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Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT
The original Digital Rebel sparked the revolution in bargain DSLRs. The XT, its successor, brought an 8MP sensor (from big brother EOS 20D) to the battle. But does this one have all the stuff to be the standard-bearer of this class?
Ease of Use: Canon shaved nearly half a pound off the original's weight to make the Rebel XT, and it remains the lightest DSLR available—quite a feat in this quintet of lightweights. The XT is a balanced, easy-to-hold camera, with a very well-placed shutter button. Menus are easy to navigate, and the viewfinder displays info clearly. And you can now use the jog buttons for quick setting of ISO, meter pattern, white balance, and AF mode. But we'd still like a second command dial to speed up manual-exposure settings. The jog buttons (which can also be used to select AF points) are a tricky reach with the camera at eye level. And, what's with the dinky 1.8-inch LCD screen? Rank: 2
Control: As we noted in our May 2005 review, the XT is “no mere upgrade,” thanks to a substantial infusion of genetic material from the EOS 20D: full compatibility with Canon's E-TTL II flash automation, nine custom functions for things like mirror lockup and flashmeter averaging, RAW + JPEG capture, flash-exposure compensation, and white-balance fine-tuning. The burst mode has been improved to 14 highest-quality JPEGs at 3 fps (and we got substantially more using a fast-writing CF card). The included Digital Photo Professional 2.0 is an adept RAW converter. Rank: 2
System Flexibility: This is a Canon—'nuff said. If you can think of a lens or photo accessory, Canon probably makes it: a whole slew of image-stabilized lenses, tilt-shift lenses, a very advanced wireless TTL flash system, etc. And the improved body strength of the XT (including a stainless-steel chassis) allows the use of big, heavy superteles. Rank: 1 (tie)
Quibbles: It has a partial-area meter instead of a spotmeter. White balance cannot be set in Kelvin degrees (and the custom setting takes too many steps).
Surprises: A BG-E3 battery grip ($145, street) adds both a vertical shutter release and a pro-level power supply.
Best For: Any kind of shooting that doesn't require a heavy-duty camera body, particularly focusing and framing for low light and fast action. Also a great bargain backup for users of high-end Canons.
Bottom Line: It qualifies as the best in class, albeit at a price nearly $200 more than its closest competitor—a fair chunk of change in this category.
Test Results: Resolution: Excellent (1800Vx1700Hx 1675D lines). Color accuracy: Excellent (Avg. Delta E: 7.68). Noise: Very Low at ISO 100, Low at ISO 200, Moderately Low at ISO 400, Moderate at ISO 800, Unacceptable at ISO 1600. Image quality: Excellent at ISO 100–200; Extremely High at ISO 400–800. AF Speed: EV 12–7: 0.52–0.61 sec; EV 6–3: 0.64–0.71 sec; EV 2–1: 0.81–1.10 sec; EV 0.5: 1.3 sec. Price: $790 body only; $880 with 18–55mm f/3.5–5.6 EF-S lens. CIPA battery rating: 400 shots. Size/weight: 5x3.7x2.6 in., 1.2 lb with card and battery. Card: CompactFlash Type I and II. Info: www.canoneos.com; 800-652-2666.
Image Quality: Most pleasing skin tones of the bunch, with slightly lower contrast in bright areas of face. Best sharpness, too, with most detail in shadows, midtones, and highlights, plus low noise levels. Images showed slightly lower color saturation and a very slight warm cast, easily correctable with software or white balance adjustment. Good for making prints up to 11.5x17 inches at 200 ppi. Rank: 1
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