If I had to do it over again I would buy the camera and the longer lens separate and not buy the package. Cost wise I spent an extra $100 for the tripod, case and other accessories were cheap junk for the most part. I received a Zeikos tripod and Zeikos case with my package. The tripod is flimsy and cheap and the case was OK, not great. The Canon case is much better quality. The 16G SD card was OK for starters (get an extra one just in case) and the extra battery was OK. Stick with the true Canon batteries if you can. The cheap imitations go dead quick and don't have the lifetime of the Canon battery in terms of longevity. There was a card reader that didn't work and some dodgey SD card case that I chucked in the rubbish. Not very happy with the kit, seemed like a waste of money to me.The camera is everything I expected and the 55-250mm lens definitely works well. Went out shooting pics yesterday to get a feel for the camera and lenses and got good results. It's a big step up from my old Fuji S7000 so the learning curve is pretty big. Still it shoots far better pics than I expected and with digital fotos it's easy to delete the ones you screw up.
I have a guarantee from Canon, and all the manuals. I am into the photography 2 years ago and Im convinced that the photographer must be great in the composition of a picture but this camera is really helpful and I strongly recommend it.
Otherwise the video quality is excelent, but the audio is not that good.. nothing you can't fix with a good external mic.A lot of research went into this purchase. I used two T3i's that belonged to friends and made sure they would work in low-light conditions. I also reviewed consumer reports, and this was the overall highest rated DSLR under $1,000. I also used my sister-in-laws 40D. It is much more rugged, but the photo's aren't really any better.
About 1000 photos in, I haven't found anything not to love about this camera. It has functioned flawlessly. It has quick point-and-shoot modes or allows you to go as low-level as you wish. I shoot telephoto in some unusual lighting situations, and I have found that the custom white balance settings work perfectly. I've been able to take great action photos of night high-school football games using the expanded ISO option.
The T3i contains no weatherproofing, so keep that in mind. Increased toughness would be the advantage to going to the pricier professional-level cameras. The 1/4000 second shutter speed was fine to stop a hummingbird's wings in action so I can't imagine the typical user needing a faster speed. The ISO expansion allows you to go all the way to 12500, which is about as far as is practical currently. It allows decent photos under very weak light conditions.
The built in flash isn't that great, but you wouldn't expect it to be. It's mainly for have-to situations and anyone taking regular flash photos would want a better flash for the hotshoe. The viewscreen can be tilted to almost any angle, which allows some great shots over obstacles or from waist level. It's great for photos of the kids when they're playing. Can easily shoot from waist level and avoid the impish look you can get from photographing down on kids.
The only quirk I have found is that the wireless remote (optional) only works from in front of the camera. It's designed to use when you're helping a person pose or you're in the photo yourself. Being able to activate it from the rear would be nice for wildlife shots.
I didn't buy it for videos, but I was amazed at the quality of them. Sound is mono unless you buy additional microphones, but that's not why I bought the camera anyway.
Yes, I would like to have the 60D, but you just aren't going to beat the T3i for under $1,000. With a little shopping, you can get the additional 55-250 lens which is wonderful. The image stabilization works perfectly. Until I can afford the 60D, I'm very satisfied.Excellent package, good camera, specially the steadyness (I am getting old and my pulse is not so good!), with two great lenses that allows you to work as you like. Good price for a goof cameraI received a lot of coin for Christmas and decided it was time I upgraded from a decent point and shoot to a DSLR. My niece has the original T1i and I've seen the pictures she takes over the years with it and have always been impressed with their quality and clarity. After doing a lot of research I decided on the T3i over the newer T4i. It was 200+ dollars cheaper and from what I read it wasn't going to shoot better pics. The video is better, but I don't plan on using it for that anyway. I added a Canon 50mm f/1.8 II cheapo lens to complete the package, so I have 2 good IS zoom lenses and a great portrait lens that can handle very low light and has great depth of field for portraits.
You have to understand that the last SLR I had was my trusty old Olympus OM-1, which was totally manual. A great camera but this thing just smokes it in every way. It's fast and I cannot believe the quality of the pictures for such a cheap body and lens set. While it would be great to own a better body and some L lenses I just cannot justify spending all that money on something I do as a very intermittent hobby. I just wanted to be able to take high quality pics when the opportunity presented itself.
Overall this kit is a great starter for someone like me. Sure the card is only 16GB and it's not a fast one, the extra battery seems to have less capacity as the original Canon, the tripod is slightly flimsy, the bag is a bit on the cheap side (though plenty roomy for a camera, 3 lenses, cleaning kit, and charger and extra battery), and the other items are not going to be used (card reader have one on my laptop, screen protectors cut to size? Nah that won't look good and is probably unnecessary), I still give it 5 stars since it's got everything you'll need from the get go for around the same price as buying just the body and the 2 IS lenses. Once I get more into it I'll look to replace the basically freebies with better stuff where I see the need.
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