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

Great little camera!

Strengths: Size, weight, Price

Weakness: Size, no 2nd control wheel, few custom functions, only 3fps, smaller battery than all others

Size is good if you want a small camera, but bad if your used to something more in your hand. I own a full size professional Canon EOS 1D Mark II and it's HUGE and doesn't have a built in flash. I wanted this one since it was so light and so small and even had a built in flash. I find that the light meter on most film and digital SLR's is about 70% acurate, and photoshop can account for 20% but...
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Size is good if you want a small camera, but bad if your used to something more in your hand. I own a full size professional Canon EOS 1D Mark II and it's HUGE and doesn't have a built in flash. I wanted this one since it was so light and so small and even had a built in flash.

I find that the light meter on most film and digital SLR's is about 70% acurate, and photoshop can account for 20% but 10% of the time you'll need to over or under expose your shot. This isn't as fast as the 20d or 30d or 5d or 1D-series because this is the only canon which doesn't have a 2nd big thumb wheel. So you have to press and hold another button to over/under expose your shot. I do this often because if you shoot it right you need less photoshop work, and they always come out better than what you'll get pushing it around in photoshop. So FOR ME that's a big deal.

Lack of some custom functions. Sure this isn't intended for professional sports, but I'm surely going to use it as a short range camera with a canon ef 70-200mm F2.8 L IS USM lens on it, which is about 3x the price of the camera. So i wish it had auto focus STOP custom function so that i could press the "*" button and have it stop the AF (auto focus) so i could get my max 3fps because in tracking mode you'll really only shoot about 1-2fps. All cameras drop in frame rate in auto focus tracking mode, so all of this one let you pause the AF with the "*" button and that will boost your FPS back up to whatever the camera max is.

The autofocus, altho only 7 pt i believe is as good as the 20/30/5d cameras. Esp since i'll normally only be useing the center point for sports.

Lack of ISO3200. In sports, and with canon's ultra clean CMOS sensors, I often need to push the ISO up to the max, and can do so with confidence. This camera is canon's only camera which stops at ISO1600. That will be great for nearly anyone who buys this camera, and it's not even a default option on all other canon cameras, (somthing you have to 'turn on'), but for me, i think there will be times, (night NCAA football games) where i'll wish i had it.

1.6x crop. Maybe people think that the 1.6x crop is good for sports because it brings things in closer. That is wrong. It records a smaller portion of light that the lens produces, and yes you do get closer, but it's as if you didn't zoom as much with REAL GLASS. This means your DOF (depth of field, aka zone of sharpness) is too wide. Now the parents and fans in the stands are way too sharp! If the sensor had less of a crop then I would have to zoom more which would blur the background more, which would isolate my players (subjects) much better. This is why i'm going to have to use this camera with a f/2.8 lens if i want to come close to what my Canon eos 1D mark II camera can do (1.3x).

Small battery. A downgrade in battery size from all other non pro canon cameras, (7 in total). This is the 1st one to use a smaller less powerful battery. Of course they did this to get the weight and size down.

only 3fps. Sure this isn't a 20/30d camera with 5fps, so why should I gripe? I'm just pointing out it's weekness to other cameras out there so all of you can take note.

Overall:

This camera has an excellent sensor (altho not the same as 20 or 30d) but i think that's a marketing thing to sell more 20 and 30d cameras. The images totally hold their own aginst the likes of the 20d and 30d and even my professional eos 1d mark II. Sure the auto focus might not be pro level, but it's as good as the 20/30d. sure it can't shoot as fast either. But if you have a little extra time, and don't need the fastest auto focus or FPS, this camera is perfect. Outstanding for trips for it's size and weight! With it's high quality it's a perfect backup to my sports, fashion, glamour, wedding photography! I would highly recommend this camera!

By NCAAShooter - Jun 30, 2006

This is my first dSLR camera. I...

Strengths: Small size; accepts EF and EF-s lenses; Speed; Low ISO noise; 8mp CMOS

Weakness: None that I've found so far

This is my first dSLR camera. I upgraded from a Canon G2 that has served me well for almost 4 years. Coming from a point-and-shoot camera, I was a bit dumbfounded by the sharpness (or lack thereof) of this dSLR compared to my old G2. But I was able to find out that point-and-shoot digicams have their sharpness boosted up to the max, whereas dSLRs tend to have less (or no) in-camera sharpening....
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This is my first dSLR camera. I upgraded from a Canon G2 that has served me well for almost 4 years. Coming from a point-and-shoot camera, I was a bit dumbfounded by the sharpness (or lack thereof) of this dSLR compared to my old G2. But I was able to find out that point-and-shoot digicams have their sharpness boosted up to the max, whereas dSLRs tend to have less (or no) in-camera sharpening. This is most ideal for those who do a lot of post-processing, who want more control over the photo output.

I purchased two lenses to use with this camera...the Canon 17-85mm IS and the 85mm prime. Both lenses work great and offer spectacular photos. I'm now able to control depth of field in ways that no point-and-shoot can allow. And the speed of this camera won't let me miss a shot. Unlike my old G2, it took nearly half a second from the time I pressed the shutter to the time it actually took the picture. It was quite annoying but it wasn't anything I couldn't adjust to... But it's a completely different story with the Rebel XT. I press the shutter, the camera takes the picture.

