Canon XS vs T3

[Donald Duck888]

I was hoping to get some opinions on a decision i am mulling over. I currently own a Canon Rebel XS and am thinking of upgrading to a Rebel T3.

I am thinking of buying just the camera body as I assume my lenses from my XS will also fit the T3. If someone knows this to be not true please let me know, thanks.

Also I checked Best Buy's trade in center and I should be able to get around $200 for the XS so that would bring the cost to below $300 for the T3.

Now I saw the T3 has much higher ISO (6400 vs 1600) so that is a big plus for low light shooting i would assume. I also like the thought of the HD movie capability on the T3 and am curious how well that works.

So I was hoping some on here might have more info and thoughts on the differences between the 2 cameras and if it is worth upgrading.

Thanks so much for any advice.

 

[photo_chick]

For just below $300 it would be well worth it to trade in the XS for a T3 in my opinion. And yes, all your lenses will work.

Dpreview.com has a great comparison tool to see all the differences between the two.

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

I'm not a Canon shooter, but as Photo_chick suggested, I looked at dpreview.com to compare. Based on whatever your upgrade goal is, both cameras are Canon's very bottom entry level DSLR's. While it does have video, it is a very basic video with no external mic connection and limited controls. Yes, it has a different sensor that allows for the use of higher ISO's, but it isn't one of Canon's newer sensors. Yes, it would be an upgrade over the Xs but not a major upgrade. If you want to push yourself (and I know $$ may be the overriding factor) then I would look at the T3i. That would be a signficant upgrade over what you are currently using. There may be a T4i on the horizon and then the T3i may drop in price. THIS IS JUST ME, however if you are going to upgrade, then I always choose to make a jump to push my photographic skills (what little I have!!). I'm afraid that the T3 may not be enough camera and then a year from now you will be 'needing' to upgrade again!

 

[photo_chick]

No doubt if you have the budget the T2i and T3i do offer significant upgrades from the XS. The T3 is more of an update in technology compared to the XS.

 

[Donald Duck888]

Thanks to all for the good thoughts and ideas. I have another question if i may.

Could someone give me their thoughts on the rebel T2i compared to the xs the T3 and the T3i? I know the T3i replaced the T2i so i just want to make sure if i go that route that I am not getting "old" tech.

Thanks in advance for any info.

 

[mom2rtk]

Thanks to all for the good thoughts and ideas. I have another question if i may.

Could someone give me their thoughts on the rebel T2i compared to the xs the T3 and the T3i? I know the T3i replaced the T2i so i just want to make sure if i go that route that I am not getting "old" tech.

Thanks in advance for any info.

I think the modifications from T2i to T3i were pretty minor. The articulating screen was one. Then maybe something with the video? The sensor stayed the same I believe.

I think from XS/T3 to T2i you'll get more focal points and more frames per second. You really DO want the higher ISO. It's the reason I upgraded from Xsi to T2i. But I think it would be worth it to try and get at least up to the T2i. And I think there are some great deals around on that one.

 

[bob100]

I was hoping to get some opinions on a decision i am mulling over. I currently own a Canon Rebel XS and am thinking of upgrading to a Rebel T3.

I am thinking of buying just the camera body as I assume my lenses from my XS will also fit the T3. If someone knows this to be not true please let me know, thanks.

Also I checked Best Buy's trade in center and I should be able to get around $200 for the XS so that would bring the cost to below $300 for the T3.

Now I saw the T3 has much higher ISO (6400 vs 1600) so that is a big plus for low light shooting i would assume. I also like the thought of the HD movie capability on the T3 and am curious how well that works.

So I was hoping some on here might have more info and thoughts on the differences between the 2 cameras and if it is worth upgrading.

Thanks so much for any advice.

The T3 (like the XS) doesn't have some features of the other Rebel DSLR's so my advice would be to buy the next model up - T2i (550D)
http://www.popphoto.com/gear/2010/05/camera-test-canon-eos-rebel-t2i

 

[photo_chick]

Thanks to all for the good thoughts and ideas. I have another question if i may.

Could someone give me their thoughts on the rebel T2i compared to the xs the T3 and the T3i? I know the T3i replaced the T2i so i just want to make sure if i go that route that I am not getting "old" tech.

Thanks in advance for any info.

The T2i has the same sensor and image processor as the T3i so your image quality and ISO perfromance are the same. The T3i is really a refinement of the T2i, not a new camera.

 

[Donald Duck888]

I just wanted to post to thank everyone for their advice and suggestions. I always find this board so helpful.

As to what I ended up doing , well I ended up replacing my xs with the T3. I really was looking for an expansion on the ISO from my xs (only up to 1600) and the 6400 should be a great upgrade on that. Also the movie mode seems to be pretty nice for the short "clip" type video I may shoot with it. All in all so far it seems like a nice modest upgrade over my xs.

