T3i - not really that much better than original Rebel (300D)?

David zzzzzzzzzz wrote:

There is a more diplomatic way to express that sentiment.

Actually that was the more diplomatic response of the two I was thinking of, LOL!  Kidding aside, once it's taken to heart, then some real progress can be made.

If you've followed Teresa in Fla's other recent threads, you'd see that there have been gobs and gobs of folks trying to help her, but she remains indignant nevertheless.

In fact, in one of her recent postings, she mentions that she wanted the "5Ti" due to its 5-star reviews, but that she could only give it 3 stars.

Well the obvious response (my less "diplomatic" one) would be that many times the rating given by a frustrated neophyte is actually the average (median) between the camera (5 stars) and the user(do the math)! 

Recent production digital cameras require a much larger investment in time to get results that are on par with first generation DSLRs and / or point and shoots or phone cameras.

Things go much better when you concentrate on getting good Exposure, White Balance, and Focus.  Personally, I like to have control over all threee.  The human brain is so much smarter than the camera brain, still.

If you put a DSLR in P or S mode, and do not adjust the white balance, picture mode etc you will most likely get results that are inferior to DSLRs with fewer features.

They've all had those features.  You just have to adjust to the unique "personality" of each new camera.  You can't be stuck expecting the same and trying to adjust it the same way.  You'll always fail.

Every camera iteration that I've moved on up through the years has been that way.  At first you go "yuck," then you adapt to the camera and start taking wonderful photos.

And once you realize that the camera's not at fault (unless there's some known big issue), then the shift becomes easy, because you realize it's just you that needs the tuning.

In low light situations, or difficult back lighting situations, you will probably get results that are significantly worse than simple models.

Depends on your setup.  The more you rely on the camera to make the decisions the worse your results will be.

Using that logic, the average person should go no higher than a Nikon 3200 or Canon equivalent...

And miss out on a huge amount of capability.  However if you think that's your solution, no-one here can stop you.  In fact, my recommendation to T in Fla' was to buy a Sony P&S (I've always kept one myself).  They have the best auto modes in the world (Fuji is catching up fast tho IMO).

Unless you are prepared to the read the manual, spin the dials, adjust the ISO, WB etc.... and miss a lot of shots.

I get More shots by doing just that.

Manual control will bring more understanding and confidence quicker than using an auto mode for a million years.  Just IMHO, but I've seen it time and time again with new shooters.

Put your frustrations, fears, and uncertainty to bed.  Get yourself back to the basics...

Adjust your aperture to give you the look you want.

Adjust your shutter speed to give you the exposure you want.

Increase your ISO if you are getting too much motion blur/camera shake.

Set your white balance to match the light your subject is in.

Focus on the subject you want.

Shoot shoot shoot.

Best of luck!

R2