Top 25 Best Buys

Top 25 Best Buys

Straight Eight: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT

Who? Major-league performance fans on a minor-league budget. What? Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT. Why? As Pop Photo Lab tests proved, the Rebel XT, with 8MP (rather than the 10MP of the $165-more Rebel XTi), provides Excellent image quality -- as in Excellent resolution and color accuracy, plus noise no higher than Moderately Low up to ISO 400. Its very light body has a stainless-steel chassis, and it gobbles up about 65 highest-quality JPEGs at 3 fps -- faster than a number of newer and pricier DSLRs. It captures in RAW. Okay, the 1.8-inch LCD is dinky by today's standards, and it lacks the XTi's self-cleaning sensor, but not much else is missing. Now!$498, street, body only; $575 with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 EF-S kit zoom.