I was very tempted to go higher to the T2i or T3i but money just is too tight right now to do that. I was able to trade in my xs and gwet around $240 for it so i ended up only paying around $250 to upgrade.

Thanks again to all those who gave thopughts and advice.

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

Those darn old $$ tend to be the determining factor! Congratulations and enjoy the new camera.

 

[KCmike]

The T2i is the best deal out there right now. Although its an older camera in regards to the T3i it is almost on an equal playing field. Most retailers are looking to get out of the this unit now.

If your thinking about a trade in you could go the Canon Trade in route (they sell refurbished though and I would totally understand you not feeling comfortable about that even though I've heard great things). The deal is you can trade in any camera, even an old Canon point and shoot, to do the trade in offer. You have to call to see what they will offer. I looked up the T2i and without the trade in it is running $479 and new on Amazon for $563. If you do the Canon trade in you could possibly keep the slr and trade in a lesser camera. They even take Canon ones that don't work! Most Canon users will buy a canon camera off ebay for $20 or so just to do the trade in offer. Here is the website for the refurbished cameras and lenses.

http://shop.usa.canon.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/subCategory_10051_10051_-1_29252#

Good luck deciding!

 

[Donald Duck888]

Those darn old $$ tend to be the determining factor! Congratulations and enjoy the new camera.

LOL GP so true, so true. Thanks also for the congrats.

I really hate it when the things I need to buy get in the way of the things I want to buy (would have much rather spent the money just spent on new water heater on going with a higher model camera).

Although I must admit I am enjoying the new T3 over my old xs, especially the higher ISO settings.

On a side note I was reminded (again) of what a newbie i really am with all this stuff as with the new camera were some short manuals on differerent shooting styles and one was on flash photography (which i don't do too much of). I didn't realize how much more you can do with flash these days. All that indirect and remote stuff is quite interesting.

When money allows i might just have to check out one of those external flashes.

Guess I'll put it on the list with all the nice new lenses I want to buy.

 

[Donald Duck888]

Ok I felt I should give an update on my Camera situation. I posted on here a little while back looking for advice on which camera to replace my Rebel xs with. As i posted earlier I eventually decided on the T3.

Well it just kept bugging me that I wasn't really upgrading all that much and while I liked the new camera (it is a very nice camera) it just felt like there was something missing. One thing was the lack of sensor cleaner which although i know it may not do all that much it just bugged me that my XS had that but the T3 did not.

THIS IS JUST ME, however if you are going to upgrade, then I always choose to make a jump to push my photographic skills (what little I have!!). I'm afraid that the T3 may not be enough camera and then a year from now you will be 'needing' to upgrade again!

Also this quote from GP kept ringing in my head sooooooooooooo today i just brought the T3 back and purchased a T2i.


Well I have been playing with it all afternoon and i think i made the right choice.


I have taken some practice pics and so far I really like it. It is a bit different from the xs/T3 as far as menu's and such go so there will be a bit of a learning curve but i look forward to it. It seems there will be many more things I can do with this that I may not have been able to do with the T3.

As to why T2i and not all the way up to T3i well that was purely financial and weighing the differences between the T2i and T3i vs the extra cost (want to save some money for a new lens one of these days ).

I want to thank all on here for taking the time to give advice and tips that were so very appreciated.

 

[mom2rtk]

Congrats and enjoy! You should be happy with the T2i. I upgrded from Xsi to the T2i a couple years ago. That wasn't a huge leap, but it gave me what I was after (usable ISO of 3200) and I've been very happy with it.

Now get out there shooting.... and saving.... for some fast glass!

 

[reimero]

I think you're going to be very happy with the T2i. The difference between the T2i and T3i is one of a very slightly different feature set (moving LCD screen) rather than an actual technology update. In fact, the T2i is lighter and has a shorter startup time! The important stuff - sensor, internal software, etc - is the same. I guess what I'm saying is, by getting the T2i, you're not in any way "settling." You're just selecting a more cost-effective feature set.

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

Congratulations again! I think you will be very happy. As much as we say that the photographer is key ingedient to photography, equipment does make a difference. I just got back from a Washington DC photo trip and without my new equipment, I would not have been able to get the shots that I did. Have fun and as we say in the shooting sports, "shoot more, shoot more often!"

 

[KCmike]

Congrats, I think you will be very happy with the T2i!

 

[Donald Duck888]

Thanks to all for the congrats.

I am looking forward to taking the new T2i out tommorow and taking some nice pics with it.

Of course I am really looking forward to taking it to Disney this upcoming May . Especially to pair it's higher ISO settings with my 35mm f2 lens to see what I can do with some of the ride shots. Gonna need a bigger sd card i think.

Next purchase will be a better lens. Would love to go top end but may be a while before I have that kind of $$ to spend.