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 The EOS Rebel XT’s increased energy efficiency is primarily due to Canon’s DiG!C II processor—the same one found in the EOS 20D. According to Canon, this advanced processor also speeds up the camera on several fronts, improves white balance, color accuracy, and dynamic range. Startup time is an incredibly short 0.2 sec, shutter release time lag has been cut from 120 to 100 millisec (ms), and viewfinder blackout time has been reduced from 225 to 170 ms.
In addition, the DiG!C II processor gives the XT enough brainpower to capture RAW + JPEG images simultaneously, or up to 14 hi-res, highest-quality JPEGs at 3 fps in burst mode compared with up to eight images at 2.5 fps on the Digital Rebel. While 3 fps isn’t as fast as the 5 fps on the EOS 20D, Canon’s numbers may be conservative. We inserted a new 1GB SanDisk Extreme III CF card into our preproduction XT, and it gobbled 65 images at 3 fps before slowing to about 2 fps. That’s incredible! Let’s hope final production versions achieve the same burst rates.
Performance plus
Canon claims that the autofocusing engine on the XT is essentially the same as the one on the original Digital Rebel, and consists of a wide-area, 7-point AF system with superimposed red AF lights and a central cross-type sensor. However, improved focusing algorithms and the faster DiG!C II processor should work together to boost the speed and sensitivity of the XT’s AF system. It’s a welcome improvement, but still not as fast as the EOS 20D.
As with the original Rebel and EOS 20D, the XT is compatible with all current Canon EF lenses, albeit with a 1.6X 35mm lens factor due to its APS-C sized (22.2x14.8mm) CMOS sensor. As a result, you’ll get the field of view with a 28mm lens that’s equivalent to a 45mm lens on a 35mm SLR. But those purchasing the Rebel XT lens kit will receive a quieter ultrasonic motor (USM) version of the 18–55mm f/3.5–5.6 EF-S lens. (The USM version is now available separately for $149 street.)
We noticed that the XT’s optical “precision matte” viewfinder is slightly brighter than the D-Rebel’s, with similar magnification, accuracy, and data display. Above the viewfinder, the dedicated flash hot-shoe now supports E-TTL II external flash units that take into account distance data supplied by Canon EF and EF-S lenses. Like the 20D, the XT has output-level adjustment for the built-in or external flash units, plus flash exposure bracketing with compatible Speedlites—including the advanced Canon Speedlite 580EX. To top it off, the XT also supports wireless flash functions.
As for controls, the Rebel XT is far ahead of the Digital Rebel. It features nine custom functions (the 20D has 18, the original Rebel, none) that include settings to activate the same long-exposure noise reduction feature found on the 20D, as well as mirror lockup and advanced flash functions. Another custom function averages E-TTL II flash metering from all 35 zones. There are 10 new menu items, such as a white balance correction that lets you fine-tune WB in blue-amber and/or magenta-green color ranges (see photo). The menus are easier to read and navigate than before. We also like the XT’s new “Quick Menu” function that gets you to the AF mode, metering mode, white balance settings, and ISO speed through the cross keys on the camera back.
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