My first digital camera was a Kodak DC 40 with a whopping 381,000 pixels and I have been getting a new one every 2 years or so since then. Being no stranger to SLRs and amateur photography (my first SLR was the Olympus OM-1 back in the late 70's), from the earliest days of digital photography I maintained the notion that serious photography could only be done using film-based SLRs. Up until two years ago I was still not convinced that dSLR was anything but an expensive experiment for the select few. I was happy with my Fuji and Sony at the time and thought I would replace those with yet another P&S digital camera, one of higher pixels of course, when the time came.
While trying to take pictures of my child, it became painfully obvious that I needed to replace these P&S digital cameras. I found myself tempted to dust off my old trusty Nikon SLR for the sheer responsiveness and high photo quality. With the digital P&S cameras, I was missing out on all the important moments so I ended up taking pictures of my child taking her second step, walking away from her first solo slide ride, looking at the cake after she had blown the candle, etc.
I established the following criteria for the replacement:
- Must have at least 6 megapixel
- Must have very low shutter lag
- Must offer convenient access to aperture and shutter speed controls
- Compact
- Above average lens
I was researching into high-end digital P&S such as the Olympus 8080 when my brother literally altered my thinking overnight by lending me his Canon Digital Rebel EOS300D. I abandoned the idea of getting another P&S, high-end or otherwise, and decided to go the dSLR route right away.
Why Canon?
Once the decision to buy a dSLR was made, it was almost a no-brainer for me to choose Canon, for three reasons:
a. Good entry-level dSLR offerings (300D and the 350D)
b. Good bundled AF zoom lens (for the price)
c. Ability to use a larger number of lenses from Canon and other OEMs such as Sigma, etc.
Form Factor and Size:
The Rebel XT is lighter and more compact than its predecessor. With the packaged 18-55 lens, it is longer than the Olympus 8080 but it has a similar body footprint and weight. For SLR traditionalists, the Rebel XT could look and feel a little odd as camera body is "lopsided" with the lens sitting to the left. However, the smaller body and lighter weight are both key selling features for me as it will be hard for me to get my wife to use a large and heavy camera.
Processor and sensor:
The Rebel XT uses the second generation DIGIC II processor and has a 8 megapixel CMOS sensor (vs. 6 megapixel of Rebel 300D.) Combined with a larger, faster buffer, the XT out-performs its predecessor very noticeably in responsiveness, CF card write operations, as well as multiple shot (drive mode) capability. The speed is definitely something to behold: in start-up, focusing, shooting, CF card writing, etc. The 100 millisecond shutter lag and the ability to take multiple shots quickly (at 3 FPS) almost guarantee that I will never miss those precious "Kodak" moments again.
According to the manual, the XT can take a maximum of 14 shots in burst mode without flash. With a Sandisk Ultra II 1 GB CF card, I was able to shoot a LOT more than 14 continuous shots without having to wait for the memory write to catch up. I believe this could be attributed to the combination of faster processor, faster buffer, faster write operations and fast CF card.
Auto Focus and Lens:
The bundled lens is an updated version of the 18-55 EF-S sold with the 300D. The new lens looks almost the same as the previous version and an amateur like me may find it difficult to discern any noticeable differences in performance between the two lenses. Regardless, the lens functions well and it is a great value for prosumers. I have read some reviews on barrel and pincushion distortions associated with this lens but I have yet to come across these problems, given the type of pictures I tend to take.
The XT retains the 7-point auto focusing system from the 300D. Users can either let the camera automatically choose the AF point or they can manually choose a specific point for a shot. Autofocusing is consistently fast and accurate.
Picture Quality:
This is where the XT very noticeably beats the 300D. While the 6 megapixel CMOS on the 300D produces amazing quality photos, the XT with 8 megapixel generates sharper and more vibrant pictures. In a "shoot-out" between my brother and I, it was immediately apparent that the XT produced much better picture quality when shooting the same scene with the same settings. The XT beat the 300D in the file writing department as well, even though the XT was writing a larger file to the CF card.
Viewfinder and LCD:
The viewfinder is great, and it was good to use the viewfinder again after all these years of exile in P&S land. The LCD is a little on the small side (1.8") but it is crisp and the menu is fast. For post exposure review, you can set the LCD to display not only the picture just taken, but also all the information (camera mode, f-stop, histogram, etc.) so you can experiment and improve your shot right away. I really like this feature as it is an extremely valuable tool in the process of learning the quirks and idiosyncrasies of any camera system.
Battery:
The battery performance is just simply phenomenal! It uses the same battery system as the Canon Elura digital camcorder (see my review here:
http://www.epinions.com/content_178894704260) so I already have a whole of set of extra chargers and batteries! According to the manual, a fully charged battery pack could take up to 600 shots without flash. After taking close to 300 and the battery meter is showing all the bars on my XT!
Other Features and Technical Specs:
* Image Format - JPEG and RAW (CR2)
* USB 2.0 connectivity
* Multiple white balance Settings - auto, presets and manual
* Dioptric adjustment on viewfinder
* Depth-of-Field Preview
* Multiple focusing modes - One-Shot AF, Predictive AI Servo AF, AI Focus AF, Manual Focusing (MF)
* Multiple metering modes
* Exposure Control Systems - Full Auto, Program AE, Shutter-priority AE, Aperture-priority AE, Automatic Depth-of Field AE, Programmed Image Control modes (Portrait, Landscape, Close-up, Sports, Night Portrait, Flash Off), E-TTL II Autoflash Program AE, and Full Manual
* ISO 100-1600
* Exposure Compensation
* AE Lock
* Shutter Speeds - 1/4000 to 30 sec.
* Noise Reduction for Long Exposure
* Hot shoe for external Speedlite
* Continuous Shooting Speed Approx. 3.0 fps
* Max. Burst During Continuous Shooting 14 shots (Large/Fine)
Practical Use:
The XT is superb in outdoor, natural light environment. With a UV filter or a poloarizer, the camera could go into auto mode and get excellent quality pictures without any adjustments or fiddling. It is like having the convenience of a P&S camera in a dSLR. Of course, fiddling is a must to justify buying a dSLR in the first place.
In indoor natural light condition, the camera is still capable of producing great pictures under auto mode. However, when the built-in flash is engaged, the results are not consistent. With the built-in flash, I find that if the object is less than 6 feet from the camera, the auto mode would generally do a good job. The rest of the time, the image would often appear under exposed and the colours tend to get distorted. I ended up switching to the Program AE mode and added 1 full stop to the Flash Exposure Compensation and that seems to fix the problem for objects over 4~5 feet away from the camera. I played with the Canon SpeedLite 420 EX and encountered similar problems, albeit at different distances. It is not to say that the shots taken with either the internal flash or the external SpeedLite in full auto mode are unacceptable, they just look a lot better when shot with some minor adjustments to the exposure settings.
Cons:
* LCD a little too small
* LCD is hard to read in daylight
Conclusion:
I bought this camera for both myself and my wife, who is strictly the P&S type photographer. In the XT I have a camera that meets both our requirements and it was only a few hundred bucks more expensive than high-end P&S. I am completely happy with this camera and I am looking forward to replacing it in the future with another dSLR from Canon, and to migrate my growing collection of SLR accessories to the new unit. I see this as a better investment than getting a "disposable" P&S every couple of years.
