Canon's New Rebel XSi and New Lenses

Canon has made the following pre-PMA announcements for their digital SLR line:

• Canon Digital Rebel XSi, a 12.2 megapixel DSLR.
• Pricing and specifications for the Canon EF 200 f/2L IS lens (Retail $6000)
• Pricing info for the Canon EF 800mm f/5.6L IS lens (Retail $12,000) Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS

The two L lenses are geared towards pros and priced to match; while I find myself drooling over the EF 200 f/2L IS for its large aperture, I'm sure that sports and wildlife photographers must be ecstatic about the 800mm IS, which is a mere fraction of the cost of the now discontinued Canon EF 1200mm f/5.6L lens which was $89,000 and custom made to order. With the 800mm now available at such a price, is it any wonder why one of the few Canon EF 1200mm f/5.6L lenses became available on BH photo for $99,000 shortly after the announcement of 800mm last October? The inclusion of IS on the 800mm seems like a marketing gimmick to me -- I find the idea of attempting to handhold a heavy 800mm telephoto to be rather unrealistic, though I suppose at 800mm, the clap of the shutter could introduce vibration into the camera, even if mounted on a tripod.

The final lens mentioned, the EF-S 55-250 IS fills a product niche that's been sorely missing in the EF-S line of lenses -- from the begining, EF-S lenses concentrated on the wide-angle and normal zoom ranges, but when faced with telephoto ranges, were forced to purchase EF lenses. Because the sensors on EF-S mounted cameras are smaller, EF-S cameras don't really need as much glass as EF lenses provide; so this new telephoto zoom for EF-S does two things: it continues the range left by the 18-55 kit lens, and it gives EF-S a cheaper telephoto lens option. I can see lots of amateur photographers buying this lens and the EF-S 10-22 wide angle and basically completing their kit.