- Fast 6-point auto focus - Nice programmed automatic modes - Complete manual options - Fast film rewind - Good all around. Try it yourself!

The automatic modes don't have a flash control. Either it flashes or it doesn't. This alone causes me to switch to a manual setting frequently when the programmed setting will (should) work fine. Not really a bother but sometimes annoying...

Being a total beginner I thought it was very important to choose a good camera to start with. Something I wouldn't outgrow quickly and made me feel creative. The Rebel 2000 has done it. My first purchase was of a Minolta QTsi but it had absolutely no manual settings. A friend who had recommended this had good intentions but I couldn't deal with only 6 automatic modes. After two rolls I was fed up and took it back and exchanged it for the Rebel 2000. I have been extremely happy with this camera from this first time I picked it up. So far I've been able to take a few really great shots. I feel like it can do whatever I ask it to do. The 6-point auto focus works very well, it's very fast and accurate. Faster than the Minolta and I can switch to MF with a flick of my pinky. Nice. The lens that shipped with it is adequate for my needs right now though I can see me replacing it in the not too distant future. It is rather light and plastic but it works for me in the learning stage. I recently bought the low end 75-300mm Canon zoom and have found it to be quite good. I've been able to take a few excellent shots at Baseball/Football games. Adding a zoom like this makes the weight of the camera off balance as the body is rather light (heavier than some other comparable brands but still light). The weight is not a con though. With the standard zoom it's just perfect. Not flimsy, not heavy. Perfect. As a beginner I wouldn't expect someone to take my review very seriously though I am continuing to enjoy this camera. As my first of what I expect to be many SLRs to come... it is perfect.

Customer Service

Excellent manual. It's a complete guide to the camera and goes over all the basic points surrounding it's features. Very nice if you're like me, starting from the begining.

Similar Products Used:

Minolta QTsi

- Depth of field preview - Price - Goes from full auto to manual - Weight

Great camera. Everything you'd expect in a good camera and more. I bought it together with the Canon 28-90 lens that comes with the kit and a 70-300 lens.

Customer Service

Didn't have to deal with it... Hope I never will have to.

Similar Products Used:

Olympus IS-2000

Price Most of latest EOS features included Lightweight (someone will state this as waekness)

Flash No highspeed sync

Nice camera to start with. Can be great for almost everything except of flash photography. Avoid 28-90 kits. You will end up buying 50 1.8 or 50 1.4 usm like I did

Similar Products Used:

Elan 7e

Good camera for someone learning Photography

Childish

Very nice camera for someone starting out. I bought the Camera, and at first it seemed real nice. However, the AF does not work well in dark areas, and the multi- exposure function and lenses to not keep up with each other. Overall I did not like the AF. I found myself switching back to MF alot. The worst was I felt like I was shooting with kids camera.

Customer Service

Shop and Mikes Camera. Real nice people who know what they are doing. Plus, they took the Camera back without question.

>35-Zone Evaluative Metering. >Robust, sustains rough handling. >Worth buying, many useful features-One of the best SLR's you can get for its price! >Easy handling. >Quick Autofocus.

>Weak flash. >1.5 fps film advance-A bit too slow. >Camera body made entirely of plastic-makes it look cheap and weak. >Flash acts as AF Assist beam-It is annoying! >No custom functions.

At first glance, the Canon EOS Rebel 2000 may seem like the 500N, but it certainly possess many useful features. Its outstanding 35-Zone Evaluative Metering makes it extremely useful under tricky and backlit lighting conditions. It has 7 Autofocus points that covers a wide area. Moreover, the controls on the Rebel 2000 are simple and user-friendly. The camera has the Automatic Depth of Field mode, which isn't available in most other cameras. (However it rarely works. You have to nudge the camera and recompose your image a little for it to function). Its reverse film advance system means that the film is first rolled up onto the camera's spool, then it is rewind back into the cartridge as you take a shot.(This means if the camera's back is accidentally opened, the exposed shots will be protected in he film cartridge). The specifications says the flash sync is 1/90 seconds, but I tried it with an old flash (non-dedicated), and the picture comes out nicely even with 1/125 seconds! I don't know how this happened, but I use it. (You can try this by yourself, but don't blame me if your picture is ruined)However, the built-in flash is weak. I bought the camera in a set together with Canon's 28-90mm lens, and whenever I take a wide-angle shot (with the built-in flash), I'll find the bottom part of my picture underexposed! It means the lens is blocking the flash's path! (A major defect for me, but not a reason to reject the camera). The camera is lightweight with the body weighing merely 395 grams. I dislike the plastic mount, but it does not affect he camera's performance. (So who cares?) This camera, although made entirely of plastic, is very sturdy and robust. (I dropped it twice and shunted it multiple times, but it still works fine) The camera is relatively small, so if you have a big palm, go and purchase the BP-200 battery pack. The Rebel 2000 is suitable for Beginners to Intermediate photographers (Not professionals, as they are more suitable with EOS 1-V instead!), and those running tight on budget. This entry-level camera will definitely give you a fascinating photography experience. I am now planning to upgrade to a mid-level camera(EOS Elan 7E or so), but the Rebel 2000 remains as my first quality camera ever purchased-I have an AE-1, but it was given to me, not bought, so it is not my "first quality camera purchased".

