Very light camera with a multitude of features for a GREAT price.

Very easy to use & more importantly learn & grow with for anyone who was a point & shoot user.

Depth of field preview is great. PIC modes make it easy for others to use, also good for quick & easy use. Excellent metering system has been flawless.

This is a hard one, yes it has weaknesses but for the money invested they can be easily overlooked.

1) 1.5fps
2) no shutter priority except PIC sports mode
3) fairly weak built in flash
4) no center grid for easy landscape centering

Great camera! For 97% of the world's population this is the perfect camera, not to mention the cheap price. I would recommend it to anyone but a pro, or if you need a faster fps for sports photography, but it still does good for little league!! A perfect graduation from point & shoot to learn SLR's, or from older manual SLR's (like me).

Customer Service

never used

Similar Products Used:

N60,X370,various point & shoots

Great value. This camera probably presents the best value for the money in the current SLR market.

Poor viewfinder

Cheap feel (although this probably wont affect its functionality it still FEELS cheap)

This is a great starters camera. I would recommend it to most without reservation. Although durabilitly may be an issue, if you are a pro who really beats this camera you won't buy it anyway. I recommend that you purchase a 50 instead of the zoom kit. Your images will be dramatically better.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

N60, N70, N80, Elan II, Eos 3

Lightweight, Ease of use, Choice of lens available, LCD view screen.

1.5 fps, Poor Manual (LCD does not turn off... no mention in manual if camera is actually off... )

I believe that for the price, this camera can't be beat. All my test shots thus far were colorful and clear... (ISO 100-800) Indoor/Outdoor. The macro 1.3 feet on the 28-80 Lens is very nice. A Excellent all round (non-pro) camera. Highly recommended.

Customer Service

Called to ask about LCD on all time. Great Service and additional infomation given.

Similar Products Used:

AE1 Program, EOS 1v, Nikon N80.

Light-weight, feature filled camera with many manual and automatic controls/settings.

AF rapidly focuses on many subjects w/o problems with the 28-105 USM Canon lens. Almost always no hunting at all, and with this lens, very quick and quite focusing.

DOF, Exposure Comp., Full-Auto & Full-Manual modes, Auto-flash, Bracketing, etc., etc. Almost all the features any beginner or professional will need to take great pictures all day long.

E-TTL flash system with external flash means output is very good indeed, with depth and all the AE points tied into the calculation of the final flash exposure. Think just like the Nikon SB flash system with Depth figured into the AEF system.

Bright and clear viewfinder, even with the 28-105 USM Canon (believe it's 3.5/f fully open).

Fast flash popup response. Comes up and fires in under a second.

Reminds me of the AE-1 Program of years past -- a great beginner's SLR that had all the features you'd ever need to learn about photography, and enough features to keep it useful as a pro-camera. And naturally, introducing you to the excellently broad line of Canon lenses that are very well built.

Made in China - but after the millions it has sold thus far, must not matter much because it's a very well built camera.

Camera can be set to beep (or not) when AF lock is achieved. Great feature when you don't have time to look through the viewfinder.

Small grip means people with medium to larger hands may not have as secure of a grip as those with smaller hands, esp. with heavier lenses attached.

Slow adjustment of focusing point from fully auto selection of one of the seven points to user selected point. eg. picking the center AF point requires you to press the AF point button, then dial through all, far left, left, and top points before reaching the center point. It would have been far better to start with the center point (a natural choice) and let the user dial left or right from there. Most times, that's what you'd expect to happen since you usually select single AF point when you need to pick out the subject in the center of the viewfinder.
(eg. not like the Minolta 600si where you simply switch a dial to single spot AF to select the central AF point)

Slow adjustment of Flash modes, Bracketing, Exposure Comp, etc. due to the fact you first press the mode button, select the item you want to adjust from the four, then dial in the adjustment you want.
(eg. not like the 600si where you simply adjust the appropriate dial in one step)

Not a true spot meter mode - it takes the central AE point (out of the 21+ AE points in the grid that covers the viewfinder area), and the points top/bottom/left/right as well. While a plus symbol partial AE point is better than matrix metering, you do wonder why Canon didn't simply use a single AE point, esp. one that could be tied into the currently selected AF point as well.

Uses two tiny Li-Ion batteries instead of the larger dual cell Li-Ion battery pack - thus, the number of rolls of film you can take on one battery change is less.

No shutter release priority mode! Ack!! Unlike SLR cameras that I grew up with, the camera will not fire until focus is achieved -- this means you will lose shots if there is a lot of motion, or if you can't wait for that special moment to last and need to fire that shutter right this very instant. After all, if you've got the aperature set right, you will have enough depth of field that you don't need perfect subject focus to get a well-focused picture.

