I met the Canon Representative At Railroad Days in Rochelle, Il. Saturday June 09, 07.
I wanted to find out about upgrading to Digital from 35mm.
He had 3 digital cameras and many lens on display.
Sorry to say he was as friendly as a sales person at a Christmas Sale.
When asked about the XT (lowest price) model he had on display. He said, "It should last 6 months."
When asked the advantages of the higher priced models. His answer was, "That depend on want you want it for."
I asked if all the lens that work on my Canon EOS 650 will work on the new Digital. He said, "All Auto Focus lens will work on the new digitals."
When I asked why my 75 to 300mm AF lens that works perfectly on my 650 will not work on the new digital. He said, "It is not Canon." Then he refused to answer any more question.
My conclusion is that Canon PROGRAMRED the computer chip in the body not to except any lens that is not Canon.
I have had a similar issue with my newer Rebel slr. Won't accept my Quantaray zoom. Guess they "got" us there.
Might I recommend a journey to Niagara Falls? While there, I must have "sampled" a hundred different models of digital cameras, taking pictures of other honeymooning couples for them.
Could I get more information of incapability of equipment.
Maybe we can get a class action law suit.
We have to prove that it is computer programing and not equipment.
I am on (name above) @yahoo.com.
I would need Model information of old and new equipment and what error message you get.
This is the same thing Microsoft attempted to do.
spikejones52002 wrote: I met the Canon Representative At Railroad Days in Rochelle, Il. Saturday June 09, 07.I wanted to find out about upgrading to Digital from 35mm.He had 3 digital cameras and many lens on display.Sorry to say he was as friendly as a sales person at a Christmas Sale.When asked about the XT (lowest price) model he had on display. He said, "It should last 6 months."When asked the advantages of the higher priced models. His answer was, "That depend on want you want it for."I asked if all the lens that work on my Canon EOS 650 will work on the new Digital. He said, "All Auto Focus lens will work on the new digitals."When I asked why my 75 to 300mm AF lens that works perfectly on my 650 will not work on the new digital. He said, "It is not Canon." Then he refused to answer any more question.My conclusion is that Canon PROGRAMRED the computer chip in the body not to except any lens that is not Canon.
Spike,
I'm not sure what questions you asked or exactly what the Canon guy said to you:
BUT all the Canon mount AF lenses I had to use with my film EOS cameras worked on my EOS 10D Digital and my later EOS 300D (The original Digital Rebel in the USA).
The Digital Rebel XT (EOS 350D) is now out of production, replaced by the Rebel XTi (EOS 400D). When he said the XT would "last six months" I suspect he meant that supplies of new XTs would last that long. I understand that the Digital Rebel XT has sold more units than any other SLR camera (including film cameras!) so it is obviously a good camera.
I've used a Tamron 28-200 on both the 10D and 300D. It was noticeably slower to focus than the ultrasonic Canon lenses but took photos just as well. I decided it wasn't good enough optically and replaced it with a Canon 55-200, but not because it didn't work with the Canon Digital SLR cameras.
When I bought it, the EOS 10D was the top of the line camera (well, it was the ONLY Canon Digital) and it has a number of features that the Rebel XTi doesn't have, but that rarely affects the finished photo. I've subsequently bought the 400D (Rebel XTI) and I think it is as good as any Canon Digital. You might need to use picture styles other than "standard" because I think the latest Canon cameras produce a picture that is too saturated in colour. But if you like it don't bother.
I haven't tried a non Canon lens on the 400D because I don't have any with Canon mounts. A good friend uses a Sigma 18-200 all the time on his 400D, with no problems. He is in Europe and has sent me many excellent pictures by e-mail.
I think the Canon guy had probably answered the same questions so many times by the time you got there that he did not answer your questions properly.
I also own a Sony A-100 which I use as much as the Canons, but although I think it is a slightly better camera, it is not as easy to use as the Canons and the software and computer interface are really clumsy compared to Canon.
If you are starting in Digital, and have Canon lenses already, buy a Canon Digital Rebel XTi with the 18-55 kit lens. You will never regret it! I haven't!
If you have any doubts, take your 75-300 along to a shop and try it on the Rebel XTi - I'm sure it will work just as well (and maybe a little faster - the XTi is faster to operate than any film camera I ever owned).
