Canon Digital Rebel XT/EOS 350D

Reviewed April 2005

Characteristics

The lens has apertures that start at f3.5 at the wide angle end, and f5.6 at the telephoto end, closing down to f22 and f36 respectively. Only one small difference is noticeable between the lens included in the Rebel XT kit and the one that is part of the Rebel: it now sports a tiny II at the end of its description. And, while not a macro lens per se, this lens does offer a limited macro capability and is able to focus on a subject that is 28 cm (0.9 ft) distant from the sensor, or approximately 12 cm (4.68 inch) from the front element of the lens when the zoom is at 55mm.

Moreover, the lens can also be focused manually, using a switch mounted on it. A depth of field preview button, on the lower left side of the camera's lens mount and below the lens release, can be used to ascertain the extent of the zone in the image that is in sharp focus at a given aperture.

Shutter speeds with the Rebel XT have a maximum range of 30 seconds to 1/4000 second, and when the camera is set to Manual mode an unlimited Bulb mode is available for even for longer exposures.

The Rebel XT provides 3 image sizes, available at either one of 2 levels of JPEG compression (Fine or Normal), while the RAW image format, which can be configured to also save a Large/Fine JPEG copy of the image, is offered exclusively with P, Tv, Av, M, and A-Dep modes.

The image size and quality settings appear as the first option in the first section of the menu, which, as explained in the Ergonomics section of the review, is composed of 5 sections which are identified by tabs at the top of the screen:

The remaining options presented in the first section of the menu contain 3 of those that are immediately accessible using the directional controls (Cross keys):

• Red-Eye Reduction: On or Off. Controls the activation of the red-eye reduction lamp, positioned between the grip and the lens mount.

• Beep: On or Off. Controls the beeps produced by the camera during some operations.
• AF Mode selects the way the auto focus operates: One Shot, AI Focus, AI Servo (See the Ergonomics section of the review).
• Metering Mode:
  • Evaluative: 35-zone linked to focus point;
  • Partial: metering approximately 9% of the frame at the centre;
  • Centre-weighted: weighted at the centre and averaged for the entire frame.
• ISO Speed: 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600.

The second section of the menu also provides recording options:

• AEB: sets the Auto Exposure Bracketing increment over ±2 EV.
• Flash Exposure Compensation: provides a range of ± 2EV.
• White Balance: Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy (also Twilight and Sunset), Tungsten, White Fluorescent, Flash, Custom.
• White Balance Shift/Bracketing: serves to adjust the standard colour temperature, and do white balance bracketing using the 4-direction control, biasing the colour temperature towards Green, Amber, Magenta, or Blue.

• Custom WB: stores a custom white balance setting. The process involves shooting a white surface under the ambient light, then selecting this option to choose the image as the one to use as a custom white balance reference point which can then be used by choosing the Custom option from the available white balance settings (see above).
• Color Space decides the colour space to be used for photos: sRGB or Adobe RGB
• Parameters: Offers a selection of settings for colour tone, sharpness, contrast, and saturation. 3 pre-set choices are available, and 3 user-selected groups of settings can be memorized:
  • Parameters 1: sets contrast, sharpness, and colour saturation to +1 increment. Records a more vivid image and is the default setting for images shot using one of the Creative zone modes.
  • Parameters 2: sets all parameters to 0. Makes the image more subdued.
  • Set 1, 2, or 3: allow the user to select specific settings for any parameter and recall these by selecting the set to which they were saved. Adjustments can be made to contrast, sharpness, saturation, and colour tone.
  • B/W: records a black and white image and can be adjusted for Contrast, Sharpness, Filter Effect (None, Yellow, Orange, Red, Green) or Toning Effect (None, Blue, Purple, Green).