Customer Service

Not needed as the camera won't malfunction easily.(Except if you intentionally sabotage it)

Similar Products Used:

Canon AE-1 and Nikon F801s (My friend’s).

Light weight, partial metering, manual modes, amazing matrix metering

None so far

I finally bit the bullet and bought a new film SLR, thinking that I would eventually go to digital, but wanted to start buying lenses now that would work on a digital camera in a few years. That narrowed my choices to Nikon or Canon. Since I didn't want to spend a lot of money for a film body, that left me with the Nikon N65 and Canon EOS Rebel 2000. The Rebel won out for its' partial metering, the cheaper battery pack, and Canon's willingness to support gray-market cameras. Nikon doesn't seem to understand that whether I buy a gray-market camera or a USA camera, it's still a Nikon to me. Of all of the inexpensive cameras out there, the Canon is not the most featureful option out there, but it seems like a good entry-level camera to grown into - metered manual mode, partial metering, depth of field preview and ASA override are all features the Rebel has that some of the other low-end cameras are missing. For someone looking for a glorified point-and-shoot, they're unnecessary features, but features you'll miss as you become more advanced. The Minolta Maxxum 5 has all this and more, including a faster top shutter speed, but I don't know about Minolta's digital plans - they seem to be concentrating on ZLR (Zoom lens-reflex) cameras without interchangeable lenses. The Rebel 2000 is about the size of my AE-1 Program, but much lighter - the body is polycarbonate, as is the lens mount. This is a point of some concern for some people, but not for me. I baby my cameras, and I'm not expecting to get 20 years out of this body. It's a little small for larger hands, but there's a battery pack available for $30 that adds a little length to the body and adds a vertical shutter release. The battery pack takes 4 AA batteries, so it will pay for itself in a while (The CR-2 batteries the camera normally takes are expensive!) Without the battery pack, and with a 50/1.8 lens (one of the sharpest, lightest, cheapest lenses available in the Canon EF mount) you barely know it's over your shoulder. The Rebel 2000 has most of the features of its' more expensive siblings - 35 point matrix metering, 7 focusing points, creative modes, aperture/shutter priority, metered manual mode, built-in flash and red-eye reduction. You trade some performance for the low cost and weight - slower flash sync speed than the Elan 7, slower motor winder, and no speed dial on the back. Judging

Customer Service

n/a

Similar Products Used:

Canon AE-1

Best SLR in it's class. Especially good for beginners/students. Price. (That price I paid is NZ$ btw) Lightweight. Features range from full auto to full manual. Depth or field preview. Smart film loading.

Hmmm... I guess 35mm could be seen as a weakness??

I was tossing up between this and the Nikon F65/N65. In the end the Canon won out mainly because I like Canon's interface. The EOS 300 also has a few other minor things that set it apart, weight, ability to override ISO rating etc. Sure you can get around that kind of stuff manually but dedicated functions just make life easier. A few people have complained about this camera feeling plasticky. The 300 is light, but feels solid, it's not going to fall apart on you. The one thing it was missing was a metal lens mount, big fat deal. I've been very happy with the rolls I've shot so far with this camera. I passed on the 28-90mm lens that comes as a kit with the body after reading reviews of that lens on this site. I got the 50mm f/1.8 II instead and I'm VERY happy with it, I don't miss the zoom and the quality of that lens at the price is incredible. Light metering seems great, as is autofocus. One thing a few people seem to have trouble with on the Canon's is the way the film is completely wound on upon loading, then each shot is rewound into the film canister. It just takes getting used to and it's actually a more intelligent system (tells you how many shots you have left, not how many you've taken and prevents ruining shots you've already taken if someone opens the back while a film's loaded). I really like it. I'm really happy with this camera. I think it beats the Nikon F65 hands down and I'd buy it over the EOS 500N for the DOF preview alone.

