Canon 20D or XTi?

I have a friend who is either going to buy a canon XTi or a 20D. He is

actually going to make a purchase either today or tomorrow. I know that this is

the best forum out there and the one with quickest responses so I figured I

would get answers here.

 

Mark

XTi

A new 20D would be hard to buy since it was discontinued a while back. The 30D is

reasonably priced now that the 40D is being sold.

What will your friend be using it for. I had both, and preferred the 20D much more, but only

for ergonomic reasons. They essentially do the same thing.

In almost all cases, the XTi would be the better bet. It picked up some features from the

newer 30D (e.g. - the AF system). If your friend is new to DSLR photography, in particular,

this could be the case - the only possible "advantage" of the 20D for such a user is that it is

bigger, a dubious advantage indeed.

 

Dan

400D =)

Unless he prefers the larger size of the 20D I would get the XTi. But he should handle both models first and be sure.

I'd rather have the 20D due to the better build (magnesium vs plastic), better viewfinder, 2

LCDs, and additional external control (QCD). The Rebels only have 1 LCD, no QCD (more stuff

buried in menus) and sports a postage stamp viewfinder.

isn't the xsi coming out within a few weeks? maybe your friend would consider waiting for it.

 

otherwise, it's a bad choice. 20d is ancient. suggest your friend consider 40d vs xti, or wait for xsi -- or flip a coin

Apple pie.

 

That's about as useful as the answers you are going to get without providing the requirements that you're trying to fit with either the 20D or XTi. How do you expect someone to give you a correct solution, when the problem is unknown?

okay, if it were me, i'd go with the 20d. hell, i can't use an xti

okay, okay. the answer suggests itself. if your friend is going to put a lot of usage on the body, he needs something that make sense ergonomically -- 20d. if friend is a point and shooter, this suggests the xti. however, they're still two bad choices. friend would be better served either getting a p/s camera like the canon s5, or waiting for the xsi -- if he's a point and shooter. if he's an enthusiast he should consider the 40d and forget the 20d.

 

the current price of the 20d does not support getting it over the 40d. if friend is going to drop that kind of money on a camera, he should add a couple hundred more and get the 40d. if friend can't justify spending that much he probably doesn't need that kind of body and should get a g9 or s5 and save gobs of money.

 

if friend gets an slr he will then be faced with what type lenses to get. this puts him right back to square one. if he plans on shooting knock around images he could get by with consumer lenses, but if he plans on trying for more pro results he will need...well...pro lenses.

 

this has a runaway effect. you spend more and more to get either 1) mediocre lenses and the corresponding imagery, or 2) lots and lots more and more to get pro glass.

 

if friend isn't going to commit to finer photography, i suggest he weigh the cost/benefits of the s5 vs xti and forget about more expensive bodies. if friend is going to commit to getting excellent images he should forget about consumer bodies and commit to high-end equipment -- but he will have to go all the way and get excellent lenses, and those cost a fortune.

 

friend needs to decide what he wants to do and get back to us

It's pretty obvious: EOS 20D. Use "Search" there has been lots of such threads.

I would first like to apologize for not following up in more detail about his future purpose. He is brand new to the SLR's and is a beginner in photography. After thinking more about it I think he would be better off getting a new(newer)XTi since he is just wanting to use it for fun and getting started. He has about $500 or so to spend on a body and lens, therefore I need to research and find him one for around that price or maybe just a little more. Any suggestions on cheapest place to do that?

Get the cheapest body (XT or original Digital Rebel, not XTi) you can find, an inexpensive memory card ($10-20), and get the best lens you afford with the rest.

he should get the canon s5. $300 online. good lens, aspherical and ud elements. fun, easy to use. if he likes it he can save up for the leap to an slr (and the pricey lenses you need in order to justify buying an slr).

