Novice questions about Canon cameras

The camera is quite well built. The body is made of polycarbonate, an
engineering plastic that is better than metal. Don't let lightness fool you.
On the other hand, if you are an experienced 35mm SLR user, teh Elan 7 is a
camera you will not outgrow. It can do most things faster than any Rebel and
is a camera used by many professionals. My wife has an Elan 7 and I swear
it's the best consumer priced camera I've ever used.

--
http://www.chapelhillnoir.com
home of The Camera-ist's Manifesto
The Improved Links Pages are at
http://www.chapelhillnoir.com/links/mlinks00.html
A sample chapter from my novel "Haight-Ashbury" is at
http://www.chapelhillnoir.com/writ/hait/hatitl.html
"Matt" wrote in message
om...
I've been thinking about buying a Canon Rebel TI. On paper it looks
like a great value, tons of versatilty, innovation, and great features
at a real good price. But... I handled one the other day and found
myself wondering if it was very well built. It just didn't feel that
solid in my hand.

Is the Rebel TI a durable product? Would I be better of buying a
higher end used camera for about the same kind of money. It seems
like an ELAN 7E might be comparable in price used.
If the Rebel TI gets good marks for quality, I can see no reason not
to buy it. I have read some reviews. Most ofthem were good, but the
one bad one said that the camera wasn't well built.

So I turn to you camera buffs for insight. Thanks in advance for any
helpful comments

Matt

The camera is quite well built. The body is made of polycarbonate, an
engineering plastic that is better than metal. Don't let lightness fool you.
On the other hand, if you are an experienced 35mm SLR user, teh Elan 7 is a
camera you will not outgrow. It can do most things faster than any Rebel and
is a camera used by many professionals. My wife has an Elan 7 and I swear
it's the best consumer priced camera I've ever used.

--
http://www.chapelhillnoir.com
home of The Camera-ist's Manifesto
The Improved Links Pages are at
http://www.chapelhillnoir.com/links/mlinks00.html
A sample chapter from my novel "Haight-Ashbury" is at
http://www.chapelhillnoir.com/writ/hait/hatitl.html
"Matt" wrote in message
om...
I've been thinking about buying a Canon Rebel TI. On paper it looks
like a great value, tons of versatilty, innovation, and great features
at a real good price. But... I handled one the other day and found
myself wondering if it was very well built. It just didn't feel that
solid in my hand.

Is the Rebel TI a durable product? Would I be better of buying a
higher end used camera for about the same kind of money. It seems
like an ELAN 7E might be comparable in price used.
If the Rebel TI gets good marks for quality, I can see no reason not
to buy it. I have read some reviews. Most ofthem were good, but the
one bad one said that the camera wasn't well built.

So I turn to you camera buffs for insight. Thanks in advance for any
helpful comments

Matt

Well, since your the only answer I have so far, I'll bite.

I went to ebay and dug into leicaflex. Limited stuff to see, but
either very spendy (by my standards) or old and beat up, with repairs
and lenses needed. Must be a high quality unit, but I think that a
latemodel one in good shape will run more than I want to spend.

Why do you consider the Canon equipment to be crap? That's kind of
what I was trying to find out anyway.

Sonny Boy
aka
Matt


Where did you ever get the idea to buy this kind of crap. Get hold of
a used Leicaflex and get to know what a REAL camera feels like, sonny
boy.

Matt wrote:
I've been thinking about buying a Canon Rebel TI. On paper it looks
like a great value, tons of versatilty, innovation, and great features
at a real good price. But... I handled one the other day and found
myself wondering if it was very well built. It just didn't feel that
solid in my hand.

Is the Rebel TI a durable product? Would I be better of buying a
higher end used camera for about the same kind of money. It seems
like an ELAN 7E might be comparable in price used.
If the Rebel TI gets good marks for quality, I can see no reason not
to buy it. I have read some reviews. Most ofthem were good, but the
one bad one said that the camera wasn't well built.

So I turn to you camera buffs for insight. Thanks in advance for any
helpful comments

My girlfriend has the ti (I have a 2000). It is an excellent camera.
It doesm feel light, I agree. If you buy the battery grip, which I
recommend anyway just for the battery issue, it feels much more
substantial and comfortable in your hand. At least, to me.

