400D XTI first impressions

I'm the "300D Buddy" that "milehigh" mentions. My first impression is definitely anti-XTi. "Milehigh" captured most of my reasons but I can ramble a little about a few items. I guess I'll call him my 10D Buddy.

1) When walking into Best Buy (in the parking lot), my 10D Buddy and I were lamenting how we would have to buy the kit lens if we wanted the XTi right then and there. We came up with an elaborate plan where he would buy the camera and try it out over Labor Day weekend. Best case scenario: He keeps it. Worse case scenario--I buy it from him on Tuesday 9/5 without the kit lens with eBay receiving a kit lens auction at some point. My logic was that the XTi was a slam dunk. It was so much of a slam dunk that I have an eBay auction for my 300D ending tomorrow night in (false) anticipation of the XTi coming out in mid-September. FAST FORWARD TO WHEN WE LEFT BEST BUY AFTER PLAYING WITH THE XTI FOR AN HOUR: I was grateful my 10D Buddy didn't buy the XTi and force me to have to buy it from him on Tuesday. Different strokes for different folks, i.e., the XTi is not for me.

2) Canon's "lineup" photos are pretty interesting now having held an XT and XTi for the first time. (Keep in mind the 300D was my first SLR and I've only held the 10D SLR prior to playing with the XTi/XT/30D at Best Buy.) Check this out: http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ProductCatIndexAct&fcategoryid=111 . On this link, the XT and XTi are very magnified. This link's images captures how my mind thought of the XT/XTi ... pre-Best Buy visit. I think in my mind I felt the XTi was really just a lighter version of my 300D. Now, post-Best Buy visit, in my mind the XTi is really a Powershot with an EF-S mount. We only tried the XTi with the kit lens too in Best Buy. I presume a larger lens would merely exacerbate the "substantiality" aspect of the XTi.

3 My 10D Buddy and I probably fired each shutter 150 times or so testing the XT and 30D at Best Buy. Think about this a second. On the XTi, we possibly used up over 1.5% of its shutter's targeted life. On the 30D, we didn't dent its targeted life ... at a tenth of a percentage. Note to self: Never buy a demo Digital Rebel.

4 My 10D Buddy's right about the 5 fps vs. 3 fps. On my 300D, I've got 2.5 fps with basically no buffer. 5 fps is like the proverbial night and day. 3 fps is nice. I thought it was fine. But, think about a person walking by you. He/she can do that in a second. (This analogy happened in my Best Buy "demo.") With the XTi, you'll get 3 shots. You get double that on the 30D. That's twice as many chances to avoid closed eyes, tongues hanging out, or something. Get a closed eye and a tongue (personal pet peeves, I guess), and you're down to only one potential good shot on the XTi. There are 2 more opportunities with the 30D. For my two small boys (2 and 5), having double the opportunities during soccer games or on the golf course seems easily worth $300/$400. Just thinking about the golf swing shots gets me excited for a 30D. (Add potentially 90,000 shutter cycles and that money really is nothing. My 300D probably could use a new shutter and I'm at 12,000.)

5) Just noticed that a 300D to 30D upgrade looks good to the eye. I can reduce my bad 300D features tenfold.

6) On Canon's archive, there is no recommended upgrade for the 300D. My 10D Buddy is told to try a 20D. So, I'm in uncharted waters. http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ArchiveAct&fcategoryid=2091

Final Thoughts: Thanks to "Sarge912." You were the first poster out there that inspired a flurry of desperate XTi web searches, phone calls, and road trips. You inspired me (maybe you drove me nuts since I'm here writing at 12:00 am on a Saturday night) but I'm heading in another direction. The 30D's FPS, spot metering, viewfinder, and comfort simply seem to be worth $400 to this 300D upgrader.