While there may be plenty of good reasons to buy a Canon Digital Rebel XTi, not every camera is good for every photographer. So, depending on what's important to you, and how you take pictures, you should probably be aware of the short comings of this camera. There's plenty of information out there about how great this camera is, but for just a minute or two, lets be brutally and critically honest.

The Canon Digital Rebel XTi, is guilty of underexposure in any and all lighting conditions, specifically with the auto setting turned on. Even Canon will have trouble disputing this claim. I heard from one XTi owner that went as far as to send in pictures taken from two separate XTi cameras to Canon, and ask what was wrong. All the pictures were dark and underexposed, and Canon told them, that yes the camera used to take those pictures was defective. Not realizing of course, that the pictures came from two brand new cameras. Apparently the problem is really with the auto settings. If your the type of photographer, that never uses the out of the box factory settings, then this may not be a issue for you. Otherwise just take a pass, there are plenty of other good cameras you should be considering.

The XTi has a rather annoying habit of locking up when quickly taking a consecutive number of pictures in a row. The shutter just locks up and issues a busy signal. According to Canon, this is normal and the camera is performing as designed. At first glance, this may seem like just a case of not enough battery power for the strength of the flash. But, no, it's actually the way the camera is designed to work. The XTi manual comes right out and says this is a safety feature intended to protect the flash. Again, you need to judge if this is an issue for you. If your the type that likes to fire off twenty or so pictures in a row, then this camera will likely annoy you to no end. Otherwise, this is really a non issue.

One last thing. It's pretty standard, that all digital cameras come with an LCD screen. It's pretty nice to be able to use the LCD screen while taking a picture, so the don't need to have the camera right in your face. The little point and shoot digital I bought for my daughter went so far as to eliminate the view finder altogether. Apparently that manufacturer realized using the LCD is the favorite choice of most users. With the XTi, Canon made the unusual decision to go the other way. The only way to see what picture your taking, is to use the viewfinder. The 2.5 inch LCD is very nice, you just can't use it to see what picture your currently taking. It's only used to review pictures already taken, or to adjust the camera settings. I guess they're just trying to save battery power. Who knows? Once again, it's all a case of what's important to you and how you take photos.