--
How come nobody uses words like "nifty", "spiffy", and "keen" anymore?

Matt wrote:
I've been thinking about buying a Canon Rebel TI. On paper it looks
like a great value, tons of versatilty, innovation, and great features
at a real good price. But... I handled one the other day and found
myself wondering if it was very well built. It just didn't feel that
solid in my hand.

Is the Rebel TI a durable product? Would I be better of buying a
higher end used camera for about the same kind of money. It seems
like an ELAN 7E might be comparable in price used.
If the Rebel TI gets good marks for quality, I can see no reason not
to buy it. I have read some reviews. Most ofthem were good, but the
one bad one said that the camera wasn't well built.

So I turn to you camera buffs for insight. Thanks in advance for any
helpful comments

My girlfriend has the ti (I have a 2000). It is an excellent camera.
It doesm feel light, I agree. If you buy the battery grip, which I
recommend anyway just for the battery issue, it feels much more
substantial and comfortable in your hand. At least, to me.

--
How come nobody uses words like "nifty", "spiffy", and "keen" anymore?

"Tony Spadaro" wrote in message r.com...
The camera is quite well built. The body is made of polycarbonate, an
engineering plastic that is better than metal. Don't let lightness fool you.
On the other hand, if you are an experienced 35mm SLR user, teh Elan 7 is a
camera you will not outgrow. It can do most things faster than any Rebel and
is a camera used by many professionals. My wife has an Elan 7 and I swear
it's the best consumer priced camera I've ever used.

--

Thanks Tony, that's very helpful. I appreciate the insight.

Matt

On Fri, 16 Jul 2004 07:04:10 -0700, Michael Scarpitti wrote:

(Matt) wrote in message . com...
I've been thinking about buying a Canon Rebel TI. On paper it looks
like a great value, tons of versatilty, innovation, and great features
at a real good price. But... I handled one the other day and found
myself wondering if it was very well built. It just didn't feel that
solid in my hand.

Is the Rebel TI a durable product? Would I be better of buying a
higher end used camera for about the same kind of money. It seems
like an ELAN 7E might be comparable in price used.
If the Rebel TI gets good marks for quality, I can see no reason not
to buy it. I have read some reviews. Most ofthem were good, but the
one bad one said that the camera wasn't well built.

So I turn to you camera buffs for insight. Thanks in advance for any
helpful comments

Matt



Where did you ever get the idea to buy this kind of crap? Get hold of
a used Leicaflex and get to know what a REAL camera feels like, sonny
boy.

Gee, Scarface. Is that nervous twitch getting the better of you? We only
need to hear your bile once, thank you.

--
Dallas
Group guidelines on http://www.aliasimages.com/rpe35mmur.htm
Improve signal to noise ratio by filtering all crossposts.

On Fri, 16 Jul 2004 07:04:10 -0700, Michael Scarpitti wrote:

(Matt) wrote in message . com...
I've been thinking about buying a Canon Rebel TI. On paper it looks
like a great value, tons of versatilty, innovation, and great features
at a real good price. But... I handled one the other day and found
myself wondering if it was very well built. It just didn't feel that
solid in my hand.

Is the Rebel TI a durable product? Would I be better of buying a
higher end used camera for about the same kind of money. It seems
like an ELAN 7E might be comparable in price used.
If the Rebel TI gets good marks for quality, I can see no reason not
to buy it. I have read some reviews. Most ofthem were good, but the
one bad one said that the camera wasn't well built.

So I turn to you camera buffs for insight. Thanks in advance for any
helpful comments

Matt



Where did you ever get the idea to buy this kind of crap? Get hold of
a used Leicaflex and get to know what a REAL camera feels like, sonny
boy.

Gee, Scarface. Is that nervous twitch getting the better of you? We only
need to hear your bile once, thank you.

--
Dallas
Group guidelines on http://www.aliasimages.com/rpe35mmur.htm
Improve signal to noise ratio by filtering all crossposts.

In article , larboard34
@hotmail.com says...
Firstly, if you have to ask these questions, you are probably at the
stage where you really do not need an autofocus camera, or at least
don't know that you do.

