Canon Digital Rebel XSi 12.2 MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens (Black)

I bought this camera for my boyfriend who races hydroplane boats and I have to say this is the best camera ever. It's pictures are so clear and when i zoom in it doesn't loose any clarity it's awesome. I highly recommend this to anyone. I have had professionals tell what a great camera it is and how they want to get one.

My wife and I decided to replace our Nikon Coolpix 8700. I've had several different cameras over the years (digital point-and-shoots, SLRs, and finally the Coolpix 8700), I wanted to stick with a Nikon D-SLR, however after looking at prices vs. features, it became clear you get more camera per buck on Canon D-SLRs than you would with Nikons (we would've gone for a Nikon D-90 for something comparable to the Rebel XSi, and at the time of the purchase, it would've been $200-300 more).
It's been over a month and close to a thousand shots now since we purchased the Rebel XSi, and I couldn't be happier with the camera. The XSi menu interface is very intuitive. Add a nice flash to your setup, and you'll be able to produce professional-looking shots in just about any occasion. What I'm most impressed by is the battery life in this camera: during our church's vacation Bible school week, I took an average of 400 shots daily, both in and outdoors. At the end of the day, the battery indicator still showed a full charge! Recharging the battery also only took about 20-30 minutes! This is a great improvement as far as one of the biggest annoyances I've had over the years with digital cameras.
For the budget buyers out there, I was fortunate to find an XSi in used, mint condition from a reputable seller. It saved me several hundred dollars.

I bought this camera as one of the preparations of being a new dad.
Having been using it for 5+ months, I am disappointed with the photos I took with it. Most of them are simply out of focus. So the images are blurry.

ISO 800 is often the automatically picked one for in-door use without flash (told never to do so when photographing a baby) and the images are also very grainy.

This is my first Digital SLR and I read many reviews before making my purchase. I am very satisfied with the Canon Rebel XSi, the camera is everything that I had hoped it would be. The only downside to my purchase is that I now have to upgrade my storage capacity, because now I'm taking so many pictures.

I've been a frequent user of point and shoots (Canon), and knew I wanted to upgrade. First I thought about the Canon SX200, switched to the Nikon P80, but then realized that I truly wanted to upgrade and become the best amateur photographer I could be!!!

I purchased this camera out of a local electronics department in April--surprisingly on sale cheaper than Amazon!!! I knew before purchasing that the zoom on the kit lens wouldn't be enough for me, so I had the Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC AF OS (Optical Stabilizer) Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras on it's way to me from eBay and also the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens that everyone touts on the digital photo forums. I sold the kit lens to offset the costs. Rule #1 to upgrading to SLRs: Once you learn the excellence of SLRs, be ready to spend, spend, spend!

The Canon XSi helps me on my journey big time. Upon purchasing this camera, I had no idea what f-stop meant, why exposure was so important and what the heck was bokeh and DoF. While pondering what in the world I had gotten myself into, I went out and started snapping away. This camera, while intimidating at first easily let me transition from the Auto quickness of P&S into careful planning with Digital SLRs.

New to SLRs, I had to learn that "live view" was something that I as a P&S consumer had gotten used to, not something that truly belonged on a camera. I had no problem whatsoever transitioning to looking in the peephole. Taking pictures gets addicting with this camera. It has an easy-to-understand manual, and tons of digital photo forums/reviews to get one into the groove of using this camera. I mentioned earlier that I tossed the kit lens, but that doesn't mean it's a bad lens. I've seen photos of the kit lens, and I've seen photos of L lens. Depending on the photographer, they are excellent photos!

I first started taking photos on the "P" mode, not really understanding what it stood for, but just knowing that I could use that mode w/o enabling the flash (more of the flash later). The "TV" and "A" modes are also good to use, but for me it's mainly P or Manual.

I've attempted to use live view a couple of times, but for me it just gets in the way of trying to take a good photo. I'd rather take a few test shots and then tweak the settings.

One thing I've learned on photography is that the actual camera is only a tiny percentage of taking a good picture. Depending on who you ask, it can vary from 1% to 10%. For me, it's about 20% because of my amateur skills. The rest of a good picture depends on the lens used and most importantly, the actual picture taker! That said, potential new Canon XSi (D-SLR) users, please do not purchase this camera thinking you'll become a pro overnight. If you take the time to understand the elements of basic photography (exposure, depth, etc.), then you will most likely be fine with whatever you're using now. If you want to boost your skills and know for a fact that you are limited with P&S, then you are ready to upgrade and the XSi is a likely candidate.

A note on equipment. Before you go spending countless dollars on lenses and equipment, figure out what you are going to be using your camera for and what the majority of your photo subjects are. Do your research on the forums and all the reviews and then make your decisions. If you take tons of photos of your babes and are frustrated with the blurriness of low light or washing them out with the built in a flash, then a faster lens is for you along with an external flash.

The built-in flash is not great. I plan on adding a tripod and the Canon Speedlite 430EX II Flash for Canon Digital SLR Cameras to my setup. Most of my pics are taken during the day or where plenty of light is because of that very reason. Also, because of the lack of a good flash, the few night shots I do take come out extremely grainy because I have to increase the iso way high. Cool for some photos, but not for every single night shot.

I can go on about this camera, but my star rating says it all. I don't plan on upgrading until they come out with another SLR comparable to the Canon 40D that uses SD cards (my memory of choice), so it may be a while. Until then, the XSi will be my new photo road dog. That along with my two lenses, makes this camera the ultimate in beginner SLR photography.

Some other good equipment to add to your camera bag (if you're a true beginner):

A good intro or how-to digital photo book like Scott Kelby's Digital Photography Boxed Set, Volumes 1 and 2 (Includes The Digital Photography Book Volume 1 and The Digital Photography Book Volume 2) (Careful of the "humor" in this one. The author doesn't get it that it isn't really funny.)

Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 (Mac)

For photo management:
Apple Aperture 2.1.1 (Mac)
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 (PC)

Sandisk 8GB EXTREME III SDHC SD Card Class 6 (SDSDX3-8192, Plastic Case) I currently use the 4GB and can get 850 odd photos on the highest resolution in JPEG and about 300 photos shooting RAW+JPEG.

A good tripod.
A good photo bag. Right now I use a certain bag if I'm at work and just an old purse if I'm out and I want to be stylish. I do not prefer camera bags that look like camera bags.