After taking thousands of pics of my two year old and my new born with my HP point and shoot, I finally gave up. None of the pictures were of the 'moment' or 'expression' I was trying to capture. I was always taking pictures of their backs or their looking away or xxx. Anything but what I wanted. Then the quality of the pictures were never quite right unless I took the picture in full blown day light.
Finally decided to splurge. After extensive research on the Canon XTi vs the Nikon, I ultimately opted for the Canon. I bought it along with the portrait EF 50mm that seems to be highly rated by many. I later purchased the EF 28-105mm. Upon receiving the camera, I went to town taking pics of my little ones. What I found:
Pros:
- Fast. Very fast. Wow. I've yet to miss a shot.
- Outstanding pics. Pics with the EF28-105 good. Pics with the EF 50mm, outstanding. Many look like they were taken by a pro. Trust me. I am no pro. I'm a working mom looking for some good pics to put on their website and send to Grandma and Grandpa. On average, with my point and shoot, I'd get 1 out 20 that were worthy of that. Now, I average 5-6 out of 10 at a higher bar of course.
- Versitile. I can play around with different settings and Canon lenses. Fun but expensive.
- Battery charges fast. Battery life outstanding. I honestly don't think I've had to charge the batteries but 2-3 times since I bought it five months ago and have taken thousands of pics.
- The 4GB SD card keeps more pics than I could ever want.
Cons.
If you are a working kind of mom like I am and just want an awesome camera to take awesome pics, you've found it. However, there is one big downside: it's bigger...way bigger than a point and shoot. It's not as easy to throw in your purse and go out for a splash day. I have found myself leaving it behind because I just didn't want to lug it along with the diaper bag, a toddler and an infant...car seat, snacks, toys, bottles, wipes...etc. The bag is heavy enough. But, those pics are priceless as far as I am concerned and will sacrifice more often than not and find myself glad for having done so.
LENSES. This took me longer to figure out than which camera to buy. I searched for a month before I committed. Given the affordability of the 50mm and its reviews, I opted to do without the kit lens.
Admittedly, I regretted it at first. What!? No zoom. As you can tell, I'm a serious amatuer and didn't know what I was getting into. But, despite the one time I wanted to take a group pic that required me to step clear to the other side of the house to get them in, 99% of the time, I'm trying to get a good close up of my kids...many pics by default at this age tend to be close ups. Then, there is a subtle difference between the pictures I have taken with this lens and the 28-105--crisper, cleaner and outright beautiful color.
The 28-105 is actually not bad especially if you use it with the hood. The zoom is about what I figure I will need at ball games and ballerina recitals when I don't have to worry about lugging a diaper bag and keeping after a climbing/crawling baby. For the price, I figure it's doable.
There you have it, Amazon shopping Moms. I hope this Review was helpful. I found many of the reviews targeting semi-pros so it took a while to sift through it all!
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I have owned this camera for about a month now, and it is my first digital SLR. I used to have a Canon film SLR, and a point and shoot as well, and loved them both. So when I decided to get an SLR, Canon was the only choice for me, and I was not disappointed.
This is an excellent camera. It's easy to use, and the pictures are great. The software that comes with the camera is actually pretty good, and I have been quite happy with it so far. I really would recommend this camera to anyone looking into the digital SLR market. There have been documented exposure problems by other users, but I have not noticed anything wrong with the exposure.
I really can't recommend this camera enough.
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