All controls and displays are right where you need them.

Canon Digital Rebel XT reviews (210) Best selling D-SLR series! Canon has fully redesigned the Digital Rebel XT series to make it lighter, smaller, better and even more feature loaded. Pro's, 1. Excellent image quality. 2. Faster than any P&S digicam out there. No perceptible shutter lag! 3. Can change your lens. That may not seem anything new to SLR folks but the P&S crowd has been buying gazillion-MP $500+ digicams with crappy fixed lens. 4. Large image sensor compared to 7MP Sony's or other XMP digicams. Gives you better picture quality and colors. 5. Priced right, unlike some overpriced D-SLR out there, probably because Canon sells many more units. 6. The menu on the Canon cameras is light years ahead of most other manufacturer's. Lots of manual options and image processing features. 7. LCD screen is bright and fluid, although it doesn't use any new technology like OLED etc. 8. Uses standard CF cards, unlike propretary memory cards like Memory Stick or xD card. You can buy 1GB for an affordable price. 9. Lots of lens & accessory options from Canon and other vendors. Con's, 1. The camera is still quite heavy and big. I guess that will remain so for most D-SLR's, for a while atleast. 2. Not for professional use, only prosumer quality. 3. Quite an expensive camera, out of reach of most people (unlike film SLR's). When other manufacturer's get it right, the price should fall significantly. 4. LCD screen could have been bigger for such a bulky camera. 5. Wish they come up with a way to show approximate picture for framing on LCD before shooting. Viewfinder is too cumbersome & old fashioned. I am almost sure Rebel XT will be THE best selling D-SLR of 2005, just like original Rebel in 2004. Ofcourse depending on your lens collection and requirements there are very good offerings from Nikon and Pentax too. But compared to original Rebel this a nice improvement and highly recommened. You can read more on professional camera review websites. Excellent Pictures Review in April 2006 I upgraded from Powershot G2 and very happy with the results. This is my first SLR camera so I have a lot to learn on using different features this camera offers but the so far the family pictures taken indoors are excellent. I can see a big difference in quality over G2. I read a lot of user reviews about this camera and I chose not to get the kit lens as suggested by many reviews at various sites. I got 50MM and 28-135 IS lenses to go with it and planning to get a 100-300 IS in the future to complete the set. Very Happy! Another stunning winner from the bright minds at Canon I spent three hours yesterday playing with the brand-new Canon Digital Rebel XT digital SLR camera, and man, was I impressed. I hadn't been too impressed with the original Digital Rebel, except for its revolutionarily low price (for a d-SLR), because it was slow and felt slimsy. The new DR XT is quite different. Even though it's 3 ounces lighter than the original DR -- mostly due to the use of a smaller battery; see below -- its smaller form factor actually makes it feel more solid and "real". In other word, unlike the original DR, this one feels professional, not toy-like at all. By now you probably already know Canon makes some of the best digital cameras in the world. Even though I'm a Nikon shooter when it comes to d-SLR (sorry, loyal Canon shooters!), I own a couple Canon compact digital cameras and love them, too. The DR XT's image quality is once again excellent. I took a few indoor shots with the camera, both with and without flash, and then the store clerk let me download them to their PC. The JPEG pictures (I didn't try RAW) looked excellent on the Sony LCD screen, on par with the more expensive EOS 20D d-SLR. Color tones were accurate and the resolution was really good. The improvement picture quality over the original DR ("DR Classic"? BTW it's now $200 cheaper) comes from both the 2 extra megapixels and the better color accuracy. BTW, the DR XT reportedly uses a tecchnically different CMOS sensor than the original DR, although I haven't been able to find out exactly how this one is better in technical terms than the old one (other than the two extra megapixels). No matter, my limited true-world testing showed the image quality is indeed better than the already-excellent image quality of the original DR. And, as in the past, Canon does a wonderful job at keeping noise low -- I considered noise acceptable up until ISO 800. The kit, which I recommend, comes with the same flimsy 3x EF-S lens (which won't work on regular film SLRs) as the