The Canon (film) Rebel buyer's guide

If you're shopping for a film based Canon Rebel, you're probably someone who is currently using a pointand shoot film camera, a student about to take a photography class, or perhaps a more advanced photographer looking for a backup body at a low price. Since its' introduction in 1990, the EOS Rebel line has been a runaway best seller for Canon, offering a truly low cost camera with a rich feature set to those wanting a little more than their pocket camera. Assuming you're not a camera expert, you might be a bit bewildered by all of the names and letters associated with various Rebel models over the years, so I put together this short chronological guide to help you make sense of what's available. Let me apologize up front to non-US readers, I've used only the US model names in this guide, and left out any non-US models, but think of this as your opportunity if you live in Europe or Asia, you can write your own Rebel guide!
From October, 1990, when the first Rebel was introduced thrunow (2007), there have been a total of nine major versions of the Rebel offered for sale. It's important to rememeber that just because you're looking at a later model, it might not have all the features of every previous model. Generally, all Rebels offer autofocus lens operation, automatic exposure (often several variations), one or more focus points in the viewfinder, and a maximum shutter speed of 1/2000th of a second, plenty fast for most normal photography including sports. Beyond that, some models offer a built-in flash (very useful unless you plan to lug around a separate flash) that is virtually required for shooting indoors. To me, a small budget SLR needs to offer you the most ability for the least amount of money, so my advice (OPINION) is that Rebel models without a flash are probably not worth the investment since a model with a flash can probably be had for aVERY few dollars more.
Okay, so now the list of models (in chronological order). Again, keep in mind that at any given time Canon had at least a couple of models on the market (with/without flash for example), so a particular camera may not have been replaced by the next model, but the next model with the same flash capacity. And also keep in mind there are minor variations ofmany of these models, with features like a built in Date function (Usually designated by the letters QD or Quartz Date), so you might very well see some of these variations in your shopping.

ModelReleasedFlash
Rebel S October, 1990 No
Rebel SII March, 1992 Yes
Rebel XS September, 1993 Yes
Rebel X November, 1993 No
Rebel G September, 1996 Yes
Rebel 2000 April, 1999 Yes
Rebel Ti September, 2002 Yes
Rebel K2 September, 2003 Yes
Rebel T2 September, 2004 Yes

One last note - as I write this nearly three years since the Rebel T2 was introduced, it seems quite likely that the popularity of digital photography will prevent there from being any new film Rebels. Wisely, Canon also has several digital versions of the Rebel, but that's another guide :)

Best of luck in your searches, and don't forget to do your homework!