I just might be able to write a review of the Canon XTi no one would expect. In part, because I used it for almost 10 months on a daily basis; in part because I watched it topple to a hard cement surface as my tripod collapsed and nothing more than a small scratch happened and in part, because it was stolen about a month and a half ago and I am wondering what to do. Not only did I lose the XTi, but also an XT and three lenses, that same tripod, head, cable release, lens hood and just about everything else I had used in those wonderful moments when I was immersed in seeing.
So, the camera is gone. Oh, I have one in a box I haven't opened but I have a suspicion Canon is about to release a new one - perhaps the 450 or 500 with God knows what improvements.
The XTi is a very fine camera though, like the XT, is just a little too small to feel like a precision tool that the Nikon F100 did. The F100 was like playing a musical instrument and because it was film, I had no way to look at what I had just shot while I missed another cloud or color in the clouds that had just popped up. I got used to ignoring that big, wonderful screen on the back of the camera so I could see with my failing eyesight what I had shot.
At the heart of it all, the camera made great photographs. Oh I know, it's the photographer and you may or may not think I made great photos, but the camera gave me the opportunity to do it.
The images made great prints, a few of which hang in my house, not to honor me but to remind me of those wonderful walks at Sawhill Ponds or the incredible lines of an iris.
The images it produced were striking in detail and clarity and the texture of the photos was almost liquid. What was missing from the camera was made up for by experience and practice. Yes, I'd have loved spot metering and I'd have liked it to be a little larger so it fit in my hand more comfortably and I'd have liked two control wheels, rather than one.
It wasn't an F100, but it was also lighter and easier to carry and with a 2 gigabyte CF card and a fully charged battery, I could shoot for two or three hours without filling the two cards i carried or running out of power. Coupled with the two image stabilized lenses I had, I never enjoyed the collection of cameras and lenses so much.
For those of you who don't think a sensor cleaning system works, I will say, i never once saw any dark blobs (which indicate dust) in even one photograph. While I would tell anyone to turn the camera off and hold it down when changing lenses, i was often too excited to remember that rule. Yet, the sensor was never in need of manual cleaning or even a puff of air.
When I look back 10 years to the Olympus D600L I used for over 15,000 images as i learned light and composition to what has happened now, it seems like a miracle.
I also have a Nikon D40x that I am trying out. One of the Photo magazines rated the XT and 40x buys of the year and I'd have to agree,
But just having a good tool doesn't mean you are going to take a good photo. Like any other form of art, the artist has to have some sort of intention when shooting and the various features of the camera become transparent in actual use. But, this is a time when I have a camera from the two largest sellers of cameras and if only I could have what they both offer in one camera.
The 40x, like many of Nikon's cameras obscures some of the simplest functions in menus - the Rebel XTi has dedicated buttons. With digital, you don't change film, you change settings as the kind of light and the subject change and having those controls a push button away is so much easier than scrolling through different menus.
I recommend the Rebel XTi highly and at the prices the XT is selling for, I don't think anyone could go wrong with either. In fact, the 40x is a great little machine.
My problem is that I have a few Nikon lenses and while not made for digital are wonderful with the 40x. With a tele extender and my 500mm lens with a silent focusing motor, I have a 1000mm lens that is fairly fast and focuses automatically. Not bad and for a little less than $1,000, I get that and two light lenses and a carrying bag. The lenses are small and light so all I need is a 10mm lens to shoot ultra wide angle shots which is one of my favorite things to do.
Look, I know you can read richly documented reviews at dpreview.com and see all the comparisons - and the pros and cons.
We live in an age of electronic miracles and all of these fill the bill.
My purpose in writing this was to sift through my thought and get to a point where I knew what direction to take. I plan to look at the new cameras coming in November - particularly the Nikon D3.
I also plan to look at what Canon has to offer next. I've been disappointed in Nikon for lagging behind, but with the D3 and D300, they caught up. Well, sort of because now Canon is offering a 21mp full frame camera.
That's like having medium format in a 35 mm body but, $8,000 is a lot to spend. Yet, in this world of ever changing and ever improving toys, that 21mp is very inviting.
Yet, with the 10s of thousands of images I've shot, I still find the images I shot with Fuji Provia, the F1000 (and get this) a Tamron 28-200 lens that cost less than $300 ten years ago are still the best I've every taken.
Ansel Adams didn't have all the tools that meant instant results as we have. He could not compare one shot to the next and often he hiked with perhaps three or four glass plates and waited months to see the results.
It used to be, the photographer bought a camera. It was just the box. It was the film and the lenses that made the difference and the lenses still do. But now, the camera is also the film and all of the choices are wonderful. So, go out and buy an XTi - you won't regret it. Get the 17-85 IS lens with it and almost anything you want to shoot will be possible.
Since I can't get the new cameras for a month, I still have weeks of confusion and decision making to go through. I have to worry about spending the money. But, when I think that someone just bought 11 images from me from what they saw on my web site, I know that money isn't the issue. For me, the 400 was a wonderful tool and I wish it hadn't been stolen. But now, the thought of making images that I can fill a wall with - that I can have all the features I want and less money in the short run, I do know what direction I'll go.
I'd love to hear what others have experienced with the D200, and the 16mp Canon - I want to know how large the prints you've made are and what do they look like - are they smooth and real enough to walk in to.
What I thought was a review is more a meander. I remember that what was most wonderful about photography is how I see the world now and what see that I never noticed.
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