Canon EOS 20D or the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT

I am deciding on a new camera to purchase but not sure of which model.

Both are high end cameras. Both are 8MegaPixel, both a great choices. I know the 20D is a higher end than the Rebel XT, but I can't seems to justify the cost different between the two, when the differences are so small.

Basically I need a camera for the following uses:

Family pictures (Group)
Baby Pictures
Home pictures (Realestate)
Cars (Exotic cars and Race Track Events)
Sporting events (La Lakers games)
Dinner Parties (Both indoor and outdoor).

What is your experience with these camera's? ..
What do you all recommend?? (between these two)

I will use the camera mostly in "point-and-shoot" mode.
( I am not much of a manual focus fan)

Thanks Everyone!!
UZY

E-mail: VIPERMANN1@YAHOO.COM

My GF has the DR XT and loves it. She said "If he's looking for more point n shoot - should def go with the DR and save the money for lenses or whatever down the road"

The new DR XT is a really nice camera with tons of features that will meet your needs.

The 20D (which I have) can shoot continuously faster (may not matter to you unless you're trying to catch fast action at a sporting even and want to blast off a bunch of shots hoping to get one good one - what most pros actually do!), and has a more 'substantial' body. Most consumers don't want a 'big' camera though and the 20D is actually smaller than the older 10D but still not as big as the 1D line for example. The new DR XT is significantly smaller from what I understand.

If I didn't have the 20D yet I might have bought the DR XT instead and saved some money for a better or additional lens. With SLRs the two factors that seem to matter most are the person behind it and the lens! If either of those two are not great the camera itself can't make up for it.

Vipermann1, here's a review from a pretty well respected source which does a bit of comparison on the 2 cameras (350d & 20d). http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/digital/eos_digital_rebel_xt_review.html

and another
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos350d/page23.asp

For my part, I have the 350d (=digital rebel xt) and while I would really like to take fantastic pictures .... oh wait, I can. The camera does it for me. Some day I'd like to step up to a higher end canon body but for now - I couldn't justify the premium for the 20d or better. The differences I found, after a lot of research, were so small that I wouldn't be able to take advantage of them. Besides, it's not exactly as if the 350d fell measurably short. My plan took me to the 350d and left my camera budget room for lenses & filters. YMMV but hope this helps.

cheers,
krista

In next month's Popular Photography magazine they do lab tests on the XT, and it has alot of noise problems at higher ISO's, and actually fails one of their tests.. just fyi

In next month's Popular Photography magazine they do lab tests on the XT, and it has alot of noise problems at higher ISO's, and actually fails one of their tests.. just fyi

Wow, that would be very surprising as the 20D has been highly praised for its low noise at 1600 and even 3200 ISO. I wonder why dpreview.com (Phil Askey) which does REALLY in depth reviews, didn't find this.

Because they are lying ;):D

I decided when i bought my 300D that there would be absolutely no reason to ever need another camera due to upgrade. I decided that it was far better than my skills, and chose to buy more fixed lens instead.

I usually take the Pop Photo tests with a grain of salt. Some years ago they tested the Canon 400mm f/5.6L lens and they trounced on it. Guess what...that lens is actually VERY nice in field usage. It's ALMOST comparable to a dedicated telescope optics, but no commercially made optic (zeiss, canon, nikon, etc) will compare to a high end t-scope optic.

I'm teaching a student right now that just bought the new xt. Great little camera and the money he saved was enough to get him the 70-200 f/4 L lens. I don't find the noise levels objectionable by any means and I'm shooting with the "1" series DSLRs. If anything, the signal to noise is actually better than the original EOS 1Ds that I shot with for a little bit.

Consider the 20D if you need the speed or a semi pro. I have one as a backup body. The xt would almost never survive my usage, that of 1500+ frames per assignment. But for the beginner or someone that wants a nice camera to start off with (or even a well heeled amatuer) the xt will do nicely.

Percy