Canon EOS Rebel XT 8 Megapixel Digital SLR Camera Body Only - 18 mm - 55 mm - Black

Canon Digital Rebel XT

Strengths: Small and light (for a DSLR), outstanding photo quality, low noise even at high ISOs, tons of manual features, starts up and recycles very quickly, great battery life

Weakness: Kit lens is pretty average

I had been eyeing the original Digital Rebel for quite awhile, but never pulled the trigger and purchased one. The main reasons for this - the Digital Rebel was slow to turn on and recycle, the burst mode was average, AF modes and metering modes weren't fully selectable, and the camera had some image quality problems compared with competitors like the Nikon D70. When Canon released the Rebel XT,...
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I had been eyeing the original Digital Rebel for quite awhile, but never pulled the trigger and purchased one. The main reasons for this - the Digital Rebel was slow to turn on and recycle, the burst mode was average, AF modes and metering modes weren't fully selectable, and the camera had some image quality problems compared with competitors like the Nikon D70.

When Canon released the Rebel XT, I purchased one immediately due to the fantastic reviews, and I haven't been disappointed.

The Rebel XT is an outstanding camera. Image quality is fantastic; noise levels are low even at high ISOs, and the metering is accurate. ISO800 is perfectly usable on this camera, and ISO1600 pictures only need a little bit of noise reduction to look great. As many reviewers have pointed out, this camera produces very smooth images - default sharpening levels aren't set very high. I actually prefer images that look like this, but if you don't you can easily turn up the in camera sharpening.

Canon has fixed nearly all the problems the original Rebel had. The new Digic II chip significanly speeds up the cameras operation - the camera starts up and recycles nearly instantly. AF and metering modes are fully selectable now, and the burst mode is significantly improved (14 shots @ 3FPS vs 4 shots @ 2.5FPS). Image quality is on par with the more expensive EOS-20D, making this camera a relative bargain. Unfortunately, there is no spot metering mode.

I do have a few complaints regarding this camera. Firstly, the camera has no AF assist lamp - it uses the flash to focus in low light. This means that any shot you take which uses the flash AF assist must be a flash picture. When the camera uses the flash to AF assist, it fires off a couple short flash bursts - if you're taking pictures of people or animals, this can distract them and cause them to blink. This problem is solvable however - buy an external flash with a built in AF assist light (I'd recommend the 430EX). The built in flash on this camera does a decent job within its range; unfortunately, the flash range isn't great.

My other complaint is with the kit lens - while not a terrible lens by any means, it is soft at smaller apertures. If you stop it down to F8 - F11, it becomes reasonably sharp, but having to keep it at these aperatures limits your creativity.

If you do buy this camera, I'd recommend getting at least one or two good lenses with it. The 50mm F1.8 prime lens ($75) is a must buy - it's cheap, fast, and sharp, and makes an excellent portrait lens. For consumer grade zooms, the 28-105mm F3.5-4.5 II USM ($250) or the 28-135mm IS ($450) are both good choices.

By sellmen - Aug 1, 2005

The Digital Rebel XT is a...

Strengths: Price, image quality, speed

Weakness: Direction buttons somewhat awkward, no thumb wheel on back

The Digital Rebel XT is a fantastic camera for the money, especially when finding a good price for it here on PriceGrabber. While looking at this camera, I also considered the Nikon D70, another great camera, but ultimately chose the Rebel XT for its great value. I consider myself an amateur photographer, but I do care a great deal about usability, image quality, and robustness. Image quality:...
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The Digital Rebel XT is a fantastic camera for the money, especially when finding a good price for it here on PriceGrabber. While looking at this camera, I also considered the Nikon D70, another great camera, but ultimately chose the Rebel XT for its great value. I consider myself an amateur photographer, but I do care a great deal about usability, image quality, and robustness.

Image quality: The 8 megapixel sensor allows for big enlargements and tighter cropping while still preserving sharpness. Shooting in RAW offers the best quality, but I was surprised with the excellent results of the JPEGs produced by this camera. Even at ISO 800, pictures have very little grain.

Lenses: The kit lens is a little cheap-feeling, like many of Canon's inexpensive lens, and isn't as robust-feeling as the D70's kit lens. The lens offers decent sharpness, however, and has a good range of zoom. I have a small collection of Canon lenses from my Rebel G 35mm film SLR. With these lenses, the 1.6x crop factor due to the smaller sensor can be both a blessing and a curse. My longer lenses are even longer, but wide angle isn't nearly as wide as it was. Fortunately the kit lens is quite wide at 18mm.

Interface: You should be right at home with the Digital Rebel XT's interface if you have a Canon Powershot. The layout is similar and is easy to navigate. Often-changed settings like white balance and ISO have dedicated buttons on the back for quick access. One problem I have is with the direction buttons on the back. Since they are separate buttons, are spaced out, and don't protrude from the camera, I can't just rock my thumb back and forth to navigate the menus; I have to press the buttons individually. A single rocker-type button would ease this. Another feature missing is a thumb wheel on the back that is present on Canon's higher-end SLRs. This is certainly intentional as it distingushes the amateur/prosumer Rebels from the higher end EOS cameras. Such a wheel makes selection of aperture and exposure compensation much faster.

