Editor's Choice 2008: Entry-Level D-SLRs

The 'baby' of the Canon EOS family inherits great genes from its larger, costlier siblings, coming into the world with a low-noise CMOS sensor, large viewfinder and LCD screen, fast shooting speed, and dual-AF Live View. These traits give the Rebel XSi an unusual maturity for its class.

Entry-Level D-SLR of the Year: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi

Though this compact D-SLR looks like the 10.1-megapixel Digital Rebel XTi, its pint-sized predecessor, it shares technology with the more advanced EOS 40D and flagship Mark III series. For example, its 12.2-megapixel CMOS sensor incorporates bigger microlenses on top of its pixels to improve light gathering. Likewise, DIGIC III image processing helps the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi deliver the cleanest output of its peers (up to ISO 1600), accelerate data writing (up to 53 Large/Fine JPEGs or 6 RAW frames at a class-leading 3.5fps), and conserve energy (along with a new battery, which delivers 50 percent more shots than the XTi).

Another inherited trait is the XSi's 14-bit analog-to-digital conversion, which smooths gradation, especially in RAW images. Highlight Tone Priority improves detail in bright areas; High ISO Noise Reduction and Long Exposure Noise Reduction clean things up on the low end of the scale. Plus Auto Lighting Optimizer combines global and local adjustments to enhance brightness and contrast, something many pricier Canon models don't do. Likewise, Face-Detection technology automatically brightens backlit faces.

The first Digital Rebel to use SD memory cards, the XSi has the biggest viewfinder in its class, with 0.87X magnification, and covers an impressive 95 percent of the subject. The three-inch, 230,000-pixel LCD is the class leader, and the first in a Digital Rebel that can be used for Live View shooting -- which lets you compose onscreen, judge exposure with a real-time histogram, and magnify live subject details up to 10X. The LCD doubles as a huge data screen that even focus-challenged photographers can read. The menu system is equally legible and more logical than many competitors'. The improved ergonomics of its polycarbonate and stainless-steel body make the camera a pleasure to handle.

At a Glance: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi

Other Top Entry-Level D-SLRs

Best Buy: Sony Alpha 350

The LCD screen on the Sony Alpha 350 may not be as big or sharp as the one on the heftier Alpha 700, but it's actually more versatile. It doubles as a live electronic viewfinder that sees exactly what the optical viewfinder sees. It does this not with true Live View technology (which relays the image from the 'taking' sensor) but with a separate, dedicated sensor near the eyepiece. That's a significant advantage, allowing fast, phase-detection AF (focus tracking included) when you're composing on the LCD, without the cumbersome 'mirror-flipping' that slows other Live View models down.

Equally advantageous, the A350's screen incorporates a bi-fold mechanism that lets you swing it up 90 degrees, for waist-level shooting, or down 45 degrees, for overhead shooting -- highly useful techniques not possible with a fixed screen. Medium sized and comfortably shaped, the A350 incorporates Sony's customary abundance of advanced features. These include in-body Super SteadyShot, which compensates for camera shake (and image blur) with any Sony lens; D-Range Optimizer, which noticeably extends the tonal range; nine-point Eye-Start AF; automatic sensor cleaning; a noise-reducing Bionz processor; a 730-shot battery; an 'intelligent' battery meter; and a super legible, self-orienting data display. But the feature that most distinguishes the new Alpha from its competitors is its 14.2-megapixel CCD image sensor. The A350 provides the highest resolution of any Sony digital SLR and produces more image detail than cameras costing hundreds or even thousands of dollars more. Yet at maximum file size, the A350 can still record an unlimited number of continuous JPEGs or up to six RAW frames, at up to 2.5fps.

At a Glance: Sony Alpha 350