Canon Rebel at the film to digital divide

[Niner]

The Canon Rebel line has been around since 1990 as a film camera and on into the digital age. I got one of those first Rebel SLR film cameras with the affordable auto focus programs about the time they were introduced. The line kept going after the bump in the road caused by the digital age. The reason why is because Canon knew their most profitable audience and clung to them.

The fork in the road happened for Canon in about 2003 with the introduction of what was advertised as the digital Rebel EOS300D. It had a, by today's standard, modest 22.7 by 15.1 sensor with a noise level confined to 6.3 megapixels. The price it was offered with a kit lens was $999. The professional up grade was the EOS 10D with the same number of megapixels and same sensor size but with better programming and material construction listed for twice the EOS300D.

Meanwhile on the established film Rebel front there was introduced in 2003 the K2 or Kiss Lite. All the programs Canon had in it's bag. Seven point selective focus, digital back with a collection of functions ....like sound for focus notice, multi shot bursts, ISO adjustments.... etc. Body all plastic but...you could buy the body for about $240 from Adorama or other NY major dealers. It was a slight stepdown from the Rebel flagship produced the year before.

The Rebel Ti was perhaps the most value for the buck Rebel at the end...although only slightly. It came out in 2002. What it had on the K2 was relatively subtle. For instance, the lens mount ring was metal instead of the K2's plastic. The self timer and shot burst selector were on top of the camera instead of the back and it has a depth of field button that the K2 didn't have.

I got a Ti the other day for cheap...and only because it was cheap and it fit a slot in the collection. What I got worked without any hitch. The K2 worked fine too... I wrote about my experience in another post. Considering was 20 years old and used the Ti worked fine too for what it is.