In comparison with the interface
of the Rebel XT, the Rebel XTi has been modified to take into
account the fact that there is no LCD panel. With the XTi
the 2.5-inch monitor fulfills that role, displaying details
about the camera's current settings automatically, or when
the DISP. button is pressed, the level of detail changing
along with the mode in use. In turn, a proximity sensor had
to be provided underneath the TTL viewfinder to turn off the
LCD monitor when the camera is brought up to the eye, avoiding
any potential interference from the lit-up LCD monitor.
Similarly, changing settings has required the addition of
function-specific screens for the monitor. The screens that
appear while changing any of the parameters controlled by
external buttons are very legible, and very efficient.
The menu system of the Rebel XTi, however, is much like that
of the XT. Menus are presented on solid colour backgrounds
that contrast well with the text colour for the options. All
five sections of the menu have specific colours: red for Capture,
blue for Playback, yellow for Setup. The Setup options are
contained in the last two sections, and contain basic settings
for the camera:
Auto Power Off: decides the delay before the camera
shuts down automatically: 1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 30 minutes, or
Off.
Auto Rotate: automatically rotates vertical shots
so they are displayed correctly on the monitor, or on a
computer running Canon's software. Options are: On for both
the camera and computer playback; or On for computer playback
only; or Off.
LCD Brightness: to adjust the brightness of the
LCD monitor over 5 increments.
LCD Auto Off: to enable or disable the proximity
sensor below the viewfinder's exit pupil which can automatically
turn off the monitor when the camera is brought up to the
eye.
Date/Time: to set the time and date on the camera.
File Numbering: allows files to be incremented
continuously, Auto reset, or manually reset.
Format: to format a memory card or a Microdrive.
The second section contains:
Language: sets the menu language to English, German,
French, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish,
Spanish, Simplified Chinese, or Japanese.
Video system: NTSC or PAL.
Custom Functions(C.Fn): is the access point to
the 11 Custom functions of the Rebel XTi (see the Characteristics
section of the review).
Clear Settings offers two sub-options:
Clear All Camera Settings: resets the camera
to default settings.
Clear All Custom Functions: returns all Custom
Functions to their default settings.
Sensor Cleaning contains two sub-options:
Manual: cleans the sensor now.
Auto: Enable/Disable, cleans the sensor when the camera
is turned On or Off.
Sensor cleaning: lifts the mirror and raises the
curtain so the sensor can be cleaned using a manual blower.
Firmware Version: serves to update the firmware.
The printed manual included with the Rebel XTi is, just like
all Canon camera manuals, well organized, well written, and
easy to understand. Diagrams of the camera and all its buttons
and controls are provided and each item has one or more page
references in the manual, making it simple to get information.
In addition, the contents of the manual are presented at the
beginning, and a complete index is provided at the end.
Software
Canon provides two discs with the Rebel XTi:
A disc containing the instruction manuals for
the supplied software in PDF (Adobe Acrobat) and in a variety
of languages.
A disc called EOS Digital Solution containing:
ZoomBrowser EX,
Digital Photo Professional,
EOS Utility,
EOS Capture,
PhotoStitch 3.1,
Canon camera TWAIN and WIA Drivers.
Once installed, EOS
Utility is automatically launched when the camera
is connected to the computer via a USB port.
EOS Utility serves to download images automatically
using either the Print/Share button or the computer
to start the process; to select images for download; to control
camera settings and perform Remote Shooting; to Monitor a
folder automatically; or to set preferences for items, such
as where photos are stored when downloaded.
ZoomBrowser is the
standard Canon software, supplied with all Canon digital cameras.
ZoomBrowser is a multi-facetted program that can be used to
organize images, view them, do some editing, and even print
them. Photos can be seen in one of three ways: in a detailed
view, a thumbnail view or, as shown at right, as a film strip
at the bottom of the program's window with the currently selected
image shown larger above, with its basic data on the right.
ZoomBrowser is able to show and
print both JPEG and RAW images. Moreover, RAW images can be
processed and tweaked, using RAW Image Task, a utility
called up by ZoomBrowser.
Digital Photo Professional
is an even more advanced piece of software, designed specifically
for EOS cameras. The software is able to process RAW images
quickly, and is intended to meet the needs of serious amateur
photographers and professionals. The program not only supports
Canon's RAW formats (.CRW and .CR2), it also supports Exif-TIFF
and Exif 2.2 or 2.21 JPEG and JFIF images and supports CMS
(Colour Management Systems).
Advanced tools are provided
to make the most of RAW format images. Not only is it possible
to adjust each setting (overall exposure, or light and dark
areas, but also tone, white balance, sharpness, etc.) but
the Picture Style can be modified as well.
PhotoStitch 3.1, also included with the EOS 30D, is
to create panoramic images by stitching series of photographs
together. As the Rebel XTi does not include a Panoramic mode,
any use of the software will require that images are captured
with a sufficient overlap, and comparable exposures for the
program to assemble them.
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Interface & Software
