Big time quality, small price tag—great for everyone

Pro features in an amateur package
The bottom line on this camera is that it has a ton of pro-level features embedded within a relatively simple to use camera. This is the first MSRP sub-$1000 digital SLR (DSLR from now on) camera. It packs a lot of punch for such low price.

Currently, you can pick up a body only for $899, or with a Canon 18-55mm (f/3.5-5.6) lens for $999. I opted for the lens kit. More on the lens is below.

Most important specs
Let's do the features that matter most (or at least matter to me):

- 6.3 MegaPixel CMOS sensor
- 2.5 frames per second (fps) continuous shooting (up to 4 shot at a time)
- RAW (uncompressed) format and JPEG format options
- Use almost any EOS-compatible lens (EF mount)
- Use many Canon-compatible flash units
- ISO range from 100 to 1600, in whole stops
- Shutter speeds from 1/4000 to 30 seconds plus Bulb
- Full manual control of f-stop, shutter speed, white balance, etc.
- Custom white balance profiles
- Custome pre-processing profiles (contrast, sharpness, etc)
- Capture in Adobe RGB color space (as well as sRGB)
- Auto bracketing of white balance and exposure (both are possible at once)
- Exposure compensation, in 1/3 stop increments

Benefits of the above features
That's an impressive list of pro-level features, but let me explain why they are important and how they might benefit you.

Obvious, the monster 6.3MP sensor gives really big image files for you to work with. The full size image file is 3072x2048, which is plenty of real estate for making prints at home or bringing them to the local digi-lab. Contrary to common misconception, however, a higher MP rating does not equate to a sharper, better image. The real deciding factor on image quality is the lens that takes the picture. This is why having interchangeable lenses is so critical. You have the choice of purchasing some of the best lenses made (assuming you could afford them), but even if you don't, the mid-grade lenses for this camera will handily defeat any point-n-shoot digital out there. However, I should point out that starting off with a huge file with a dense pixel count does allow for a lot of cropping and resampling while maintaining a sharp image.

Another key factor in quality images is proper exposure. The metering system on the Digital Rebel (DRebel from now on) is very accurate and can be adjusted with exposure compensation. Also, the ability to use advanced external flash units adds a level of control to your exposures. The built in flash performs admirably, but is underpowered in a lot of indoor situations. Most built-ins are a bit underpowered, so this should not be seen as a negative.

The ISO speed flexibility of the DRebel also plays into the exposure equation. Switching the ISO speed is analagous to changing film speeds in a 35mm or other film camera. Being able to switch the speed on the fly is enormously beneficial, and a feature that was once available only to medium format photographers with multiple film backs. If the lighting is poor, you can crank up the ISO speed to make the CMOS sensor more sensitive to light and thus be able to get the picture you want. There is a small trade-off in image quality the higher the ISO speed goes, but a slightly grainy image is better than no image at all. Many point-n-shoot digitals have this feature as well, but I haven't seen many (actually any) that could go as high as ISO 1600.

Having the ability to shoot 2.5 fps has obvious advantages. You can capture great action photos this way. You really can't have too high of a fps rating. Nuff said.

Color correction is an art unto itself, and most digital cameras have automatic settings for this. For the most part, it's hit or miss (mostly miss). The DRebel allows for extensive color correction in the camera before you get to the computer to edit. The two main features in this area are white balance bracketing and the ability to set a custom white balance value. White balance bracketing allows three images to be recorded simultaneously and processed with three different white balance settings: one normal, one shifted X, and one shifted -X, where X is the value you selected (in 1/3 stop increments). This gives you three images with different color settings by taking just one photo. (As a side note, the exposure bracketing works the same way). Custom white balance is very handy especially if you are shooting without flashes or color-balanced lighting equipment. You can take a photo of a white object (most likely a piece of paper) and use that white value as the camera standard. This allows the camera to correct for the color tint imparted by incandescent, flourescent, and sodium halide lighting.