original DR. You should most definitely get a better lens, although the kit lens works well as a "street zoom." I didn't get a chance to test the lens outdoors as the store wouldn't let me take it outside, but I have no doubt that this new model can only be better than the original DR, which was already very good even before you considered its low price. The DR XT is fast: at last, you can turn it on and start shooting without waiting several seconds like you had to with the original DR. The only downside compared to the original DR is the smaller, lighter battery in the DR XT also means shorter battery life. I highly recommend you get an extra battery or two. You won't be able to go through a full day of shooting on just one battery, even if you don't use flash much. (But all pros and pro-wannabes use fill-in flash, don't we?) I also recommend a good camera bag; I personally like Tamrac for that. In addition to the spare battery (batteries), bag and a better lens or two, also consider getting a tripod (Sunpak ones are cheap but ok quality), an external flash as well as filters -- esp. a high-qual circular polarizing filter. In summary, the Canon Digital Rebel XT is another stunning winner from Canon. It features faster speeds (start-up and shot-to-shot), excellent image quality, and terrific look-and-feel. Despite my personal preference for Nikon pro-level gear, I can recommend this Canon d-SLR to my friends without reservation. Feel free to e-mail me at gadgester @t hotmail with your questions and commends. My first SLR - a review of a different color I researched this camera and lenses online, and chose it for my first SLR. I have previously have a Nikon 900 and a Nikon 990, both used for web-product photography, currently I have a Nikon 8700. When I went in to buy the XT Rebel, they sold me a filter kit and said "with these you'll never need PhotoShop." That was amusing, since I'm not a photog (I'm a computer person) and I love PhotoShop. According to my online research, the filters can double as a lens protector, so I got them in case I ever felt the need to reach for them. This review is not a performance review of the XT Rebel because I don't know how to use the camera well enough to exercise all its features. What I do wish to convey are the differences between a Nikon 8700 type camera, "P&S" (point and shoot), versus my first SLR camera, this Canon XT Rebel. It took me a long time to realize that these constitute two entirely different kinds of cameras. Autofocus: this SLR has an autofocus capability on steroids. My Nikon takes great photos, on a tripod or if I'm sitting. But should I try something as simple as pointing it at one of the small furry creatures living here too, it generally won't (auto-) focus. And you can't focus it otherwise, really, because you can't tell through the viewfinder or LCD whether it's truly focused, as compared to viewing it on your computer. FINALLY with the XT Rebel I can point it, hold down the snapshot button halfway, and get an instant autofocus. It's like The Terminator locking in on whatever you're pointing at. I am so happy. A minor difference is that the LCD monitor on the XT Rebel cannot be used as a viewfinder for shooting, you MUST look through the viewfinder. That means smooshing your face up against the back of the camera. I think they sell little viewfinder hoodies to alleviate that. Memory: this type of camera allows many shots in quick succession, which I have no plans on using. But this is one of the major differences between the two camera types: this XLR has a large amount of memory in the camera body, else it would be impossible to take so many photos so quickly. It takes a while to load large photos onto a CF card. What I don't understand is why manufacturers and reviewers don't list (or figure out) how much memory is in the camera itself...this would seem like a fundamental spec, like the various levels of cache on different CPUs, even within the same product family. It would certainly have helped me catch on much earlier to the differences between the two camera types, if this spec had been waved around at all. I purchased a Sandisk 1 Gb Extreme III card, which supposedly has a 133X speed rating. But it seems like you don't need that speedy of a card, given the buffer memory in the body of the XT Rebel. You could just buy a cheap 4 Gb IBM microdrive, I think. Zoom: on my Nikon 8700 camera, you push a lever to zoom in or out, with an accompanying SHZZZZZ sound as the lens moves in or out, slowwwly. For the XT Rebel, you grab the zoom part of the lens and twist it. The other part of the lens