Please rate the Rebel XTI for sports

I'm asking for a friend and I'm not familiar at all with the latest Rebels. I told her a 30D would work and is coming down in price but she would like to go a little cheaper if possible. She wants to get photos of her son's high school soccer.

The XTi works fine for sports when paired with the 200L 2.8. It takes some practice, but I got some very good results when using center point focus and Al Servo Mode.

Yep - what he said. It'll track well with the center focus point, and a 200 mm or 70-200 zoom will get you pretty decent reach.

I'm not fond of the Rebels for sports. I've had better luck with the 20D in terms of focusing, control setup, and fps. Just my opinion, mind you.

I was very happy with my XT until I used it for college football. I shot one game and the following weekend I bouht a 30D. Needed the faster fps.

liza wrote in post #3903557
I'm not fond of the Rebels for sports. I've had better luck with the 20D in terms of focusing, control setup, and fps. Just my opinion, mind you.

My thoughts exactly, I shot a lot of high school sports and had an XT... the 20D is double the FPS and seems to have a much, much better feel to it...

I've used my 400D for ice hockey and high school soccer with no problems. I have gotten some real good shots in low light with my 70-200 2.8 L. I shoot center focus in AI SERVO in manual mode. For hockey I always use custom white balance. I learned a ton by reading on these boards, and in the Sports board. I do shoot solely for my own enjoyment though. I print 8X10s of my boys and hang them in my basement. I have also used this setup for my daughter's cheerleading and dance competitions with good results.

XTI is fine for sports with fast lens like 70-200/f2.8L IS and good lighting. Its low light performance is not that attractive, and its slow fps will make you long for faster fps like 20D. However, with good timing, there is nothing that cannot be captured by XTI.
Just think of it as a way to improve your skills then you will not feel too bad about it

I've been using my XTi all this fall shooting every type of sport and have had good results using a 70-200 2.8

I do notice a lot of good shots ruined though becuase the focus was slightly off. Now...is this becuase i'm shooting at 2.8 where there is little room for focus error? ...and/or is the AI Servo just not able to keep up with fast action? maybe a bit of both perhaps.

...and if focus speed/accuracy issues with the XTi is the case, is it really better with the 20/30d? I'm very close to pulling the trigger on the 40d, but don't want to get my hopes up for what that rig can or can't do..ya know?

I did a test a few days ago where i had my wife walk towards me rather quickly and fired 8 shots. (AI Servo, Center Focus, Continuous shooting) Of those 8, only 3 were good.

thoughts?

The XTi and 20D/30D share the same AF system so no, you will not get a better focusing system moving from an Xti to a 20D/30D.
You would of course benefit from more FPS.

The XTI works fine for high school sports. It's just a little small by itself--the grip makes using larger lenses much nicer.

We shoot for the local sports boosters club and get excellent results when used with a high quality lens.

The AF system is the same as the 30d so there is nothing to be gained there.

As an old film shooter and on a non professional basis I think the FPS is highly overrated.

We have no problem catching golf balls coming off the club--catches @ the goal-- the release at the top of the jumper--you get the idea. I guess I am just not that excited about spending the hours going through to cull the rejects.

But then we also shoot 3 or more events over a weekend.

Some of the people I observe seem to think the goal is to fill all their cards and capture every moment of the game.

Just another opinion--best of luck with your decision

Thank you so much for your thoughtful replies - I passed them on to her. I've been lusting for the new Mark III's and/or the 5D replacement so the Xti has been off my radar screen.