By the way, the new Nikon D40 and D40x can't use all the older Nikon lenses, only the recent AF-S lenses with built in autofocus motors. As far as I know, the Canon XTi can use any Canon (or Canon mount) AF lenses.
You might check out dpreview.com which is a really good independent site with really good tests of all major types of cameras.
M636C
No he made reference to usage of the Xti model and the more expensive model should be purchased.
When you are out at such and event. Over the span of a day. You can not expect everyone else to hear your first answer.
The person who walks up to up 2 seconds later still needs to have his (exactly the same) question answered respectfully.
I located a camera club and attended it for the first time the other day.
I demonstrated the problem at the meeting. The people who used Canon could not believe it. Problem they all used Canon lens exclusively
They tried my Promaster lens on their Canon (NOT XTi s) and immediately got a 99 error message.
None of them had a 35mm to test my Promaster.
The major problem is I invested big money to up grade from Canon 35mm to Canon digital. Because of all the reviews (NOT PCREVIEW unknown at the time) that stated the interchangeability and flaunted it to sell the XTi.
So if all the features of/on my Promaster lens worked on my Canon 650. Then the Promaster should work on the XTi.
I am now upset that my Canon Speedlite that worked on my 650 does not work on my XTi. A strobe is a strobe. It is not like converting from Flash bulb to strobe.
I did read in the review that the Speed lite would not work and I spent $400.00 to have a External Strobe.
Now I question "WHY". Is Canon just taking advantage of it loyal customers.
It is so easy to program a computer chip to reject anything they want.
Microsoft attempted to do this.
By the way, I wasn't trying to justify the Canon guy being short with you - I was just saying that it it might be expected in that situation, not that it was acceptable.
You do seem to have a problem with both your lens and the flash unit.
The EOS 650 is older than the Canon film cameras I have had, and Canon might have changed some features in that time that have caused the incompatibility with your lens. That isn't much help to you, of course!
Apart from the one Tamron I have only used Canon lenses. I have purchased some older Canon AF lenses in used condition, and they have all worked on the XTi/400D. I plan to get a new Tamron 28-200 because it is much improved over my earlier one.
I would ask Canon specifically about the flash. I am surprised that it wouldn't work at all.
Do you have other lenses (Canon or third party) that do work on the XTi? It is a really good camera, no question. I would look at upgrading to a new telephoto, Sigma, Canon or Tamron to replace the Promaster, maybe trading it if the dealer will take it. I have traded all the lenses I no longer wanted, with no problems.
All of my camera equipment (Canon body 650, Canon Speedlite Strobe, Canon 35-135mm and Promaster 75-300mm, was purchased 1990 from a Well renowned Photo dealer in Downtown Chicago on S. Halsted st. At the time it was the most up to date equipment and worked and still works on the 650.
Problem is that Digital has so many more advantages.
I do not mean to come down hard on you M636. I am just upset with Canon.
Corporate Greed and they wonder why Americans go outside for quality.
I am not happy with everything Canon has done lately.
There is no doubt that they have designed their product line with the aim of selling more lenses to buyers of digital SLR cameras. I am particularly disappointed that they have no cameras with in-body shake reduction. Pentax, Samsung, Sony and Olympus can do this, so why not Canon (or Nikon?).
Both Canon and Nikon expect to sell original brand lenses to their more enthusiastic customers and both provide anti-shake equipment in their lenses, which of course as customer, I am expected to pay for in each lens I buy (and it isn't usually fitted in the basic "kit" lens sold with the body).
I looked at the cost of this, and bought the Sony A-100 (with body anti-shake) and some off brand lenses (one old stock Minolta standard zoom, two Tamron tele zooms and a Tokina wide angle). The anti-shake works! I get good shots with the Sony in places where I had problems with the Canon XTi/400D, often where I had to pan the camera quickly and in other cases where I could use a lower shutter speed (and smaller aperture).
The Sony has more digital noise at high ISO (film) speeds than the Canon and I would prefer to have stayed with Canon to keep the lenses I have bought over the years.
I have been taking both cameras out and taking comparative photos where possible due to lens and other differences. I think that the Canon still has the edge on average, but in a lot of tough situations I rely on the Sony because of the Anti Shake system.
The other thing I dislike about Canon is that their lower cost lenses are sometimes not very good. My Canon 18-55 is the worst SLR lens I have ever used, but the 55-200 is, on the other hand, excellent.
