I’ve been using the Canon Rebel XSi for about a year and a half now, and it’s definitely THE camera for aging yuppies. I need reading glasses, and that makes many cameras hard to use.

The Rebel Xsi is a classic single lens reflex – SLR. The viewfinder shows you what the lens sees. It has an eyepiece adjustment so I can use the viewfinder without glasses. In addition, the XSi has an extra large display screen on the back. While I can’t use it to carefully judge an exposure, it does display the camera settings in really large type. Yuppie sized type.

[Update: there's a newer model: the Canon Rebel T1i. This one boasts 15 megapixels and built-in High Def video capture. I haven't seen one of these in the flesh, but the PR suggests it has a comparably large dispay on the back, and the essential eyepiece adjustment]

I like to photograph events and technological things. I generally avoid wearing glasses except when reading, so I don’t generally wear them when taking pictures. Modern compact digital cameras generally require you to use the display screen for most things – the viewfinders aren’t generally reliable. I can’t make sense of a display screen without glasses. That makes it hard for me to use a compact camera.

Also, I’m used to SLRs. I used Nikons for decades, until my photographic urges were overwhelmed by family photo obligations. Then I slipped into using compact 35mm cameras. We moved to digital cameras via a Canon G series, which seemed pretty close in features to a traditional 35mm rangefinder camera. It had a working viewfinder and you really didn’t need the display. But it produced relatively small images and was soon replaced by a 7.2 megapixel compact camera.

The compact was a Casio, and not especially well appointed as cameras go. I’ve been especially annoyed with slow digital cameras – you click the shutter and it takes the photo at some leisurely instant within the next second or two. By then, the decisive moment has often evaporated. Even so, the compacts have generally been good enough, especially when compactness has trumped other concerns.

Leaving Nikon Behind

I did the math when looking at a new SLR. First of all, there was no practical way to use my fine old Nikon lenses with a reasonably priced digital Nikon SLR. My old SLRs had “match needle” exposure systems where I would manually adjust the lens setting (the f stop) to match the camera’s built-in exposure calculation. I was willing to manually adjust f stops if the newer, automatic cameras would adjust shutter speed for me, but that wasn’t an option on the lower end Nikons. I essentially had to spend several thousand dollars for a body that let me use technically obsolete lenses.

In short, I could replace my entire lens collection if I settled for a lower cost SLR. And Canon has always had a reasonably good reputation as a camera manufacturer. Unlike Nikon, however, they’ve been up front about building two separate lines of camera equipment: high end stuff for professionals and low end stuff for consumers.

People seem to rave about Canon’s professional “L” series lenses. Reviews show that they achieve very high image quality and that they’re rugged. They sound like worthy competitors to Nikon’s classic F-series equipment, which I used in years past. I’ve had my eye on the L series 24-105mm zoom.

I didn’t realize, however, that Canon has quality control problems with even their high end stuff. Reviewers report that some lenses fall far short of their expected behavior, so you have to watch out for lemons.

Nikon started producing consumer-oriented products about 25 years ago. It seems possible they’ve also fallen into this trap. Since I went to Canon, I haven’t paid enough attention to Nikon product reviews to know if they have similar quality issues.

In any case, the line between “consumer grade” and “professional” is mostly one of price. You can get excellent results with either. Ellie’s favorite lens for her wedding work appears to be the “consumer grade” 18-55mm zoom that comes with the XSi. I think her main concern is on lighting, and she uses top-level flash setups.

I wish I knew more about flash lighting. That’s something I’ll have to learn some day.