Q: Would a professional photographer use a rebel xti?
The answer is, frustratingly, “It Depends”.
The Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi / 450D is fully capable of handling professional assignments such as portraiture, studio photography or even certain extreme sports or outdoor photography where a small and lightweight digital SLR makes more sense than a bulky, “professional”-looking camera such as the Canon 1Ds Mark III.
Certain assignments and clients, however, do require that you invest in a more upmarket camera such as the Canon 50D, 5D Mark II or Canon 1Ds Mark III. These requirements range from the need for higher resolution, or something as mundane as the need for you to project the right “image” to your client or prospective customer.
Many professionals even add a Canon battery grip (be sure to choose the correct model for your camera) for the sole purpose of making their camera look larger and thus, more “professional”.
If you need a high burst speed and fast autofocus tracking, then the 1D Mark III is your camera.
Q: is Canon planning to upgrade the 40d to 12 mp?
This a question showed up in the visitor log for DPNotes.com, and the answer is no.
The resolution on Canon 40D will forever be at 10 MP (megapixels), because there’s already the 15MP Canon 50D that was launched in 2008.