Because most cameras manufactured today have a megapixel rating of at least 8 nearly all digital cameras in this range take excellent pictures. The considerations when shopping for your next camera, then, should be usability, versatility, and price. If you want high quality photographs and a camera that is simple to use, but don't have a pro photographer's budget, then the Canon Digital Rebel XSi 12.2 MP Digital SLR camera is perfect for you.

Nikon offers several models that function as well as the Canon XSi, but are very expensive by comparison and their interactive menus can become quite tedious for the common user. While some of the cameras still available on the market are becoming dated, they are still reliable and they create fantastic images. Like the Nikon D70, however, these camera don't offer sensor cleaning to highlight tone and they don't ship with a bundled VR lens. This is effectively like buying a 2005 camera in 2010. In other words, it is not the best deal.

The Canon Digital Rebel XSi 12.2 MP Digital SLR camera feels like it fits, even for someone with smallish hands. Its buttons allow you to make changes quite quickly and without difficulty, so that the next great picture moment doesn't pass you by while you're fumbling with your camera settings. With this camera, you still have to go through menus to adjust the custom white balance and to format the card, while the Nikon D70 has a button for each of those options. But, that's a small price to pay for all the added convenience in the Canon XSi.

The Canon XSi's Auto ISO is not quite as efficient as Nikon's, but apart from that, the camera is fantastic. It offers an RGB histogram for when you need to clip individual colors, very good skin tones and colors, and very little noise (Canon's CMOS sensor is cleaner than Nikon's). The Canon Digital Rebel XSi is a great camera with features you might find in the much higher in price Nikon 40D or Pro 1DS.

This Canon Digital Rebel XSi 12.2 MP Digital SLR camera is built sturdily and will fit just perfectly in everyone's hands. The buttons have an amazing feel to them. They seem to be tactile, giving a proper click feeling once you push them. That click is very important. It helps ensure the camera use that the feature has been chosen without having to check the screen. You get speedy focus, instantaneous start up time and minimal shutter lag with this digital camera. It can click 3.5 frames per second; in bursts of six RAW files or fifty three JPEGs, so you won't ever miss a moment.

The Rebel XSi has a large three inch 230k pixel display screen. Visual playback on the LCD is crystal clear. You get a great view due to the wide viewing angle. The battery life of this digital camera is also excellent. Even after taking six hundred images, the battery shows a sign of full charge. It is no wonder this camera is consistently among the top 10 digital SLR cameras.

Great features like spot metering and exposure compensation are typically found in high end digital cameras; but you get both of them in this camera. Now, that's really amazing. DIGIC 3 image processor, Auto ISO function and EOS integrated cleaning system are some of the other excellent attributes of this digital SLR.