1.5fps film wind speed.

The Canon Rebel 2000 is a great beginner's camera that includes so many features, you may not need it even as your skills advance. It's light weight and bright viewfinder encourages you to use the camera, and the full automatic mode means you can use it like a point and shoot camera when you don't have the time. Like the AE series of years past, the Rebel has enough features to keep you going for years and years, and is a great, low-end introduction to the excellent line of Canon lenses - smooth focusing and zoom, fast AF, and many good lenses to pick from. Thus, while it is not the rock bottom, cheapest SLR camera available, it is well-balanced and better featured for the low-end price range it is target at than the other cameras in this price range, and coupled with the availability of the Canon line of lenses and E-TTL flashes, a great buy.

However, as you do grow as a photographer, there are certain subjects which will require a different cameras due to the minor limitations of the Rebel. These include:

1) No Shutter release priority - thus, forget about using this camera for fast-action anything, such as sports, subjects in constant, rapid, changing motion, weddings and other events where you must capture that special event when it happens, and any other situation where you must have the picture taken the instant you press the shutter button, not after the camera has achieved full AF lock.

2) 1.5fps film wind speed. Usually, in sports or weddings, you'll need the film advance to be at least 2fps to comfortably capture important, fleeting events. Slower, and many fleeting expressions and poses will be lost. Coupled with the fact that the Rebel can't fire w/o AF lock, you really can't use this camera for such important events as a professional.

3) Use in tough environments and with heavy lenses. A plastic body like the Rebel isn't gonna survive for long on Mt. Everest, or in wet, dusty, etc. situations because it isn't fully sealed and designed for use in those tough environments, unlike the pro-end EOS 1/3 series. Also, you may have trouble balancing the camera by hand if you've attached a 200-500mm lens to this 12 oz. camera. It is really so light, and the grip so tiny, that you'd really be giving yourself a hand cramp soon doing so.

4) Limited battery life. Yes, two tiny CR5 batteries aren't gonna last as long as a dual-battery, bigger Li-Ion battery pack. In important events where swapping batteries becomes a time hinderance, you'll either need the external battery pack attachment, or another camera. Kisses and weddings won't wait for you to swap batteries because they're run out.

5) Slow adjustment of partial metering, AE comp. & AF single point selection. When the time comes where you have to pick that one person/subject out of a crowded scene, the long time it takes to pick an AF point means you'll lose the shot. Same goes with the other adjustments. In fast moving scenes, it is important that you be able to adjust exposure or select a subject quickly, then switch back to the other modes you use.
(eg. the Minolta 600si/9 are far faster at making these adjustments than most other cameras made today due to their direct-dial concept, where one dial controls one feature and they can be instantly adjusted)

Similar Products Used:

Minolta 600si/XTsi, Nikon N80, F100, F5, Canon EOS 3, Pentax 50,7,5.

$Price$, Depth of Field Preview, weight (nice and light)

Plastic mount, L lenses can be to heavy, but if you can afford L lenses; you wouldn't be looking at this camera.

This is a great beginner camera. It's also nice and light weight, could replace your point & shoot. Get the 28-105mm USM, don't bother with the 28-80 kit. I'm completely satisfied and have recommended it to many others.

Customer Service

NA

Similar Products Used:

Older Manual SLR's

Extremely light weight, especially with supplied 28-80 mm ef lens...relatively inexpensive considering the features...absolutely dead easy to use, right out of the box.

Not impressed by how sloppy the onboard flash fits on the camera..looks really crappy...does make one wonder about what Canon did with the stuff we cannot see

This is an extremely easy to use camera that has all of the features most everyone will ever use.....The onboard flash is metered TTL, and is more than adequate for it's intended usage ( fill flash, indoor party type shots etc). I hear people complaining about the flash's inadequacies but really, who is foolish enough to expect a flash much more powerful than this to come with the camera. I have no idea what cameras these "people" are using where they get a better built in flash unit. I sometimes wonder if some people don't pop in here and give a low rating, just to reduce the overall rating. I mean some of the negative reviews I've read here, considering wwhat they say, seem to come from people who have not even used the camera or at least do not know how to use it.

"Plastic" body is a complete non issue....unless you intend to use your camera as a club or maybe a baseball bat. You drop any camera, and I mean any camera, from a high place onto a hard surface, you are going to have problems....

The lens that comes with the kit (EF 28-80mm 4-5.6 non-USM) is exceptional, especially for a bottom end consumer lens. You can absolutely buy better optics, but really folks, most of us are taking family and holiday pics, for nostalgic purposes..and for that purpose you just cannot beat the base lenses that Canon has to offer. This being said, I highly recommend you skip the kit, buy the body along with the 28-105 3.5-4.5 USM lens..greater range,slightly faster,better glass and lightning fast, silent AF.

