I spent three hours yesterday playing with the brand-new Canon Digital Rebel XT SLR digital camera, and the man, I was impressed.

I was not too impressed with the original Digital Rebel, except for its revolutionary low price (for a d-SLR), because it was too slow and felt slimsy. The new DR XT is quite different. Although it is 3 ounces lighter than the original DR - especially through the use of a smaller battery, see below - the smaller form factor actually makes it feel more solid and "real". In other words, unlike the original DR, which feels professional and not - as with toys.

By now you probably already know Canon introduces some of the best digital cameras in the world. Even if I have a Nikon shooter when it comes to d-SLR (sorry, loyal Canon shooter), I have a couple compact Canon digital cameras and love them, too. The XT-DR image quality is even more outstanding. I have a couple of indoor pictures with the camera, both with and without flash, and save the clerk Let me invite them to your PC. The JPEG images (I did not try RAW) looked at the excellent Sony LCD screen on the comparison with the more expensive EOS 20D D-SLR. Shades were precise and the resolution was really good. The improvement in picture quality over the original DR ( "DR Classic? BTW it's now $ 200 cheaper) comes from the extra 2 megapixels and better color accuracy. BTW, which reportedly DR XT uses a different tecchnically CMOS sensor than the original DR, although I not been able to find out exactly how this is a technical point better than the old (other than the two extra megapixels). Regardless of my limited real-world tests showed that the picture quality is actually better than the already excellent image quality of the original DR And, as in the past, Canon has a wonderful job with little noise to keep - I sound acceptable to 800 ISO.

The kit, which I recommend to deal with the same flimsy 3x EF-S lens (which does not work on regular film single lens reflex cameras) as the original DR you should definitely a better lens, although the kit lens also works as a " Street enlarge. " I do not have the opportunity to test how the lens outdoors would not be the business that I do not, but I have no doubt that this new model can only be better than the original DR, which was already very good before you as its low price.

The DR XT is quickly: Finally, you can turn it on and start shooting without having had to wait a few seconds, as with the original DR The only disadvantage compared to the original-DR is the smaller, lighter battery in the DR XT also means shorter battery life. I commend you an extra battery or two. They will not be able to go through a full day of shooting on a single battery, even if you are not the flash much. (But all the pros and pro-wannabes use fill-in flash, do we not?), I also recommend a good camera bag, I personally like Tamrac this. In addition to the spare battery (batteries), bag and a better lens or two, always a tripod (Sunpak are cheap, but quality ok), an external flash, and filters - esp. A high-quality Circular polarization filter.

In summary, the Canon Digital Rebel XT is another winner from Canon anesthetic. It offers faster speeds (start-up and shot-to-shot), excellent image quality, great and the look-and-feel. Despite my personal preference for Nikon-level gear, I can recommend this Canon d-SLR to my friends, without reservation.