that can be twisted is the focus part...I'll leave that to photogs. On this XT Rebel the lens does NOT MOVE to autofocus. An internal mechanism inside the lens does that, and very quickly too. The Canon lens can have a USM, Ultra Sonic Motor, which means that the internal focusing mechanism is damn fast. Although I bought the kit version in black with the EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6, I haven't used it yet. It turns out the best Canon lenses have an "L" designation, so I bought a Canon EF 24-70/2.8 L USM (77MM). The first set of numbers, 24-70, means a zoom range (remember that I'm not a photog ;-), and the "2.8" means...well, it's complicated. It's called an "f-stop" and means how big the aperture is, or lens opening to feed the pixel sensor. A larger aperture is denoted by a smaller number, and it means the lens is better in low-light situations. This spec is also (annoyingly) called a "speed" setting. Indeed, I am annoyed at many of the specs being related to a 35mm film camera, a relic of the previous century. There is an apparent purpose though: as the prices keep coming down and the technology has moore oomph, the consumer digital cameras will finally match the historical ratings of film cameras in some way. That's why there's a "(77MM)" spec on that last lens, something to do with comparison to the old film cameras. The lens I bought, the EF 24-70/2.8 L USM, is heavy, 2.1 pounds. It totally dominates the camera body, and two hands must be used for a shot, one to grab the lens. The kit is much smaller and probably doesn't require two hands. The next lens I might buy is the Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS USM Lens. The "IS" stands for Image Stabilization, which is within the lens itself, and can be toggled on/off. The thing about having 8 megapixel cameras is that the slightest movement when shooting might cause a blur. I've been able to hand-hold my new camera-lens for indoor shots with no problem though. The IS in the other lens will help fixup such a problem, like stabilization on a camcorder. Otherwise, use a tripod. Here are detail pages on the two lens: http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-24-70mm-f-2.8-L-USM-Lens-Review.aspx http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-70-200mm-f-2.8-L-IS-USM-Lens-Review.aspx The second lens is so heavy that it is the lens that mounts onto a tripod, not the camera!!! This is an excellent site for a hard-core review of the XT Rebel / EOS 350D: http://www.dpreview.com/articles/canoneos350d/ The Canon Xt Rebel has effortlessly taken great pictures for me, indoors. It hasn't been outside yet. The download-directly using USB didn't work for me at first try. I am looking forward to getting that working because it means I won't have to pull the CF card in and out. To good to be true This is in response to the "to good to be true", if you think it is to good to be true, it probably is. Amazon should find a way to monitor these vendors cause they are going to rip you off. I don't know what the answer is but it is out there. E-mail one of these vendors, ask them why their prices are so low? You will most likely get a response about "my little secret", "direct form the factory", "very limited offer" - Sucker lines. Also notice that people selling these items are "just launched" with no reviews, and an e-mail address on yahoo or similar easy setup account. I would not trust a $500 purchase to a "just launched", mayby $5 but no more. In response to the Digital Rebel XT, I don't have mine yet, on order but have played around with one yesterday, positive details all over the web if you want a quality review. For the money it is a great buy, wont be perfect but if you want perfect you will need to spend $2000 plus, so all in all this is going to be a popular DSLR. My main point is spent the $1000 for the Drebel XT don't get suckered by some scam artist. Strong Camera with many improvements. Love it. I bought this camera about a week ago to replace my film-based Rebel G. My previous digital experience was with a 2MP Canon Powershot S100. I'm not a professional photographer, but I really like taking photographs (vs. snapshots). Canon has bundled a lot of goodies into a small, sturdy camera base that has proven iteself very capable to me. The contents of the package include a battery, the camera base, 3 CD with software and PDFs, a USB 2.0 connector, a video connector, a battery charger, a 18-55mm EF-S lens, a strap, and a manual. You'll need to provide your own CompactFlash card. I personally selected a 1GB Ultra II card, which will shoot about 