Even if he doesn't "need" autofocus, it is sure handy to have for
situations when you typically do - like sports or action.

Secondly, the Rebel and other consumo Canon cameras available are
not, under any circumstances, all that durable. The pro models are
built with different materials and they are not particularly known for
ruggedness vis-a-vis the metal cameras.

They're plenty durable for ordinary use. No camera is going to like
being dropped - the consumer models might fair slightly worse, but the
best thing is not to drop the camera or abuse it in the first place.

Mr.Spadaro to the contrary, polycarbonate is not more durable than a
good aluminum structure. The 70s and early 80s SLR families were and

It is quite a bit more durable. Is it as rigid? No. Will it deform
upon impact like aluminum? No. Is it lighter and cheaper to
manufacture? Yes.

Polycarbonate is a excellent material if you know what it can and cannot
do. Unfortunately, many people do not know what it can do, much less
what it can't. Without getting too technical, it's rugged enough for
most people who aren't going to drag it across rocks.

still are more durable, more reliable, and far more repairable-when
parts are to be had-than the current generation of cameras.

I don't see the relevancy. Are you putting your cameras through the
wash?

Hands down, used manual focus gear is probably a better bet: if you
are determined to own new I would look at Nikon. Not that Canon is
necessarily poorer, but manual and autofocus Nikon optics interchange
and there are a lot of them.

Nikon manual and autofocus interchange to a point - many of the newer
(especially consumer) models do not fully support the older lenses. Not
necessarily a point in Nikon's favor.

Why do camera manufacturers work so hard at making new camera models,
with more and more functionality, but less ruggedness and user
elegance? One reason is that the new camera invariably costs less to
build. Plastics are moldable, with an upfront outlay for tooling, but
very low unit cost once set up. And electronics are cheap if made in
volume. On the other hand, the more stuff it does, the easier it is to
promote, and most camera buyers are not knowledgeable or even
intelligent.

Uh, progress is good? Better to have features you use occasionally with
good results than never have them in the first place. Technology is not
the devil.

I don't think people are breaking any more cameras today than they used
to (per capita, at least), so I doubt the build is a valid worry.

Medium format has changed much less than 35mm since the "Golden Era",
and large format even less. Large format, being tripod-bound and
heavy, is never bought as a phallic status symbol (or far more
rarely), and occasionally medium format is, but not nearly as often as
35mm.

....which has nothing to do with anything.

When buyers smarten up, the camera manufacturers will have to go back
to making the cameras people want. Yes, digital will kill much of the
market currently extant for 35mm. That's ok because it's still going
to be bigger than the large format market. The end of consumo film
cameras and minilabs will be a blessing for good photography.

Judging by market trends and camera sales, the camera manufacturers HAVE
smartened up. They produce affordable cameras with wide feature sets
that appeal to amateurs. They also produce tank-like metal bodies with
expensive glass for professionals. Depending on your whim, you can go
nearly any direction at any budget and still get better gear than you
could have 20 or 30 years ago.

Now the REAL point of this post should have been: "It's the
photographer, not the camera."

My that was helpful.

--
Skip Middleton
http://www.shadowcatcherimagery.com
"Michael Scarpitti" wrote in message
om...
(Matt) wrote in message
. com...
I've been thinking about buying a Canon Rebel TI. On paper it looks
like a great value, tons of versatilty, innovation, and great features
at a real good price. But... I handled one the other day and found
myself wondering if it was very well built. It just didn't feel that
solid in my hand.

Is the Rebel TI a durable product? Would I be better of buying a
higher end used camera for about the same kind of money. It seems
like an ELAN 7E might be comparable in price used.
If the Rebel TI gets good marks for quality, I can see no reason not
to buy it. I have read some reviews. Most ofthem were good, but the
one bad one said that the camera wasn't well built.

So I turn to you camera buffs for insight. Thanks in advance for any
helpful comments

Matt



Where did you ever get the idea to buy this kind of crap? Get hold of
a used Leicaflex and get to know what a REAL camera feels like, sonny
boy.

My that was helpful.

--
Skip Middleton
http://www.shadowcatcherimagery.com