Impressive compact DSLR with tons of features

I will not list all the specs for the little Canon EOS Rebel XT DSLR camera. The Canon web site can provide all the details; all I want to do is describe what it's like to actually use this camera and help you make an intelligent choice in buying your next digital camera.

I am not an inexperienced photographer, having shot over many years with various 35mm rangefinder and SLR cameras. I've also owned several digital cameras, but this is my first digital SLR. In the end, most of us who feel it's time to upgrade to a DSLR will be looking at the Nikon D70S, the Nikon D50, the Canon 20D, and the Canon Rebel XT (also known as the 350D overseas).

Why upgrade at all? There are a few reasons, notably better image quality, no shutter lag, more control over the camera's functions, and the ability to use different lenses on the camera body. If nothing else, the interchangeability of lenses is a huge advantage in itself. You can buy the "body" alone, without a lens, but getting the "kit" provides a decent zoom lens for not much more money. The kit lens provided with the Nikon camera bodies is much higher quality than the one that Canon provides, but the Canon lens is so inexpensive that it's still worth getting.

I chose the Canon Rebel XT for several reasons. First, I really like the compact body and light weight of this camera. Much has been made of its small size and how awkward it is to handle, but I would strongly disagree with this. I am not a small person and love the feel of this camera. With my left hand beneath the lens and my right around the body, I have a very stable and comfortable grip. You should try holding this camera before buying it just to see how you react to the compact size. My guess is that most people will find it fine, especially those coming off a small digital point and shoot camera.

You should also note that the two Nikons in this camera class are excellent, high quality units and should also be considered. The D50 is a superb buy but, since I have many Compact Flash cards on hand, the fact that it only uses SD cards was a big disappointment. The D70S is also top notch, but I found it a bit bulky and a bit pricey for a 6mp camera. The XT's big brother, the 20D, is a fantastic camera but at a $600 premium I found I could do with a slower burst speed and fewer Auto Focus points.

I now have my XT for over a month and have gone through at least several hundred shots with it. It is easy to use, especially in its "Green" zone which lets the camera do all the work for you. I usually use the "Creative" zone which gives me complete control over speed, aperture, ISO, processing parameters, and flash. Battery life is very good, often lasting for well over a hundred shots even with flash use, reviewing time, deletions done on the camera. It should go for about 600 shots according to Canon. Battery life on the Nikons is about three times better but, quite frankly, at this point it's not much of an issue.

The "kit" lens that is supplied with the camera is a very light 18-55mm zoom lens. You should be aware of the fact that, because of sensor size, you must use a 1.6X magnification factor to calculate the equivalent focal length relative to a 35mm camera. This means that your wide angle isn't really that wide, and your zoom is actually even more. The kit lens is capable of providing good image quality in spite of its very cheap feel. The manual focusing ring is particularly shoddy and loose feeling. In spite of this, it seems to work well.

The controls on the camera are straight forward and can be learned in a matter of hours. Changing most settings requires using the LCD panel. At 1.8", it tends to be somewhat on the small side, but the labels are clear and easy to read. It is difficult to use in bright sunlight. When used to review pictures, it can be zoomed in up to 10X and can also review thumbnails, which is very handy if you keep a lot of pictures on your card. The resolution of the LCD is adequate, but not quite as good as some other cameras.

Remember, you do not use the LCD to compose your pictures as you would on a point and shoot digital. You must compose through the eyepiece...this is the same for almost all DSLR cameras. The XT's eyepiece is fairly bright and easy to use. I have added an eyepiece extension so I can keep my face off the camera a bit...otherwise my nose rests right on the LCD screen.

The camera turns on fast, focuses fast, and writes to the card fast. It is a pleasure not to have to deal with the annoying lag of non-DSLR digitals.

So how are the pictures, you may ask? Well, that's an interesting story. I will make a blanket statement here: you can get better "out of camera" pictures from most point and shoot digital cameras. Also, both the Nikon D50 and D70S will provide sharper pictures with better color saturation and contrast right out of the camera. I was very disappointed at just how "soft" my pictures looked. Here's what is actually happening: the Canon does not process images to the same degree that other manufacturers do. What comes out of this camera is closer to a RAW image than to a processed JPEG file. That's both good and bad. If you expect to see razor sharp, brilliant images popping out of this camera, you will be disappointed. If you do the slightest amount of post processing, and this is apparently what Canon expects DSLR users to do, you will wind up with photos that will rival the best there is. Once I started applying even small amounts of sharpening in my photo software, the pictures looked fantastic. If you have no intentions of processing your photos, this may not be the best choice for you.

Overall, the little Rebel XT has brought back a sense of excitement to my photography that I haven't experienced since I was kid. I love going out and shooting pictures with this camera. I've added two more lenses, a Sigma 18-200mm and a Canon 50mm f/1.8, and hardly go anywhere without my camera bag. Getting the best results, however, requires a knowledge of your lenses and an understanding of photography basics, as well as the ability to handle photo processing software. If you can put in the effort, the results can be very gratifying.