This was a great package deal for the price. Shipping was quick and everything arrived in perfect condition... I would do it again in a heart beat :)
PACKAGE CONTENTS:
Despite Amazon saying "By Canon" not all lenses and filters are made by Canon, only the 18-55mm and the 75-300mm are Canon. The 70-300mm lens does not have image stabilization. Only one of the batteries is Canon. Other items are not Canon either.
ACCESSORY PERFORMANCE:
-Tripod is good for still pictures but not for video panning, too "bumpy." Also, when using full zoom in video for occasionally moving on-stage performances, unless constantly held while panning, tripod will "partially-self-rotate" to the previous "relaxed" position. This means the subject may be partially "rotated" out of the view of the camera. I have tried many high end tripods and low end tripods throughout the years, and the best tripod for smooth video panning is the Sunpak Ultra 7500TM sold at BestBuy.
-Other accessories work fine, screen protector is generic and needs to be custom cut, but there is plenty of material for multiple attempts.
PHOTO QUALITY:
-Camera takes nice photos, but while holding camera by hand, there are some hits and misses of blurred images when subjects move. I have tried different settings including the sports setting. I assume this is due to my not getting used to the camera settings yet? When images don't blur, pictures are awesome. The telephoto lens makes you lose some quality in graininess, but for me it's fine and unnoticeable in the photo (only slightly noticeable while looking through the view finder) since I don't do any fancy blow-ups with my photos.
-Another of my cameras, point-and-shoot Canon SX260, takes better pictures than the T3I. I set both cameras on the same tripod and take photos of the same objects in daylight, then with multiple other objects at different locations. Different zoom ranges used for each camera. SX260 takes better photos when viewed at same size using Windows Live Photo Gallery. Possibly me not knowing settings on T3I again? Please note SX260 is one of the best point-and-shoot cameras out there.
PHOTOGRAPHER'S VIEWPOINT WHILE TAKING PHOTOS:
-With many of my point-and-shoot cameras including the Canon SX130IS, when I manually change the exposure (such as trying to lighten a person's face to show in a really bright background) the screen shows the face darker or lighter, and the photos come out lighter or darker accordingly. If I can see the person's face on the screen, I can see the person's face in the photo. With the T3i, the screen doesn't reflect this. I may be able to see the person's face on the screen, but the photo actually comes out too dark or too light depending on how I manually "guessed" at the exposure. It amazes me how a DSLR is inferior to multiple cheapy point-and-shoot cameras. Sure, I can take multiple photos to see which is best (but only in a perfect world will all things stand still for me).
VIDEO QUALITY:
My only camera ever with absolutely worthless videos. All my point-and-shoots work fine in video. When subjects move closer or farther from the camera, everything is out of focus except for when the subject coincidentally is in that specific focal point. I have played around with the settings. The best I can do is use the shutter button to reset to a new focal point when the subject moves. Even then, the camera takes a while to lock in to the new focal point, by which time the subject has then moved once more. Perhaps videos might work properly if all subjects stay at infinity focal point eventhough they move? The manual confirms camera is not capable of keeping subject in focus if subject moves.I am not an professional photographer :-) and needed a good one for capturing the memorable moments of my life. This fulfills my requirements. Its easy to use and photos captured have a good quality.
