Re: More on Canon Rebel XT noise at high ISO - 2 main new data points

Today Chrlz commented courteously on the subject at hand

> Funny, Lou, but I don't see all that many folk here
> complaining bitterly and specifically about the XT having a
> serious design flaw. Even mopar is trying the Canon out
> *because* he had *similar* problems with other cameras and
> flashguns, eg Nikon..

I'll take that as a complement, Chrlz, albeit a left-handed
one. <grin>

>>Yet, if I take my Digital Rebel, my digital Rebel XT,and my
>>old Powershot G1, and put them all in program mode
>
> Which as some here (like me) maintain, is never the same
> between camera models..
>
>> and use the same Speedlite 430 flash on the same subject
>> expecially from a distance, the G1 picture will come out
>> consistently brighter and the flash more bright, than with
>> the Digital Rebel or Digital Rebel XT.
>
> Yes, I would expect a prosumer to overexpose in dumb-mode,
> compared to a DSLR.
> Would you care to post the proof of this, by the way, so we
> can verify the fairness of the test, and view the exif data
> to make a more reasoned judgement? Or link to any page
> which shows similar? Because this would be pretty easy to
> prove.
>
> But it's a moot point anyway. Different cameras use
> different auto-algorithms. Some are better than others,
> some are intended to suit people who aren't likely to
> post-process, some take the attributes of the sensor into
> account in different ways, some avoid blown highlights,
> some.... ad infinitum.
>
> Whether or not there is a problem with every XT ever built
> (and yes, I've heard a few similar comments), can you tell
> us *your* opinion about how flash metering handles
> reflective subjects in dark environments, and whether you
> should use auto mode for that type of work?

I know of /no/ manufactured product, hardware, software,
clothes, TVs, cameras, cars, Windows, PhotoShop, no-thing that
is without defect, no-thing that never fails, and no-thing
that everybody who buys it is 100.000% happy with. Life ain't
that way.

Even given that the camera du jour is, in fact, doing exactly
what it was designed to do, and is suffering no mechanical,
electronic, or firmware software problems, in /no/ way means
it will perform to /any/ photographer's expectations in even a
moderate size sampling, much less broadly.

> Then, feel free to post a request for a class
> action/boycott/whatever against Canon. Perhaps as a
> separate post to ensure better coverage. Those images you
> took will make excellent evidence. No, I'm *not* being
> sarcastic - do it!
>
> PS, I'm not a Canon owner or apologist. If I was buying a
> DSLR right now, it would be a Nikon, Minolta, Pentax or
> Olympus - in that order, and for a variety of reasons.
>
I'd narrowed my search down to the Rebel XT and D70s. Besides
the good rep the Canon had for what /I/ believed I wanted to
do, and what /I/ believed the XT was good at, what turned the
tide for me was that it was 20% smaller and lighter than the
D70s. I have small hands, am tall and skinny, in poor health,
and tire easily. So, smaller is better. But, the XT is hardly
a /small/ camera, and has outstanding ergonomics and easily
identifiable controls.

Once I home in on what to do when, I'm sure I'll be as happy
of a camper as I would be with a Nikon, Sony, Pentax, Minolta,
or any other popular brands, whether they be in the mid-priced
"pro-sumer" DSLR price range or even the expensive spread, ala
Canon 20D. And, I will actually be much happier with the Rebel
XT than a 20D because "happiness" and "excitement" are not
absolute terms. I will be more exicited and happier because it
will have cost me about $2,000-2,200 by the time I'm done
compared to $10-15,000 for what I'd buy on a 20D, and there
ain't a camera in the world that would make me "happy" at that
price point! No, ain't criticizing, I wouldn't be happy with a
million dollar Ferrari, either, because I'd have to sell
everything I own just to buy it, and have to sleep in it at
night! <grin all the way around>


--
ATM, aka Jerry

"I disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death
your right to say it." - Evelyn Beatrice Hall under the
pseudonym Stephen G. Tallentyre
.

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