But there is no doubt that they are following a path where they expect the customer to pay a premium to buy and use Canon lenses and they do not want you to buy Tamron or Sigma lenses. Nikon have gone one step further and the Tamron lenses will not work as auto focus lenses on the D40 and D40X, and neither will many older Nikon lenses.
I don't understand why there is no upmarket equivalent to the XTi/400D - the 30D has lower resolution 8Mp compared to 10Mp and and lacks the sensor clean system. This seems strange except that Canon are concentrating solely on the high yield end of the market.
By the way, the sensor clean does work on the XTi/400D. Reviews of the Sony suggest that their system doesn't!
I hope that Canon will introduce a few of the features their competitors have in future, or I might find I no longer have use for there products, many of which are very good.
This morning I opened DPREVIEW.com. I spent the past 3 hours covering all the information and comparison they present.
As you observed they give the Canon D400/rebel XTi very good marks but not excellent for the under $1000. mark.
This is the only referance they make about lenses.
Lenses
For comparisons (and the resolution chart) we always use sharp prime lenses stopped down (typically to F9). In the case of this comparison we used 50 mm lenses (Nikkor 50 mm F1.8 for the D80, Canon EF 50 mm F1.4 for the EOS 400D and the Minolta 50 mm F1.4 for the DSLR-A100). We've had a few enquiries asking why we use the Nikkor 50 mm F1.8 instead of the F1.4, simply because the F1.8 is sharper at the aperture we're using for these shots (F9), we've been using the F1.8 for Nikon comparisons for quite a while now.
Lens support
• Including EF-S lenses
So as I concluded from my initial reviews (not PDREVIEW) I got my information from BESTBUYS.com All the A/F lense I used on and worked great on my Canon 650 would work on my new XTi.
That is the problem with having limited funds and have equipment that I was very satified with.
Bestbuys.com I found the body for just over $350.00.
I am not the professional shooter as you sound like.
I wanted something I could jump out of the car with and catch a very good quality photo.
The new digital realm sounded to good to be real.
You can shoot all the shots and get home and weed out the unwanted and no out of the pocket expensives and you had with film.
Assuming your Canon 35-135 is still in good working order, that alone would be a good lens to use with a Digital Rebel XT or XTi.
Remember that the Canon digitals (excepts the 1DS and 5D) have a smaller sensor, giving a field of view equivalent to a lens 1.6 times larger on 35mm. So the 35-135 becomes equivalent to a 52mm - 216mm on the XTi.
That is a fair way into the range you used the Promaster for. You lose at the wide angle end, and the cheapest way out of that is to buy the 18-55 kit lens (I'm told they've improved it since they made mine - they would need to) but buying that with the body gives you the equivalent of a 28-80 in 35mm terms.
So you have lenses that will cover a lot of the range you used with the film camera, only the 216-300 zone is missing.
A friend had a bad car accident (not his fault) four months ago and while he is still not driving again, I took him out railfanning for the first time since the crash last Saturday, and he used a Sony compact digital he had been given by his brother.
He had previously used a Minolta Maxxum 9000 film camera, but was really happy with the results he got and the simplicity of saving the images to his computer.
Digital is worth it. Don't let Canon's poor customer relations stop you having fun. Even with one Canon lens already, the Canon Rebel XTi is worth getting. It is the fastest digital camera I've used. You need to charge the battery, but it isn't like the older 10D where you had to change the battery half way through a day's shooting.
You will save money over using film, after a while, enough to buy any new lens you want!
I have several point and shoot digitials. They all have several drawbacks but a great piece of equiptment to have in my car, truck, and cycle for that unexpected shot. I got several of.
But the drawbacks left me wanting something better and I was willing to pay for.
When I read Canons boosts to be able to use all the A/F lens from my Canon 650 is all I needed. I was just about to purchase there 8mp when I read about the 10mp XTI with the same claims.
Then to find out about the computer programing to reject non Canon lens. Now I was stuck with a very good lens sitting waste.
I am happy with what Canon gives me in the XTi.
I am just very unhappy with Corporate Greed.
Yes the the field of view is a bit larger when upgrading a Film lens to Digital. But that would have upgraded my 75-300 to about 100 -400.
Shooting trains you hardly ever need very close ups.
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