Originally posted by Stratman RiceHigh has a personal vendetta against Pentax for some reason, and seizes every opportunity to bash them. Do not base your purchase on anything he says about Pentax.. Handle several cameras in your price range, and go from there.
With all due respect, that is quite an inflamitory statement to make and I might add, quite incorrect. The site is full of factual information, both positive and negative. But bottom-line it is always unbiased and factual. I challenge you to point out any grossly inaccurate postings.
Quite simply, the Ricehigh blog is the greatest advocate Pentax has if they wish to listen and make their products first rate!
Does it turn away potential Pentax owners, yes I am sure it does! But at least the blog tells the truth about both the great attributes and the flaws in all Pentax products.
What is it with the 'average' Pentax owner's "I don't want to hear any negative, let's just talk about how nice my camera is" attitudes!
Do Canon owners talk like this too? Or is this just a defence mechanism brought on due to purchasing a camera from the company with the least DSLR market share?
The reason why I am a Pentax owner is because I own several of the best 35 mm cameras ever built, namely, the Pentax MZ-S! This is both my opinion and the opinion of many of the world's experts! It was the last SLR made by Pentax that they can be truly proud of! I had invested 1000's of dollars in PK type lenses which made it very expensive to switch to Canon. That is why I now own a K20D.
Anyhow, I really don't care what camera someone owns. The important question is, what can one do with the equipment they own.
So to the original poster, unless you have special requirements... it really doesn't matter whether you buy the 200D or Canon Rebel Xsi. They are both beginner DSLRs and they are both fairly well liked. There are pros/cons for both... but I personally believe more pixels is almost always better. That makes the Canon the better choice on that criteria alone (FYI 12mp is about 2mp short of approaching 35mm ISO 100 film resolution by most measurements).
Some words of advice... consider your upgrade path. Assuming you will purchase additional lenses, you outgrow your first DSLR, and because lenses are proprietary, you are somewhat 'locking' yourself into a brand (unless money is no object
).
Finally, (speaking of lenses) when you do purchase additional lenses, buy for life! Don't cheap out! Buy the best you can afford, even if it means one lens instead of two.