70 RAW+JPEG images, or 275 Large JPEGS. The battery arrives already charged, so I could immediately take pictures. Kudos. That is a favor that I appreciate. I shot a hundred pictures before getting home. The Digital Rebel XT has the familiar basic mode and creative mode control dial on the top. They have added an "On/Off" switch, which was not present on my film-based Rebel G. The consistency in the controls made it possible for me to shoot my first pictures right away, though there are some features to read the manual for: the TTL flash metering discussion, the nuances of choosing the AF mode, and how the basic mode operation decides which ISO speed to use were the topics I found myself most interested in this week. Pictures look really sharp and colorful up to the ISO 400 setting. ISO 800 and 1600 can be safely used if you are looking for a particular effect, are shooting where a flash and tripod are not permittted, or in other very low light situations. It's going to be pretty grainy, but with the included software tools, it can be compensated for to a limited extent. The on-camera flash is not great, but it is very good for a built-in flash. In a pinch, it'll work, but serious picture taking will require an external flash. The included software products have both PC and Mac versions, a boon to Mac users. My Canon snapshot camera only included PC software. Canon bundles a RAW image editor that is handy if you shoot RAW. iPhoto's RAW "support" isn't adequate for adjusting photos. Otherwise, the included software isn't much better than the iLife suite, unless heavy image manipulation is required. In that case, Photoshop is a better choice anyhow. PC users will get some use out of the photo editing software, though. TIP: If you are loading pictures onto a newer Mac with iPhoto, set the Communication Method on the camera to PTP/Print, NOT PC Connection. Otherwise, the Mac won't find the camera. That detail doesn't appear anywhere in the manual, though PTP/Print is the default (but not the intuitive) setting. The lens is OK. It's a decent value for $100, but I wish it would mount to a film camera in addition to a digital EF-S mount. Remember the focal length multiplier when you plan to share your lenses between film and digital cameras. A 50mm all-around lens on a film camera is a 80mm moderate telephoto lens on the Rebel XT. The strap is lousy. You'll want a different strap unless ithcy, sweaty, rubberized material is your idea of a comfy strap. I decided not to use it. To sum up, this camera really impressed me. The resolution is great, the images are as good as I could reasonably expect from my camera skills, and the total paackage operates well together. Areas where Canon could improve the package include: 1. Ship it with an EF lens, not an EF-S 2. Ship it with better quality accessories. That strap is terrible. 3. Include a CF card. 4. Ditch the unnecessary tools from the bundle of software. Every OS has photo management software built in. If that's not adequate for someone, they've probably already bought a package that they use. Otherwise, I loved it. Followup 25-March-2005: This is a followup comment to my review on the Rebel XT. The reason I've decided to follow up is that I've seen a lot of people equating the Digital Rebel XT to the Canon 20d because it has similar features and resolution. The conclusion, then, that the 20D is not worth the extra $599 is what has me concerned. Take note: the Canon EOS 20D has an expected shutter life of 150,000 photographs. The Canon Digital Rebel XT has an expected shutter life of 50,000 photographs. What does this mean to you? Well, if your shutter dies after 50,000 pictures, even within the warranty period, it counts as normal wear and tear, and you have to pay to have it fixed. If your 20D quits after 50,000 snaps, you get a new shutter free of charge. It turns out that the cost to have a shutter repaired on an XT is about half of the price difference. So figuring in expected depreciation of the camera based on shutter life, the two cameras are similarly priced. Don't trust the guys with cheaper prices nor Amazon!!! In response to the post about buying from those 'new & used' sites, BEWARE! Make sure you do your homework and don't be drawn into something you can't easily undo (even if you're close to NY city they won't provide a real address). Likewise if you used, as I did, a search to find vendors outside Amazon. My suggestion is to get into Google and look up as much info as you can on a potential storefront or even a user. Last night I was considering buying from the one offering a Canon 20D for