the XSi is here

[JDub02]

My company just purchased my group a Canon XSi. We asked for a P&S because that's easiest for us, but the procurement people said that Canon dSLR's were the only cameras "approved" ... stupid, I know.

So after playing with the XSi, I like my D40 that much more. Don't get me wrong, the XSi takes some nice pictures, but the overall feel of the D40 is much better.

And LiveView has got to be the worst "feature" ever. It's absolutely pointless. I was expecting to use the nice 3" screen like a P&S camera, but it won't work in auto mode and doesn't seem to autofocus. There's also a 10 second delay when you try to take a picture. Maybe I don't have it set up right. If that's the case, the default settings suck. The only way I can see this being useful is if it's on a tripod and you want to take a self portrait. You can frame the picture and set the focus manually. Then you have 10 seconds to get into place.

 

[ElFenix]

probably need to turn on contrast detect AF, it'll do it.

live view is awesome for macro work.

 

[JDub02]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
probably need to turn on contrast detect AF, it'll do it.

live view is awesome for macro work.

I had high hopes for it. Maybe I don't have it set up right. The timer function, I didn't have set up right. Got that fixed now. Still doesn't focus.

 

[JDub02]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
probably need to turn on contrast detect AF, it'll do it.

live view is awesome for macro work.

you're right. live view is sweet with manual focus and macro stuff.

 

[kyzen]

I don't have my XSi with me at the moment, but I'm fairly certain that you can only use Liveview in a few of the different shooting modes, none of which are the full auto ones.

I really like mine; significantly more than the D60 I had before it.

 

[foghorn67]

Originally posted by: JDub02
My company just purchased my group a Canon XSi. We asked for a P&S because that's easiest for us, but the procurement people said that Canon dSLR's were the only cameras "approved" ... stupid, I know.

So after playing with the XSi, I like my D40 that much more. Don't get me wrong, the XSi takes some nice pictures, but the overall feel of the D40 is much better.

And LiveView has got to be the worst "feature" ever. It's absolutely pointless. I was expecting to use the nice 3" screen like a P&S camera, but it won't work in auto mode and doesn't seem to autofocus. There's also a 10 second delay when you try to take a picture. Maybe I don't have it set up right. If that's the case, the default settings suck. The only way I can see this being useful is if it's on a tripod and you want to take a self portrait. You can frame the picture and set the focus manually. Then you have 10 seconds to get into place.

The Xsi runs circles around the D40. Two different markets. I'll take your first impressions at a discount.

 

[JDub02]

Originally posted by: foghorn67

Originally posted by: JDub02
My company just purchased my group a Canon XSi. We asked for a P&S because that's easiest for us, but the procurement people said that Canon dSLR's were the only cameras "approved" ... stupid, I know.

So after playing with the XSi, I like my D40 that much more. Don't get me wrong, the XSi takes some nice pictures, but the overall feel of the D40 is much better.

And LiveView has got to be the worst "feature" ever. It's absolutely pointless. I was expecting to use the nice 3" screen like a P&S camera, but it won't work in auto mode and doesn't seem to autofocus. There's also a 10 second delay when you try to take a picture. Maybe I don't have it set up right. If that's the case, the default settings suck. The only way I can see this being useful is if it's on a tripod and you want to take a self portrait. You can frame the picture and set the focus manually. Then you have 10 seconds to get into place.

The Xsi runs circles around the D40. Two different markets. I'll take your first impressions at a discount.

Megapixels, absolutely. Picture quality, probably somewhat better (not factoring megapixels). Features, definitely. Use, no way. I'm not saying that the XSi isn't a nice camera, I just don't like using it as much as a D40.

 

[JDub02]

Originally posted by: kyzen
I don't have my XSi with me at the moment, but I'm fairly certain that you can only use Liveview in a few of the different shooting modes, none of which are the full auto ones.

I really like mine; significantly more than the D60 I had before it.

You're right. The LiveView feature does not work with Auto or any of the scene modes. That still doesn't explain why autofocus doesn't work.

 

[foghorn67]

Originally posted by: JDub02

Originally posted by: foghorn67

Originally posted by: JDub02
My company just purchased my group a Canon XSi. We asked for a P&S because that's easiest for us, but the procurement people said that Canon dSLR's were the only cameras "approved" ... stupid, I know.

So after playing with the XSi, I like my D40 that much more. Don't get me wrong, the XSi takes some nice pictures, but the overall feel of the D40 is much better.

And LiveView has got to be the worst "feature" ever. It's absolutely pointless. I was expecting to use the nice 3" screen like a P&S camera, but it won't work in auto mode and doesn't seem to autofocus. There's also a 10 second delay when you try to take a picture. Maybe I don't have it set up right. If that's the case, the default settings suck. The only way I can see this being useful is if it's on a tripod and you want to take a self portrait. You can frame the picture and set the focus manually. Then you have 10 seconds to get into place.

The Xsi runs circles around the D40. Two different markets. I'll take your first impressions at a discount.

Megapixels, absolutely. Picture quality, probably somewhat better (not factoring megapixels). Features, definitely. Use, no way. I'm not saying that the XSi isn't a nice camera, I just don't like using it as much as a D40.

Again, stick with the over sharpened point and shoots. If you can't even notice a difference in usage, I would forgo "first impressions" and change it to "help, I have no idea what this is for".

 

[kyzen]

Probably a stupid question - but you do have the switch on the lens set to AF and not MF, right?

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: JDub02
So after playing with the XSi, I like my D40 that much more. Don't get me wrong, the XSi takes some nice pictures, but the overall feel of the D40 is much better.

As the old saying goes...

Canon cameras are designed by engineers.

Nikon cameras are designed by photographers.

 

[angry hampster]

Originally posted by: JDub02

Originally posted by: kyzen
I don't have my XSi with me at the moment, but I'm fairly certain that you can only use Liveview in a few of the different shooting modes, none of which are the full auto ones.

I really like mine; significantly more than the D60 I had before it.

You're right. The LiveView feature does not work with Auto or any of the scene modes. That still doesn't explain why autofocus doesn't work.

Because you don't have "contrast detect" AF on.

 

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: JDub02
So after playing with the XSi, I like my D40 that much more. Don't get me wrong, the XSi takes some nice pictures, but the overall feel of the D40 is much better.

As the old saying goes...

Canon cameras are designed by engineers.

Nikon cameras are designed by photographers.

you know, I've never heard that before. But I have to say Canon's wheel for navigation is awesome =) Nikon has the ergonomics down, but w/ the xxD and up, it's not big enough a difference for me.

Tho, in terms of UI... I would wager you stick someone from one camp to the other, and they'd be frustrated at first glance. From there, it's a mater of how quickly you can adapt IMO.

 

[JDub02]

Originally posted by: angry hampster

Originally posted by: JDub02

Originally posted by: kyzen
I don't have my XSi with me at the moment, but I'm fairly certain that you can only use Liveview in a few of the different shooting modes, none of which are the full auto ones.

I really like mine; significantly more than the D60 I had before it.

You're right. The LiveView feature does not work with Auto or any of the scene modes. That still doesn't explain why autofocus doesn't work.

Because you don't have "contrast detect" AF on.

my menu options must be a little different. i didn't find a "contrast detect" AF. I did find, buried down in a few menus (and after RTFM ) an option to turn on AF for live view, which is disabled by default (not sure why). i also found that while in live view the * button on the back prompts the camera to focus instead of holding the shutter button down half way.

i guess if it's what i started with, it would all seem normal. the PQ has been great (as expected), but the button layout is odd to me.

what i really like is the real time histogram on screen for live view. very sweet.