Like the Digital Rebel, the Rebel XT/EOS 350 D is squarely
aimed at the amateur market. As a kit with an 18 to 55mm lens,
the camera is instantly useable, albeit with the addition
of a CompactFlash card as none is included. Canon builds on
the success of the original Digital Rebel, with the Rebel
XT, adding features, increasing the resolution, and shrinking
the body size and weight.
Other improvements are not immediately apparent.
For example, with the Rebel XT Canon
has included an improved image processor — now a DiG!C
II processor — which accelerates image processing speed,
and improves the image quality in subtle ways. But, to the photographer,
some of the additions offered by the Rebel XT are clearly going
to strike a cord. The XT is more capable in a number of areas,
ranging from a faster start-up time to a larger memory buffer
that is able to accommodate more photos in burst mode.
In comparison to the original
Digital Rebel, the Rebel XT is a much more versatile camera.
For instance, the Rebel XT provides 3 metering patterns, something
that is not available with the Digital Rebel, which relies exclusively
on an Evaluative system. The default, Canon's reliable Evaluative
pattern, divides the frame into 35 areas to meter it, giving
greater importance to the focus point, wherever it is. The second,
Partial metering, behaves much like a spot meter, concentrating
the reading on an area at the centre of the frame that is approximately
9% of the entire frame.
Aperture: f8, shutter speed: 1/160 sec., 100 ISO.
Centre-weighted, the third choice,
is the standard metering pattern found on most cameras, measuring
both the brightness of the centre of the frame and the surrounding
area. It gives greater value to the reading that originates
at the centre of the frame when producing an averaged metering
that determines the proper settings for aperture and shutter
speed.
Aperture: f9, shutter speed: 1/160 sec., 100 ISO.
Similarly, offering Custom Functions on
the Rebel XT is another important change. Of the 9 Custom Functions,
some are rather esoteric, such as the varied ways in which the
AE and shutter buttons can be configured. Some appear to offer
a limited usefulness, such as assigning the Playback mode to
the SET button, when the Playback mode already has its
own dedicated button. But others, such as the option to lock-up
the mirror or the function that decides the flash synchronization,
are undeniably valuable.
Taking the latter as an example,
that simple option can prevent the action of the mirror from
inducing a vibration at the start of a long exposure at night,
or when a telephoto lens is used and the camera is mounted on
a tripod. And in effect, with some subjects, having that Function
available can mean the difference between a perfect photo, and
a blurred one.
Aside from the greater resolution,
this type of enhancement, and others, like providing control
over the AF mode and allowing for flash exposure compensation,
make the Rebel XT a more versatile camera than the first Digital
Rebel.
Purchased as a kit with the 18 to 55mm lens, most people
should be satisfied with the image quality the Rebel XT yields.
Albeit inexpensive in comparison to many other lenses, and
a tad softer than some of Canon's high-end lenses, the 18
to 55mm lens captures clean images that are uniformly sharp
from edge to edge.
Furthermore, there is one
aspect of the Rebel XT's performance that makes it stand out:
in daylight, sensitivities of 400 and even 800 ISO are completely
useable. In fact, at 400 ISO the Rebel XT's images contain
less noise than those of some compacts at 50 or 100 ISO. This
low sensitivity to noise is important as it means that the
camera can make effective use of lenses that do not have a
very bright maximum aperture, and which are usually less expensive.
Indeed, even when set to 1600 ISO and used in daylight to
maximize shutter speed, the Rebel XT yields images that are
completely useable, and noise is only detectable in the deeper
shadows.
As noted earlier, purchased as
a kit, the Rebel XT includes an 18 to 55mm lens. Photos captured
with this lens — a revised version of the one that was
included with the Digital Rebel — show that chromatic
aberration is well-controlled and barrel distortion with wide
angle shots is negligible in most cases. Only when the lens
is used indoors, at its widest angle, and only when there are
straight lines such as a doorway, or the edge of a wall that
happens to be aligned to the frame's edges, does some barrel
distortion become noticeable.
In our opinion, the appeal of the Digital Rebel is continued
with the Rebel XT. Like the original Rebel, the Rebel XT is
a camera that will please most amateur photographers who want
more possibilities than a compact camera can offer, but who
cannot justify the cost of acquiring professional equipment.
Aperture: f9, shutter speed: 1/200 sec., 100 ISO.
With an 8-megapixel resolution,
the Rebel XT provides an image definition that is comparable
to what is available with much higher priced cameras, at a
significantly lower cost.
Simply said, the Rebel XT goes a fair distance in closing
the gap that existed between the capabilities of the original
Digital Rebel — the first affordable amateur digital
reflex camera — and those of professional digital SLR
cameras.
By the same token, current owners
of the Rebel should not lament that their camera has now become
obsolete. Nothing could be further from the truth. While the
new Rebel XT may offer a smaller size and lighter weight, that
may not be suitable for all. Moreover, the change in resolution
from 6 to 8 megapixel is not as critical as it may seem when
it comes to every day use, even if large prints are made. In
other words, unless some of the features brought with the XT
are of critical value, current Digital Rebel owners should have
no regrets.
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