Speed: Power-on is nearly instantaneous, and takes much less time than it takes to just compose a shot. Focus speed was very good, with little "hunting." Any sort of shutter lag was almost unnoticeable. Burst shooting, while not as fast as the Nikon D70, is more than adequate.

Fit and finish: While functionally equivalent, the black body looks a lot more professional than the silver. While very light, the camera feels more robust and solid than my old Canon Rebel G. The grip seems a little small, but really isn't a problem. The strap that the camera comes with is a little rough feeling when wearing it around the neck.

Software: On Windows, the mass storage-type drivers for the camera are a little awkward. I would recommend using a standalone CompactFlash reader. The included Digital Photo Professional software is surprisingly good for browsing and tweaking both RAW and JPEG files.

By zsazs - Jun 16, 2005

The XT is amazing. The battery...

The XT is amazing. The battery comes partly charged so you can immedietly start using the camera (thank you Canon!) I've already shot about 200 pictures with it and the battery hasn't died yet. I can't give you a comparison between the XT and the 20D as I haven't owned a 20D, I can tell you a few things you may wish to know before buying. This camera, is TINY. Extremely tiny. I'm a woman in my...
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The XT is amazing. The battery comes partly charged so you can immedietly start using the camera (thank you Canon!) I've already shot about 200 pictures with it and the battery hasn't died yet.

I can't give you a comparison between the XT and the 20D as I haven't owned a 20D, I can tell you a few things you may wish to know before buying.

This camera, is TINY. Extremely tiny. I'm a woman in my early twenties and I have small hands. The camera fits just right in my hands, but honestly, I don't see how someone with bigger hands would be 100% comfortable holding this. If my hands were any larger, they would be slipping off the bottom.
I had tried holding a 20D at a camera shop once and it felt too large in my hands to grip. The camera size is perfect for me, but just beware if you have larger hands. You may want to look into the battery grip, or test out holding the camera at a store before you order it. See the picture I uploaded above to get a size relation and how the camera fits in my hands.

For anyone who is migrating to this camera from a standard point and shoot digital camera, you cannot frame the image you are about to take using the LCD screen on the back. You must look through the viewfinder. The LCD screen is soley for menu use and preview mode after the picture has been taken, nothing more.

Something I've noticed is the camera makes a ratteling sound when moved around. I couldn't figure out what the heck it was, and then I finally reazlized it's the hinges from the pop-up flash. It sounds like they are loose when the flash is closed. I went to Best Buy and looked at their display model, and yep, it has the same problem. Well, it's not really a *problem* but frankly something ratteling around like that sounds cheaply made to me. My Canon film SLR doesn't make that sound.
I use a 420EX Speedlite flash with my SLRs so the popup flash doesn't concern me, but it was something I noticed and thought I would share.

I love that Canon gave the option to have a black finish over a silver one.

The startup time is instantaneous which is absolutely wonderful.

The burst mode is excellent with 3 fps.

It's extremely quiet.

The image quality is excellent. You can get photo quality prints at 20x30, and even then I bet you could push it further.

I really can't elaborate more then what other reviews have said. If you are looking for a step into the digital SLR world, this is the ticket. Or you can even check out the newly reduced original Digital Rebel, but for the extra hundred bucks or so, I would just get the XT. You will not be sorry.

Two upgrades I would make right away: Get a Speedlite flash and the Canon 28-135mm lens.

By chenshaohui - May 27, 2005

Canon XT is a keeper

Strengths: compact size in a dslr ease in use cost and reliablity

Weakness: I have a big hand but it is adapting to smaller grip nicely Perhaps a signal to let you know camera is on rather than in sleepmode

I researched DSLR's until I was blue in the face and having owned a film original Rebel 2000 and with zero problems I was convinced that Canon would deliver a quality camera and I am pleased to announce that they have.
The camera is compact and easy to manuever and works like a surgical instrument. This camera has made shooting digital exciting and very easy.

By anonymous; - Sep 3, 2005

Camera is awsome - the lense is awful

Strengths: The Body is one of the best

Weakness: the plastic lens it comes with is anything but acceptable. My G2 produces much better pictures when compared to the standard setup.

I would buy this camera again. The body when combined with a good lens produces nothing but exceptional pictures. However, the supplied lens produces very soft pictures with less than acceptable color saturation. I purchased the 50mm 1.8 prime and the portraits are excellent. If I were to buy again, I would skip the lens - and no, I'm not one of those photo guys that believes you need to spend...
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I would buy this camera again. The body when combined with a good lens produces nothing but exceptional pictures. However, the supplied lens produces very soft pictures with less than acceptable color saturation. I purchased the 50mm 1.8 prime and the portraits are excellent. If I were to buy again, I would skip the lens - and no, I'm not one of those photo guys that believes you need to spend $1200 for a good lens.

I would skip the lens and save the $50-100 -- it's really that bad. Put the money towards a Sigma or Tamron lens. They will run you a few hundred bucks.

By jaredkdavisandfam - Jan 22, 2006