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Camera Reviews > Canon Digital Rebel XT 8MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm
f3.5-5.6 Lens (Black) Review
Review
of Canon Digital Rebel XT 8MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 Lens
(Black)
I spent three hours yesterday playing with the brand-new Canon
Digital Rebel XT digital SLR camera, and man, was I impressed.
I hadn't
been too impressed with the original Digital Rebel, except for its revolutionarily
low price (for a d-SLR), because it was slow and felt slimsy. The new DR XT is
quite different. Even though it's 3 ounces lighter than the original DR -- mostly
due to the use of a smaller battery; see below -- its smaller form factor actually
makes it feel more solid and "real". In other word, unlike the original DR, this
one feels professional, not toy-like at all.
By now you probably already
know Canon makes some of the best digital cameras in the world. Even though I'm
a Nikon shooter when it comes to d-SLR (sorry, loyal Canon shooters!), I own a
couple Canon compact digital cameras and love them, too. The DR XT's image quality
is once again excellent. I took a few indoor shots with the camera, both with
and without flash, and then the store clerk let me download them to their PC.
The JPEG pictures (I didn't try RAW) looked excellent on the Sony LCD screen,
on par with the more expensive EOS 20D d-SLR. Color tones were accurate and the
resolution was really good. The improvement picture quality over the original
DR ("DR Classic"? BTW it's now $200 cheaper) comes from both the 2 extra megapixels
and the better color accuracy. BTW, the DR XT reportedly uses a tecchnically different
CMOS sensor than the original DR, although I haven't been able to find out exactly
how this one is better in technical terms than the old one (other than the two
extra megapixels). No matter, my limited true-world testing showed the image quality
is indeed better than the already-excellent image quality of the original DR.
And, as in the past, Canon does a wonderful job at keeping noise low -- I considered
noise acceptable up until ISO 800.
The kit, which I recommend, comes with
the same flimsy 3x EF-S lens (which won't work on regular film SLRs) as the original
DR. You should most definitely get a better lens, although the kit lens works
well as a "street zoom." I didn't get a chance to test the lens outdoors as the
store wouldn't let me take it outside, but I have no doubt that this new model
can only be better than the original DR, which was already very good even before
you considered its low price.
The DR XT is fast: at last, you can turn
it on and start shooting without waiting several seconds like you had to with
the original DR. The only downside compared to the original DR is the smaller,
lighter battery in the DR XT also means shorter battery life. I highly recommend
you get an extra battery or two. You won't be able to go through a full day of
shooting on just one battery, even if you don't use flash much. (But all pros
and pro-wannabes use fill-in flash, don't we?) I also recommend a good camera
bag; I personally like Tamrac for that. In addition to the spare battery (batteries),
bag and a better lens or two, also consider getting a tripod (Sunpak ones are
cheap but ok quality), an external flash as well as filters -- esp. a high-qual
circular polarizing filter.
In summary, the Canon Digital Rebel XT is
another stunning winner from Canon. It features faster speeds (start-up and shot-to-shot),
excellent image quality, and terrific look-and-feel. Despite my personal preference
for Nikon pro-level gear, I can recommend this Canon d-SLR to my friends without
reservation.
Buy the Canon Digital Rebel XT 8MP Digital SLR Camera with
EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 Lens (Black)