about $750! After checking them out, I discovered multiple complaints and nothing that indicated they were a legitimiate enterprise. Although I was torn between the XT and the 20D, I decided to place an order with Amazon for the XT. Now, I notice a post that says his delivery date for this item from Amazon is 2 months out! My order was immediately 'processed' so I can't change it, but you can bet I will do whatever it takes if I have to wait that long. The 20D was available for immediate shipment, so I may regret not ordering it. I'll update this post to share how this works out... Since my original post, I have sent Amazon 2 messages to try to cancel my Rebel XT order (and then order the 20D). I have heard nothing back in 2 days. Note that the Amazon order page for this item says 'you can cancel your order at any time'. Not true, as mine says it's being processed and no changes can be made. Yet, it has not actually shipped nor do I expect it to anytime soon. Ad also says 'first come, first served' 'as soon as it's available'. So why not let me change my order rather than place it in limbo where I now am stuck with whatever date they decide to ship it? Not good customer relations! Although I'm a big advocate of Amazon, I feel I'm getting screwed on this transaction. Hope someone is reading this as well as the 2 inquiries I have made... It's now Friday - 3 days since my order was locked in - and to my surprise the camera has just been shipped!!! I never received a reply to my customer service inquiries, so I'll now have to be content with this purchase. I'm sure this will be a great product but I'm still a bit miffed about the lack of flexibility in changing the order. The morale is to be sure you're absolutely sure about what you want before hitting the 'place order' button. Wow!! Spend the extra cash! I used a friends 10d a couple of weeks ago and was really impressed but was scared off with the price. I saw this come up and wanted to be able to use it for live action and just to take pictures and not wait for all the stuff like my 3.2 mp Olympus. I am not a Photog geek just a dad that had a wife that hated the other camera. I saw this come out and waited. It rocks, there are some nitpicks from web reviewers but this camera is cool! I will eventually get another lense probably the 135mm with IS. I am not a detail person as far as pro and cons go but fast recharge on the battery is great. I can only say it is the coolest thing with photography I have ever bought. I can take picture after picture with no problem or delay and delete want I want. Without paying for my mistakess. Live motion pictures not movies, are possible. It is for taking pictures. I have rambled but is it worth it. Amazon with their Prime is awesome beat Newegg.com on their Lexar 8x 1gb CF cards for their product including shipping!!! just right I'm an amature photographer and I've been using the Rebel XT for about a week. I've also used the Original Rebel and the Nikon D70. This is purely an anecdotal review..if you want techs and specs: go to www.dpreview.com First impressions: the XT is much smaller versus the rebel and D70. plastic body looks a little cheap. Even thought the D70 and Rebel are also plastic...they seem to have a better build quality and finish. ergonomics: feels a little uncomfortable at first to hold, maybe becuase it is so small. i don't know how balanced the camera wil be with a larger lens than the kit lens. performance: I feel the XT is better than original rebel and D70. Much faster and more responsive camera. instant power on, which the Rebel doesn't have. Good sized buffer for taking continuous shots. AF is fast and accurate. Controls are easy to access and logically laid out. The LCD however, is very difficult to see in sunlight as compared to the D70 which has a better qulity LCD. Picture quality: to the naked eye..the pictures are fantastic. On par with the 20D..but i'm sure if you look at more technical reviews, the XT falls short. overall, i like this camera alot. It's like a 20D but smaller and lighter! The Rebel XT is a joy to operate. As simple as a Point & Shoot when you want it to be, yet as advanced as a profesional level SLR when you NEED it to be! Now I know there are some features that the 20D has that this camera does not (ISO3200, and an extra 1fps) but thats all software controlled and hopefully will be unlocked soon buy our friends that brought us the Wasia hack for the original 300D Rebel. Buy this Camera! this is for Larry L Hoffman If you can't get Amazon to respond by e-mail, call them at 800.201.7575. They don't publicize the number, but