Torn between Canon G6 and Rebel XT...

Sophia wrote:
Hi Robert!

So are you leaning towards G6? I hope I get that right...

Everybody, I'm reading all your replies very carefully, just don't have time to "quote" coz I'm here at work.

Three Points -

a) If you go to the CanonUSA Web site to their download area, you can download the full User's Manual for each of the two cameras in less than 20 minutes with dial-up. It would be foolish to spend that kind of money without reading through those two manuals.

b) The Rebel XT has 8 MP and the G6 has 6 MP. Linear dimensions of the virtual images are the square root of that ratio. For a given dimension of the image, there are only 15% more pixels in the Rebel's image. This is NOT to suggest that pixels are the most important attribute for a camera (however, they do relate closely with what we think of as the resolution in a film image).

c) Regardless of what you buy this week, you will be ready for an upgrade in 2 - 3 years. By that time the available cameras will be soooo unlike anything we are looking at today!

Sophia, you are comparing apples and oranges. Of course, if you can afford the XT and a few lenses, you should do it. If, however, your finances are such that the expense would mean unreasonable compromises in your life, The G6 will do fine.

There's always a better camera. The 20D is better than the XT but not as good as the 5D, which is eclipsed by the 1Ds MkII, and so on. Whatever you buy, you will find yourself wishing you had bought a better camera, or wishing you hadn't spent so much.

This is a Canon group, so that will simplify things. There are Canons from $149 to over 10,000. Just pick the price range you can afford, jump in , and don't look back.

In case it was a typo, the G6 has 7.1 MP . . .

Hmmm . . . here's an indoor G6 shot that was taken without a tripod and it looks pretty sharp. The only PS that was done to it was White Balance Correction. Basically, as long as you watch your exposure settings, you don't always need a tripod. (an external flash was used in this photo)

As long as you understand how to use it, the G6 is truly capable of producing some outstanding shots.

I have so much trouble keeping all the numbers in my head. Since I use a G5, which has 5.1 MP, I was thinking that the G6 followed the same pattern and would have 6 MP.

Well, that changes my results to a value that favors the G6 even more.

The Rebel XT only has 4% more pixels in a given linear dimension than does the G6. That's like no difference at all.

Take a close look at the size of those pixels...

WAIT !! Ok, to make a long story short .. I really think you should go with the dSLR .. there are many reasons .. First note: the canon xt has autofocus as well .. anyway .. You will have much higher quality with your dSLR, using optical zooms as oposed to digital zooms . plus you get another MP out of the XT, I have a canon XT as one of my camera's to shoot aerial photography for .. The only thing you need to learn about really is when and how to change you aperature, shutter speed, and ISO settings .. You said you love to learn .. and I'd rather spend the money on something that will make you a better photographer, also allowing you to make the picture and not the camera .. Just a thought , in a rush, good luck .....

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Sophia, Andy's post reminds me to point out that the Rebel XT is called the 350D in some markets (and the 300D is the older version of the 350/XT).

I didn't realize the XT had the same sensor as the 20D, I knew it was bigger than a G6 but I didn't realize it was that much bigger.

Anyway, it's now clear that you'd be foolish to buy an XT rather than a Mamiya ZD.

Bb.

Of course the physical sites are larger, which means that the Signal to Noise ratio is better, and it is able to provide higher usable ISO settings. Other than that, I'm not familiar with any other difference in performance.

My point had to do with virtual image size, in pixels.

Robert, there's an additional difference - that is very important to me:

The 'circle of confusion' together with the small size of the pixels accounts for vastly sharper images from a small sensor at a given aperture.

While that might be great for landscapes (tack sharp at f/5.0 as opposed to having to stop down to f/11 or so), it is not at all desirable if you want to creatively use in-focus and out-of-focus areas ... because everything is in focus at f/2.8 ... so the images don't have the same 'pop'.

Other than that, you're totally right, the larger pixels have a better s/n ratio, and that's the most important advantage.

