Time For A Canon Digital Rebel XT Upgrade?

So, you've had your Canon Digital Rebel XT for a while, and you're starting to get a little camera envy. Nikon, Canon and the competition keep releasing new models with more bells and whistles. Which of course leads you to thinking about how much better your photos could be with the latest technology. Can't say I blame you, it happens to the best of us. Just for the heck of it, lets take a look at a couple of upgrade possibilities you may want to consider for your Rebel XT. One is the Canon EOS 5D, which is considerably more expensive, but includes a multitude of features the XT doesn't have. Keeping it in the Canon family, lets also take a look at the Canon EOS 40D. The 40D is pretty much in the middle price wise between the XT and the 5D, but with some pros and cons worth considering.

For the sake of argument, lets assume your a typical Digital Rebel owner, and shoot a wide variety of subjects. Family portraits, sports, landscape, nature, family outings, and vacation pics.

Canon

One place to start thinking in your upgrade process, is to ask yourself why you want to upgrade. Is it speed? In which case, the Canon 40D has a faster frame-per-second rating. 6 FPS for the 40D, while the 5D shoots at 3 FPS. How about image quality? The 5D comes with a pretty sweet full frame sensor. Full frame sensor cameras will result in better image quality, wide angle shots, and photographs more suited for cropping during the editing process.

Your current inventory of lenses is a consideration as well. Depending on the lenses you have, they may work better with one camera over another. It's pretty typical for Rebel XT owners to have several EF-S lenses. These lenses simply won't work with the 5D, but will work with the EOS 40D. If your keeping the Digital Rebel, and don't mind buying more lenses, then the 5D is still a worthy contender. I've heard from several photographers that like to have vastly different cameras for different situations. If you share this diverse thinking, then the Canon 5D is likely the better choice.

Of course, its hard to have a camera upgrade discussion without the subject of price coming up. The Canon 5D is a little less than twice the price of the EOS 40D. You have to wonder if maybe it's better to go for the cheaper 40D, and dump the rest of your budget into some nice glass (photo geek speak for lenses). Many would argue that spending your money on great lenses and a good camera body is the best way to get value for your money. Pretty subjective of course, and really depends on how you like to take pictures.

Time For A Canon Digital Rebel XT Upgrade?