Neck …