Best regards,
Andy

Dear Andy,

I've not heard that argument before. My llimited knowledge of the physical layout of the individual sites and how much of the area around each site is devoted to supporting circuitry is inadequate to address that issue.

I know that the G6 using an f/2 aperture, with its 7.2mm focal length lens, focused at 5 feet has a DOF of 3.7ft to 7.7 ft according to the Online Depth of field calculator.

If I knew what lens you wanted to compare with on the Rebel XT, we could do a comparison.

According to that same DOF calculator, a Rebel XT with a lens of 12.6 mm focal length would provide the same DOF when used at the same aperture and focus distance as above, but I don't know what field of view such a lens would have on the Rebel XT.

Ok, I have a bad/good news guys... To make my story short, I just found out that my parents are giving me a camera as a Xmas gift. They know that I love photography that much. I found it through my brother coz he is as excited as me! My brother bought it on the internet then opened the whole thing just to make sure it's working just in case, he will return it. The camera is G6!!! And I'm leaning now towards XT... I checked the website on where my brother purchased and the store only allow 10 days after receiving by the purchaser and unopened... Based from my observation, I have this hard time focusing on G6. I know it needs practice. I borrowed my friend's camera and for about an hour, my shots looks good on the LCd and when I transfered on the computer, I see flaws and blurry. My focus are so bad and to cut it short, I really need more time to study using screen. Since I already have this camera for xmas, I might sell it on ebay or just manipulate and learn it. My brother bought this for 550 bucks - I hope I will be happy with it. Just my luck...

Sophia wrote:
Ok, I have a bad/good news guys... To make my story short, I just found out that my parents are giving me a camera as a Xmas gift. They know that I love photography that much. I found it through my brother coz he is as excited as me! My brother bought it on the internet then opened the whole thing just to make sure it's working just in case, he will return it. The camera is G6!!! And I'm leaning now towards XT... I checked the website on where my brother purchased and the store only allow 10 days after receiving by the purchaser and unopened... Based from my observation, I have this hard time focusing on G6. I know it needs practice. I borrowed my friend's camera and for about an hour, my shots looks good on the LCd and when I transfered on the computer, I see flaws and blurry. My focus are so bad and to cut it short, I really need more time to study using screen. Since I already have this camera for xmas, I might sell it on ebay or just manipulate and learn it. My brother bought this for 550 bucks - I hope I will be happy with it. Just my luck...

I would not want to exaggerate and say that focusing problems are the most common problem seen on POTN, but focusing problems are mentioned very frequently. The good news (or bad news, depending on how you look at it) is that it is not a problem confined to the G6. In fact, it's not a problem confined to non-DSLR cameras. No - it's a problem for ALL Auto-focus cameras! You have to press half way down and hold it until the focus snaps in. Remember to do that and you're 90% of the way there!

Sophia wrote:
Ok, I have a bad/good news guys... To make my story short, I just found out that my parents are giving me a camera as a Xmas gift. They know that I love photography that much. I found it through my brother coz he is as excited as me! My brother bought it on the internet then opened the whole thing just to make sure it's working just in case, he will return it. The camera is G6!!! And I'm leaning now towards XT... I checked the website on where my brother purchased and the store only allow 10 days after receiving by the purchaser and unopened... Based from my observation, I have this hard time focusing on G6. I know it needs practice. I borrowed my friend's camera and for about an hour, my shots looks good on the LCd and when I transfered on the computer, I see flaws and blurry. My focus are so bad and to cut it short, I really need more time to study using screen. Since I already have this camera for xmas, I might sell it on ebay or just manipulate and learn it. My brother bought this for 550 bucks - I hope I will be happy with it. Just my luck...

Sophia, since you live in NYC, perhaps we can meet up one weekend or so in Manhattan. I usually just walk around, perhaps go to a flea market or something, and take street pictures. I can bring my G6 and dSLR and show you how I handle both cameras. each has their advatanges over the other, and whatever you choose, you will be capable of taking great pictures. If there any other POTN G6/dSLR users out there, maybe we can set up a mini meeting or something. All this technical talk is urging me to explore practical solutions here