Thanks Johns,for your advise,I got an exchange XTi and it was about -1\3 off . I used your instructions for the flash and that worked wonders for the flashs' output. I also used the other metering for when I had a white or bright strip in the picture and that worked great also. If the picture is still too dark ,I dial in the +1\3 and that takes care of it. I see what you mean about how one blows the highlights while the other metering mode saves them. I just wanted to do a follow up and to thank you very much for your help.
My 400D came from Dell today, and so far I'm absolutely tickled with it. I like the way it feels, I like the way it sounds, I like everything about it. I really think it's going to work well for me.
This is my goofaround/travel/personal cam, and it's replacing the 20D which, as wonderful as it is and as much as I loved it, was a little bigger and heavier and a lot louder than I thought it needed to be. (I shoot most of the time with two 1D Mark II's.)
I have big hands, and I don't get the "too small" complaints. It's a small camera — that's one of its major charms — but it feels fine and like it was made for the 17-85 IS and 70-300 IS I'm pairing it with. And I think the interface is great. Everything is right in front of you and works exactly like you'd expect it to.
I agree. It's sad that it could've been better, even much better if they had made the grip just a little bigger. First, it would've improved the handling without adding much weight. Second, it could use a standard BP511 battery with a much greater capacity. Oh, well.
One oddity — that nice big LCD seems to be polarized. If you're wearing polarized sunglasses and turn the camera to vertical orientation, the LCD disappears!
I borrowed one from a buddy recently (in exchange for my dear 580EX flash gun) for couple of days and to tell you the truth I'm a bit disappointed. I think canon MUST drop the plastic toy feel this camera has. I've average size hands and I have the same problems getting a nice grip of the camera as with the original 350D/XT. Also, I was disappointed to find out that now with more pixels packed in the same area, noise becomes more of a problem @ ISOs >= 400 even more so than the original. There's only so much that algorithms can do about noise reduction. Physics rules still apply.
On the good side, I found the AF to be be considerably faster and more accurate than the XT's. And the new LCD is definitely a welcome sight. Even though it'll never make for a good preview, it offers a much better rendition as to how the picture will look like on your screen.
If the original XT was a 4/5 for me...this one would rate the same as it does not effectively address the issues that matter to me the most, namely, noise and body size/construction.
For those folks who do not like the idea or the feel of the 400xi plastic body, you may want to consider adding a Kirk L-bracket. I had a Kirk universal version, drilled it to fit the 400xi, and I no longer have a plastic issue because I hold the metal L-bracket when shooting the 400xi. Give it a try..............
I really don't get the "plastic" thing. Yes, the 400D is smaller and lighter than the 20D/30D, and there are advantages and disadvantages to that and different people will assess them differently.
But as for "plastic," I honestly don't see or feel any significant difference in the actual build quality of the 400D and the 20D I traded for it. Nor do I have any problem with it on an absolute scale, given what these cameras are supposed to do and be. My point of reference, FWIW, is the two 1D Mark II's that I normally shoot with.
I think people are equating "small and light" with "junk." But small and light in this case, IMHO, just equals small and light. And that suits me just fine.
Nill Toulme wrote:
I really don't get the "plastic" thing. (snip)
But as for "plastic," I honestly don't see or feel any significant difference in the actual build quality of the 400D and the 20D I traded for it. (snip)
Nill
My son has the 350D (XT) black body, and it feels very similar to my 20D - -
could the issue be that the silver body feels more "plasticy" than the black
body?
I have 350D and bought and returned the 400D. Here are my findings:
Pros over my 350D:
-- 2.5 LCD, I actually think that this is the biggest improvment over the 350D that I would like to have.
-- 9 point AF and supposedly more accurate AF over the 350D, although it might be more accurate than the 355D, I still found that I switched back to manual focus point to ensure my shoots have the right focus point, especially in low light situation. So, I don't really consider this as a big plus.
-- Auto sensor cleaning, although it sounds cool and might be very useful, I just don't have sensor dust problem yet on my 350D.
-- More pixels, 10MP vs 8MP, I seriously don't see too much of a difference here.
In conclusion, the only improvment that I actually care is the bigger LCD. Although it is a lot nicer to have a bigger LCD, I don't see myself paying a few hundred more to upgrade to 400D just for the LCD and as a result, I returned the 400D and waiting for the 40D to come out (not even 6D if I can afford it).