It's a great camera, especially if it's going to be your first dSLR. I have no regrets upgrading to the Rebel XT. If you want to improve your photography, get a dSLR. Better yet, get the Rebel XT.

By yongoh - Jun 6, 2005

I should say that I'm not a...

Strengths: EOS compatible, very fast shutter & startup

Weakness: Needs more menu/interface flexibility, no flash control in auto mode

I should say that I'm not a professional photographer, but I can appreciate great photos. I use my camera for people, scenery, and sports shots, so it's a wide variety of situations. Occasionally, I'll print them out (rarely larger than 5x7) and I know Photoshop well so I can adjust levels, crop, to get the shot I want if the photo isn't quite there. This camera has made all that much easier and...
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I should say that I'm not a professional photographer, but I can appreciate great photos. I use my camera for people, scenery, and sports shots, so it's a wide variety of situations. Occasionally, I'll print them out (rarely larger than 5x7) and I know Photoshop well so I can adjust levels, crop, to get the shot I want if the photo isn't quite there. This camera has made all that much easier and with amazing quality.

I bought this camera without the 18-55mm lens and got the Canon 28-200mm lens instead (don't bother with the Sigma or other variations), with the idea that it would be a better "all around" lens. I was totally right and I can't be more happier with the results. Excellent depth of field and an amzing control over shutter speed, etc. This is my first digital SLR (I had a Nikon 5400 before and it died of the infamous lens error after 1 year of moderate usage) and I'm looking forward to getting some of Canon's high-quality EOS lenses.

No software needed on the Mac using OS X 10.4 "Tiger". Both Image Capture and iPhoto recognize the camera when attached to the USB cable.

By severdia - May 24, 2005

This is an amazing camera. For the...

Strengths: Speed, responsiveness, ergonomics, low noise, availability of great lenses, solid build quality, price.

Weakness: Grip might be small for large hands, no ISO in viewfinder, LCD hard to read in bright sunlight.

This is an amazing camera. For the first time, I feel like I'm shooting with my favorite film SLR's again, except with all the advantages of the digital medium. It boots up instantaneously, snaps photos the moment you press the shutter, and yields wonderfully high-quality photos. Factor in the incredibly low price, and you have a real winner here.

By sym5 - May 11, 2005

Great entry-level dSLR

Strengths: Instant startup, low noise even at high ISO, tons of features and settings to play with, lots of lens choices, awesome picture quality, compact and light, good price, compatible with E-TTL II flashes

Weakness: Most "weaknesses" are from the compact size. If you like the compact size, then they're not exactly viewed as weaknesses.

The 350D is my first and only experience with SLR cameras. Before owning this camera, I only had experience with digital point and shoots. Often disappointed by the quality of point and shoot cameras and interested in improving my knowledge of photography and photos themselves, I finally made the jump to SLR with my 350D last month and I'm not looking back. This camera has made me more interested...
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The 350D is my first and only experience with SLR cameras. Before owning this camera, I only had experience with digital point and shoots. Often disappointed by the quality of point and shoot cameras and interested in improving my knowledge of photography and photos themselves, I finally made the jump to SLR with my 350D last month and I'm not looking back.

This camera has made me more interested in photography than ever before. I find myself going places just to take pictures and get practice learning about how to best utilize all of the settings and features available on this camera. I enjoy tinkering and tweaking things, so working with an SLR is a joy for me. I love being in control of my photos and not having the camera make all of the decisions for me. It does take some research and practice to get good results shooting in full manual exposure mode, but the results make the effort worth it. This really isn't the camera for you if you're not willing to put any effort into your photography. If you want don't care to learn about things like shutter speed, aperture, ISO, depth of field, and such, you'll be better off with a point and shoot camera rather than a SLR.

Another thing to keep in mind is that by buying an SLR, you are buying into a system of lenses. Even if you upgrade your body to future Canon SLR offerings, you'll still be able to use your old lenses provided that the EF mount is supported (and it should be). I wouldn't recommend buying an EF-S lens like the 10-22 or 17-85 if you plan on upgrading to a full-frame camera like the upcoming Canon 5D in the future. Also, if you're buying just the kit lens or any single lens, you're not getting the full potential of this camera and you'll likely be disappointed. I recommend spending at least as much on lenses as the body--prefably more. I recommend spending the money on good lenses. Lenses make a huge difference in the quality of your photos. Canon L lenses are a good choice, but can be pricey. For the price conscious among us, I should note that lens prices do not fluctuate much (especially the Canon "L" lenses). If you end up selling them, you'll make most of your money back.

Many complain about the size of the 350D, but I don't find the size to be a problem. I don't have the largest hands though. Those that do might want to look into spending the extra for a 20D. As others mentioned, there is a slight rattle but I don't find it to be annoying. I really can't complain, especially at the prices they are selling this for.

Overall, this is a great camera and I'm looking forward to getting more use and excellent photos out of it!

By cakier - Aug 28, 2005