I have read a lot of reviews on this camera and hear people talking about how easily this "cheap plastic" body is going to break but no one seems to have had one break on them. Many of these people seem to prefer Nikon, and this seems to be thier only reason for giving the Rebel a low rating...hey folks, grow up....The Canon Rebel series ( best of which being the G and the 2000) are extremely user friendly, easy to use, sophisticated cameras that produce consistently excellant results under an extensive range of conditions......The latest Nikon is about three times as heavy and about a third more expensive, the Nikon auto focus is next to useless and the metering is questionable....but I guess the name is worth something.

Get this camera or the G, buy ten rolls of film, expose the film, get it processed, be thrilled by the incredible results and you'll never shop for another camera until you wear this one out.

I've given it a "4" value rating because of the sloppy fitting flash and I think it could be packaged with a better lens for the same money. It should probably really get a 4 in the overall rating as well, because I did find it a little small, but considering that people are giving 1's for obscure reasons like "Oh I 'think' it might break." I thought it only fair to give the best rating I can.

This is a great camera for beginners to pros, don't hesitate to buy one.

Customer Service

Have not needed a repair as yet but have called them for help and they are extremely friendly and knowledgeable....went to see if I could get an english manual as I had purchased this camera during a european trip ( manual was in Dutch) and they gave me one free of charge...

Similar Products Used:

Canon Rebel G (own), Nikon F801s, Canon A-1

35 zone evaluative metering
7 AF points
Light weight
More features for the $$$ than other similar products

No spot meter
1.5 fps advance

An excellent value for the money. Get the battery pack. It gives you a vertical grip and shutter release. The camera is better balanced, easier to handle and the battery pack will pay for itself using AA instead of expensive lithium batteries. It even felt balanced united with a 100-300 f/5.6L zoom I tried in the camera shop.

I bought mine in a kit with the 28-80mm lens. I've totally outgrown this lens in 6 months so I wouldn't recommend getting it. Personally I'm using primes like the EF 50mm f/1.4 now and I'm much more satisfied. I will probably keep the zoom until I can afford to add a prime 24mm to my inventory.

Customer Service

Haven't needed it

Similar Products Used:

Nikon, Minolta entry level cameras

very light, great meter, has a lot of nice features, easy to understand controls, good viewfinder info, Canon lens, depth of field preview

can't do 1/3 stop adjustments, i wish it had internal diopter correction, i wish it had a spot meter, the lens that it comes with kinda sucks

I know I want a lot of features that are only on a more expensive camera but I can wish. I am slowly upgrading my system, I am debating either more lens, canon 1v, or go into medium format, I really like this camera though, i can't say the meter ever failed me when it shouldn't have, I have nothing but praise for this camera at its price. And to those people who just don't like it because it is plastic, you are idiots, you should wait until it breaks (which i don't think it will) and then give it a one star rating.

Customer Service

haven't tried

Similar Products Used:

manual focus canon

Low cost
Numerous "high-end" features
Excellent selection of accessories (battery back/vertical grip, extended grip with tripod, etc.)
Pretty good exposure meter. In my experience it was more precise then N60's.

Ugly build quality (plastic lens mount, flash cnstruction). "Made in Taiwan".
Limited lens selection compared to Nikon
Focus is indecisive in low-light situations. I like N60's focusing much better.
Absolutely terrible viewfinder. Settings are hard to see; no standard diopter adjustment (important for a glass-wearer like me). Rubber eyecups does not look like it is going to last for long. But they are relatively cheap to replace though.

Good value for the money, great camera as first SLR. Especially if you consider the cost of the whole system -- body + lens + remote release + battery pack -- in my case. Just stay away from those kits with 28-80mm lenses! Do yourself a favour and get 28-105mm USM lens.

Customer Service

Not needed yet

Similar Products Used:

Nikon N60, Yashica T4

Entry Level Canon SLR with many higher end features (7 point AF, 35 zone AE) for a very low price ($399 retail w/ lens)

The first thing my (more knowledgeable) roommate said when I got this camera was, "Plastic lens mount... ehhhhh."

I got this camera because of the price and the reviews on this website. I had been an APS user until a couple of weeks ago, when I decided to make the jump to 35mm SLR. In the end, the automatic capability (balanced by the ability to do everything manually) is what won me over. This is a great camera for a beginner looking to learn more. Each roll of film I shoot on this thing turns out better than the last. It is definitely a camera to grow with.

Customer Service

Haven't had the need yet.

Similar Products Used:

Non-SLR: Fuji Endeavour 250ix