The third section of the menu is intended for Playback, but also provides an option that decides whether or not an image is displayed on the monitor immediately post capture that is relevant to the capture mode. The options contained in the Playback menu are:

• Protect: allows selecting photos and tagging them so that they cannot be accidentally erased. Images can be selected one at a time from either the full screen view, or the thumbnail view.
• Rotate: rotates an image by 90° or 270°.
• Print Order: like the Digital Rebel, the Digital Rebel XT is compatible with Direct Print and Bubble Jet Direct Print. In addition the Rebel XT is also compatible with PictBridge allowing the camera to print directly to any printer that supports one of these standards. When connected to such a printer, a special menu allows images to be trimmed (cropped) if required, dates and file numbers to be imprinted if desired, index prints can be made, and prints can be made with or without borders. Note that whether with DPOF or when connected to a printer, RAW images cannot be printed directly.

• Auto Play: is a fully automatic playback mode that allows images to be displayed as a slide show either on the monitor or a TV.
• Review: displays a just captured image on the LCD monitor. Three settings are available, On, Off, or On Info which displays the shooting data and a histogram along with the image.
• Review time: sets the time during which a just captured image will be displayed on the LCD monitor. The options are 2, 4, 8 seconds or Hold, which leaves the image on the screen until a button is pressed.

The last two sections of the menu are both concerned with basic settings, Setup, and are covered in the Interface and Software section of this review. However, one of the options in the second part of the Setup menu allows for some Custom settings which have a direct impact on the capabilities of the camera when it is set to one of the Creative zone modes:

• Function #1: SET button/Cross keys functions serves to change the functions assigned to the SET button and the directional controls:
  • SET: Quality, configures the SET button as a direct access to the image quality section of the menu.
  • SET: Parameters, provides a direct access to the Parameters option of the menu.
  • SET: Playback, configures the SET button to act just like the button.
  • Cross keys: AF frame selection, allows moving the AF point directly without having to press the button.

• Function #2: Long exposure noise reduction: On or Off. Reduces noise in bulb exposures that are 30 seconds or longer at ISO 100 through 800; or exposures of more than 1 second at 1600 ISO.
• Function #3: Flash synch speed in Av mode: Auto or 1/200 (fixed). Sets the flash synchronization speed to 1/200 second in the aperture priority mode.

• Function #4: Shutter button/AE lock button: determines how the shutter button and AE/FE lock buttons behave:
  • AF/AF Lock: the default setting.
  • AE Lock/AF allows pressing the button to auto focus, and the shutter button halfway to get AE lock.
  • AF/AF Lock, no AE Lock: in the AI Servo AF mode, the button can be pressed to stop the AF momentarily as something passes by preventing the AF getting thrown off. The exposure is set at the moment the photo is captured
  • AE/AF, no AE Lock: useful for subjects that keep moving and stopping repeatedly Using the AF Servo mode, the button can be pressed to start and stop the AI Servo AF operation. The exposure is set at the moment the photo is captured.

• Function #5: AF assist beam controls how the AF assist — available when the flash is raised as it emits a brief burst of flashes — works:
  • Emits: default.
  • Does not emit: turns the system off.
  • Only emits external flash: only uses an external flash unit.
• Function #6: Exposure level increments decides whether EV steps are 1/3 EV or 1/2 EV.
• Function #7: Mirror lockup: Enable or Disable. When enabled the mirror flips up when the shutter release is pressed, and the exposure starts when the release is pressed a second time.

• Function #8: E-TTL II: decides the way flash exposures are achieved:
  • Evaluative: provides fully automatic flash photography under all conditions, whether in low light or when the flash is used as a fill light.
  • Average: averages the flash exposure for the area covered by the flash. The camera does not perform automatic exposure compensation.
• Function #9: Shutter curtain synch: selects whether the flash synch is at the first curtain (the beginning of the exposure), or the second curtain (just before the end of the exposure).

The middle jack is for the wired remote control (Remote Switch RS-60E3) that can be used to control the camera during long exposures and bulb exposures, preventing any possible camera shake. Worth noting, Remote Controllers RC-1 and RC-5 can also be used to control the camera during bulb exposures.

The bottom connection is the USB 2 High-Speed port. The protocol for the USB connection can be set for Print/PTP, or for PC Connection (Mass storage) in the second of the two sections that form the Setup options. (See the Interface and Software section of the review.)