The T3i is everything I'd expected and more (stepping up from a Canon PowerShot Elph 100HS).The extra battery and filters are good enough for what I want to do (just getting into photography).
The 16GB "HALCYON" memory card just bit the dust. I managed to get about 60 RAW photos onto the thing and it stopped working mid-shoot. Can't be read or formatted by anything. I've contacted the seller and we'll see what happens. [SEE UPDATE BELOW]
The mini tripod will not support the weight of the T3i. It just won't. The whole thing slowly sags and tips over. It may be usable with the smaller 50mm f/1.8 lens (sold separately) but it's not usable with the kit lens.
The big tripod is wibbly wobbly (timey wimey?). Sure, it has a quick-release and a bubble level but those are sort of useless when it's impossible to keep the thing steady in anything more than a 5 mph breeze. The whole thing flexes and sways from the feet up to the camera mount. Very cheap.
UPDATE 1:
Seller has responded and taken care of the memory card issue by refunding a reasonable amount.
UPDATE 2:
The strap on the bundled bag broke after about 2 weeks. The stitching came loose on the non-adjustable side. I'll need to re-stitch it and probably fuse it with a lighter.
Also, the travel charger won't charge from a car outlet. I just took it apart and found that one of the pins for the car adapter isn't even soldered to the circuit board. Both pin and board are tinned but there's no solder blob like every other "through PCB" pin. It's an easy fix for me to solder it myself but I think I'm in the minority in that regard.
Last, the kit lens is, um, junk. Tons of chromatic aberration and the focus and zoom rings are starting to get a little loose and rattle. Not the seller's fault, more Canon aiming this product at people just taking photos of their kids at holidays.
All in all, the bundle is not worth it. The seller has implied to me (not outright said so) that bundle is valued at roughly $130... Ugh, that's a horrible mark-up. I found the bundled tripod on Amazon: it's about $10, the battery/charger is about that much. A name-brand memory card twice this size is $20... I can't figure out where the cost is coming from.
My personal recommendation (bolstered by feedback from some pro-am photographers and photography professor) is the following: BUILD YOUR OWN KIT!
1: Get the cheapest new bare camera body you can. ($530 on Amazon with Prime, or heck go used!)
2: Get the 50mm f/1.8 prime lens. No zoom but HUGE aperture; takes great photos indoors without flash, lots of bokeh.
3: Find the right tripod for your needs. I chose this one:
4: Get a big name-brand memory card. Such as this:
5: Two extra batteries plus charger:
6: Buy a used 18-55mm kit lens () or go crazy and get an 18-200+mm superzoom ()
Yes, overall, making your own bundle is slightly more up front but you get it back when you don't have to replace all of the junk that breaks within weeks of purchasing it.
This is what I would do if I could do it over again. Sadly, as a photography novice, I didn't know any of this before buying. Don't make the same mistake that I did.
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