Rebel Rouser

The Ti's seven-sensor CMOS autofocus system operates in precisely the same manner as the Rebel 2000's. But while the pattern on the viewfinder screen has a central cross sensor and six linear sensors in exactly the same pattern as in the Rebel 2000, the sensor rectangles showing correct focus now have central red dot LEDs to show when they've been activated.

Why not have lighted rectangles? I suspect that the CR2 lithium batteries may not supply sufficient lasting power and that cost was also a factor. Are the dots sufficiently visible? Only a field test of a full-production camera under various light conditions will give us the answer.

The Rebel Ti viewfinder, unlike that of the Rebel 2000, has a diopter-correction slide switch control beneath the removable rubberized eyepiece. The finder uses a mirror prism like the Rebel 2000.

AF speed and predictive focus have been improved, according to Canon. The Rebel Ti's AF speed is now equal to that in the EOS Elan 7 and predictive focus "is on a par" with that in the Canon EOS-1N. Single focus is usually set, but continuous focus is available in the PIC action mode.

The 35-zone evaluative exposure metering is the same as in the Rebel 2000, but Canon says a new algorithm has made metering more precise and stable. Evaluative metering is standard except in the manual mode, when centerweighted averaging is set, and in the creative zone modes when partial metering operates if the AE lock is used.

Compared to the Rebel 2000, the Rebel Ti's shutter time lag (between pressing the shutter release and the shutter operating) has been cut considerably as has viewfinder blackout time. Continuous maximum frame-per-second advance has increased from 1.5 to 2.5 fps. Like the Rebel 2000, the Rebel Ti prewinds film to the end of the roll when the camera is loaded, and then takes pictures as the film rewinds into the film cartridge. This, of course, prevents shots already taken from being accidentally ruined by someone prematurely opening the camera back.

A stainless steel lensmount replaces the Rebel 2000's polycarbonate one. As in the Rebel 2000, exposure modes include full auto, manual shiftable program, shutter- and aperture-priority autoexposure, metered manual exposure, plus portrait, scenic, night, closeup, and action picture modes, as well as Canon's automatic depth-of-field calculating mode. Flash-off is in a new setting, which primarily allows the novice using the full auto mode (green rectangle on the command dial) to shoot by existing light. Shutter speeds remain 30-1/2000 sec with X-sync at 1/90 sec.

Like the Rebel 2000,