Customer Service

Haven't had to use it.

Similar Products Used:

Canon EOS 500N, Nikon F65, Nikon F50, Olympus OM10.

Price Weight - so light Metering pretty good Good AF

My only criticism is the command dial, it tends to make people use it as a P&S camera. Stick it in AV or manual and have fun

Got this camera for my wife. IMHO it is a good camera for the money, a good starting point for SLR. If you buy the 300, as others have said, do yourself a favour and buy the body only. The 28-80 or 28-90, 70-300 consumer zooms are not worth using and you will get dissapointing photos. I would advise starting with the 50 1.8 I or II and maybe the 28 2.8 AFD. These lenses will produce much sharper and contrasty images. If you want a zoom, the 28-105 or 24-85 USM zooms will produce reasonable pictures that will suit anyone who buys a 300. If you want a flash, get the 420 EX, as the extra functions will prove useful if you decide to upgrade the body at a later stage (EOS 30 or above).

Customer Service

n/a

Similar Products Used:

EOS 1 series, 3, 5, 650, 500

Cheap 7 autofocus points light construction (easy to carry) preview button for depth of focus

light construction, gets dirty, damaged easily shutter speed only 1/2000 autofocus tracking not great

The EOS 300 is a easy to use and well equiped SLR camera. It is built well, and has a lot of good features. Before Canon built the EOS 30, the EOS 300 was in my opinion the best SLR camera for an amateur. The EOS 30 has a couple of extras which are interesting even for an amateur without having to go for the more expensive EOS 5 or EOS 3. The EOS 300 is a good camera to learn the basics of SLR photography. It has a couple of basic program functions, like portrait and night scene for example, but it also has the manual functions like aperture and shutter speed controls. Furthermore, it has 7 autofocus points, which is great fun, although the AI of the machine is not that great compared to an EOS 3. It has a preview depth of focus button which is really handy. Weak points are the slow auto focus, compared to the bigger brothers, the shutter speed is only 1/2000 which is to slow to use the camera for action pictures. I like the camera a lot, especially for the price. Get a good lens with it, like the 50 f 1.4 USM and a good Speedlite like the EX 420 and you have a good starting point for SLR photography

lightweight compact feature-rich good metering good battery pack/vertical grip

AF assist light (pre-flash) annoying body not totally black plasticky wish it offered more metering control

This is my second Rebel series camera (the first one being a Rebel G). My main camera is a Canon A2, but I always seem to need a second body to either load different film or attach a different lens. The Rebel 2000 shares many traits with the Rebel G: light, small, feature-laden, user-friendly and plasticky. The Rebel 2000 offers several key advancements: 35-zone metering (instead of 6-zone), dedicated DOF preview button and faster fps. The last one is rather insignificant, in my opinion (who would use a Rebel for high speed, continuous shooting anyway?), but the first two are so valuable that they alone are worth the switch (I gave my Rebel G to my brother so I could buy a Rebel 2000). There are a few drawbacks compared with the Rebel G too: the camera body is not totally black (I like black cameras) and there is no AF assist light, instead, it uses a series of rapid flashes as AF assist. If the Rebel G''s white AF assist light was annoying, the Rebel 2000''s rapid flash is downright murderous -- it kills the whole experience of photographing. Another complaint about the Rebel series is the lack of user selectable metering pattern. By that I mean: you can not actively select evaluative, center-weighted or partial metering. Instead, each metering pattern is linked with a particular metering mode (like MF, Av or Tv). In my wet dreams I also wished the Rebels had spot metering, but of course, that is not going to happen (if so how are they going to sell the Elans?). But giving the user a choice of metering pattern (such as via custom function) would be so nice! The BP-200 battery pack/vertical grip is so nice you must have it. I used to own a vertical grip for the Rebel G, but that was a dog (no battery pack, and the table-top tripod is miserably off-center therefore off-balance). But this battery pack/vertical grip allows you to use 4 AA batteries, something really nice when you travel to other countries and remote places as AA batteries are much easier to find than 2CR5s. It also improves balance and handling. Without the grip, the camera is a little too small for even medium size lenses such as 28-135 IS or 75-300 IS, but with the grip, it is almost as large as the A2 and balance well with larger lenses. Of course you can always take the grip off, in which case with a 50/1.8 or 35/2 you have the smallest and lightest AF SLR you can find anywhere. Despi

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

Canon Rebel G