 

the s5 is capable of producing bright, clean images. if friend wants to go the slr route he needs to spend much more than $500. you can check out the s5 and sample images here:

 

http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&hl=en&safe=off&q=canon+s5&btnG=Search+Images

I had a 20D and an XTi (=400D) until my daughter traded me her 20D for the XTi for her photography school 'kit'. I think that it speaks words about the two cameras that now she wants to trade me back the XTi for her 20D. I personally very much liked the dust reduction feature on the XTi, but find it more difficult to use--perhaps because I was imprinted (in the ethological sense) on the 20D.

 

You can buy a nice used 20D in superb condition for much less than a 30D and about the same (last time I checked) as the price for a XTi body.

EOS 20D. Great camera, especially for what you can find them today on the used market. A joy to handle. Good starter kit: EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, EF 50mm f/1.8, Speedlite 380EX.

 

But if your friend is a point-and-shooter, better get a sophisticated digicam like the PowerShot G7 or G9 with an external Speedlite (again, an inexpensive 380EX) -- a true high-end product with tons of features and good overall image quality.

We went through this same thing recently for my wife's brother; we wanted to get him an introductory SLR and one lens for his birthday. We looked at 20Ds (primarily used), and while I'm pretty sold on the 20/30/40D-style controls and heft (my wife shoots with a 30D, and I use a 40D), that's about the only thing the 20D seemed to have going for it compared to the XTi.

 

I found the XTi to be too small for my oversized hands, and the lack of the wheel on the back made it an ergonomic PITA, but once I'd shot with it for a while, it really wasn't much of an issue. The XTi has a higher-resolution sensor, a MUCH more usable LCD (both in terms of size and information available on it), and isn't end-of-life.

 

At the end of the day, without price being a deciding factor (we found a 20D body for basically the same price as a new XTi), we went for the XTi for him, and he's been thrilled with it.

Mark elaborated: "He is brand new to the SLR's and is a beginner in photography. After

thinking more about it I think he would be better off getting a new(newer)XTi since he is just

wanting to use it for fun and getting started."

 

Perfect buyer for the XTi plus the IS kit lens.

 

Dan

My thought's having recently used both:

 

In favor of the XTI:

- The interface with the screen on the back is much better - you can easily see your settings before and after each shot without the need to change positions and look at the top of the camera.

- The Xti sounds like a normal camera, and the 20D is REALLY LOUD and it sounds like something is breaking or being shot every time you pull the trigger.

 

In favor of the 20D:

- There are too many buttons on the back of the XTI and it is too easy to change a setting accidentally.

- The control dial on the back of the 20D is nice - you can quickly control multiple items in the creative modes.

 

On a super tight budget, I'd consider the rebel XT (new for $400) and the 18-55IS (new for ~$180) and some cheap memory, or the S5 or G9 P&S cameras.

Would have recommended the 20D except that you clarified the profile of the buyer.

 

The buyer will be much happier with the Xti. It is newer and has more of the newer features and processing of the Canon line. If he intends to become serious about photography he can always upgrade the body. In such a case, he may want to avoid a heavy investment in the EF-S lenses.

I am the owner of an XTi. A good friend owns 2 20D's. We have compared shots taken from the same trips. Speaking strictly on image quality, the 20D IS noticeably better especially at higher ISO. Probably due to the lower mega-pixel count. (Fewer pixels = larger, more effective pixels.) If I could trade for a 20D, I would do it. The XTi does have a few more features. For the same price (I have done the shopping myself...) the 20D simply produces slightly higher quality images and sacrifices a few features like dust removal and the bigger screen. Weigh out the pros and cons, but really both of these cameras are great especially for the price.

Also, I think the price of the newer XSi is more or less a waste. The latest and greatest is really not great enough to justify the price. Plus, they have increased the MP count to 12, meaning image quality is likely to decrease a bit more.

Looking back at this thread, I want to mention that I think Bueh's advice may also be quite

good - for many folks a quality P&S like the G9 could be a better choice than a DSLR,

especially if they don't want to mess around with multiple lenses and they won't be making

really large prints, and the small size may make it more likely that the camera will actually be

used.

 

Dan