In addition to the white balance features, you can also preset adjustment to sharpness, contrast, saturation, and color tone. There are 2 factory presets and 3 user-customizable setting for this. Additionally, there is a preset that makes use of Adobe RGB color space. This is what you want to use if you are using pro software like Adobe Photoshop to adjust for printing. Explaining this is a bit beyond the scope of this review, but trust me, it's a feature that seperates the pro gear from the toys.

The RAW file format is the hallmark of a pro camera. With RAW files, you get uncompressed, ultra-high quality images. However, RAW files need to be converted into TIFF or JPEG to be edited. (UPDATE: Photoshop CS can edit RAW files natively without any conversion.) Canon ships some great software for this with the camera. I should also note that there is a great amount of processing that can be done to a RAW file just before it is converted. This can save time, as the RAW file is smaller than the converted TIFF file, and smaller files put less strain on your computer.

One last cool feature of the DRebel is that is has a Depth-of-Field preview button common to many SLRs, but somewhat lost of digital cameras.

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens
If you do some simple math, you see that this lens costs just $100. I was suspicious of such a cheap lens, but I figured Canon was eating some of the cost and tyring to entice people into getting the kit rather than the body alone. It worked on me.

You may be thinking to yourself that 18mm is awfully wide and 55mm is not so telephoto. You would be right if it were being used on a 35mm film camera. However, the DRebel has a 22.7mm CMOS sensor, which means that the effective focal length of lenses used on it are roughly 1.6x what they would be on a 35mm film camera. As an example, the 18-55 lens has an effective focal length of 28-90mm when on the DRebel. This is great news if you use lots of long telephoto lenses. On the DRebel, for example, a 70mm-210mm lens designed for a 35mm camera would be the equivalent of a 112mm-336mm. However, this also means that wide angle lenses are not so wide angle. To get a wider field of view than the traditional 28mm equivalent on the DRebel, you have to go wider than 18mm. As of right now, lenses in that focal length range are very expensive.

Overall, I think the Canon 18-55 lens is decent. It's sharp enough to get the job done and just fast enough not to be annoying. Focusing speed is very respectable. For $100 it's an awesome lens. I recommend getting the kit since a comparable lens would be very costly. If you already have a few EOS lenses, you may want to forego the kit, but only if you have an 18mm in your bag. Missing out on basic wide angle shots is just not acceptable.

Intuitive interface
When I first pulled the DRebel out of the box, the back of the camera really intimidated me. There are numerous buttons to contend with, and it looked really complex. This is not the case. I got comfortable with the buttons and the whole UI very quickly. The on-screen menu system is intuitive and easy to navigate. Also, the manual is well written and the English is quite acceptable. This really helps to get to know the camera.

Amazing battery life
This thing just won't quit. On Christmas Day, I shot over 100 images at the highest JPEG setting and all with flash, and the battery kept on going. I've heard reports of this battery going as many as 300 images with flash and nearly 600 without flash, and I believe it.

Some things I didn't like
There isn't too much in this category, but here it is:

- Certain features, including auto bracketing and burst mode shooting, are not available while shooting in RAW mode.

- You can't manually select the metering mode.

- You can't set the ISO speed in any of the "Programmed Image" modes.

- There is no setting for ISO 50

These are mostly minor gripes—especially considering that Canon has billed the camera as an amateur model rather than pro. I would like to shoot 2.5fps in RAW mode, but the need for that is very rare. All in all, I can't really complain.

One last thing to consider
The one thing that is most overlooked is the fact that the LCD is not used for composing pictures. You actually use the viewfinder for image composition. This is a good thing. The reason for this is because the DRebel uses a mirror (like a 35mm) to reflect the image up into the viewfinder. The mirror blocks the CMOS censor from seeing what the lens sees. When you press the shutter, the mirror folds up and the shutter opens to expose the CMOS (just the way 35mm works). This also provides a nice audible experience, as it eliminates the need for a fake shutter sound that many digitals emit when the shutter is pressed.

Overall
This camera rocks. As you can tell, I enjoy it quite a bit. It is well worth the $999 price (and then some). Go get one. I switched from Nikon for this camera, and that says something.