they do answer the phone. :) Nice upgrade from old DIGITAL REBEL!!! This camera is awesome. I tried it last night at BestBuy. They had it for only $949.00 here in Idaho but no black body. BestBuy only acquired silver body only. Besides the point, this little DSLR is awesome in my opinion. Eventhough I love my old digital rebel with upgraded firmware, i think I want to add this to my canon collection rather than 20d. Since I do this for my wedding business, the one thing I was impress was is the E-TTL II function. Even if you point the camera for closed up picture, the flash from the camera will fire evenly. It didnt put it to one spot where it's focusing, which is great. I think it works like I-TTL balanced fill flash with Nikon D-70. Flash and wedding is a tough job to conquer. You think you know it, you have no idea that flash fotography is challenging. THat's why you we get paid thousands to have excellent picutres come up with $1k camera. hehehehe...... I only use a cheapo but wonderfully work Sigma EF-500 DG SUPER. Awesome flash!!! The camera just a little small to hold and a bit not looking pro at all. But i,m gonna add the battery grip BG-E3 for better grip and pro look to it expecially when i add that zoom lens. besides, the battery grip will accept 2 proprietary batteries or 6 AA which i love. only costing me $12.99 for 6 2100mah batteries at costco rather than spending $45 more each for specific battery, which i forget what it is. But all in all, the camera is awesome, will work magic to someone's wedding. You don't have to go 20D for extra $500.00. Stick with this one, only missing 2 extra focusing point and some software controlled functions and no PC sync. Other than that, Quality just as the same. Awesome camera. Good (and Bad) First DSLR Experience Pros: Nearly instant power-on. Extremely fast focusing with kit lens AND sharp pictures at all focal lengths. Fast multiple-frame shots (3 fps) even with slow (4x) CF card. Low image noise at high ISO settings (vs. non-SLR digital cameras). Cons: Full Auto Exposure setting predominantly uses ISO 400 (instead of ISO 100) even in bright sunlight. No ability to frame shot using LCD (major SLR shortcoming). Focus screen and mirror dirty after just 3 days use (major SLR shortcoming). Small LCD which is difficult to see in bright sunlight. No retaining strap on lens cover. Detailed Review: I purchased Canon Digital Rebel XT with kit lens and 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6 IS USM telephoto lens a week ago and have shot a wide variety indoors and outside with both lenses - 350 pictures total. The ability to change lenses and low noise at high ISO settings were the primary reasons this long-time non-SLR digital camera user purchased his first DSLR. The very good reported user experiences with the original Canon Digital Rebel, the availability of the new 8.2 megapixel Rebel XT for US$999, and a reasonable total user package price of $1500 after adding an image-stabilized Canon 75-300mm USM telephoto lens clinched the deal. With these two lenses I can cover a 35mm equivalent focal range of 27mm to 480mm and shoot clear, hand-held outdoor shots over entire range at ISO 100-400. Indoor telephoto shots up to 480mm are possible without flash, but I find ISO must be increased to 800 or 1600 for sharp hand-held shots. Very happy with the image quality of kit 18-55mm EF-S lens and the very fast focus times of this non-USM lens. It is also very light weight. I have found I mostly use Program exposure mode, since I can control the ISO setting, white balance mode, etc. I'm not happy with Full Auto Exposure mode choosing ISO 400 for outdoor shots in full sunlight (and all other shots). Why not use ISO 100? Granted, there is no noise visible in outdoor ISO 400 shots until you zoom in on monitor-displayed image and the noise is not visible in 8x10 prints from my Canon i950 8-color printer except in shadows. Using ISO 100 in Program mode mostly eliminates this shadow noise. I have found the A-DEP exposure mode useful for ensuring wider depth of field and sharp exposures, especially for telephoto shots. I have experienced more than a few grossly underexposed indoor flash pictures under fluorescent lighting (5-15 foot range) in Full Auto Exposure mode. Not sure what the problem is. Overall, however, I have been very pleased with the quality of the majority of pictures taken so far including: macro shots, portraits, landscape photos, flash macro shots (no camera shadow), indoor flash pictures, and telephoto (all hand-held). Camera is ready-to-go the instant you turn it on. Can review pictures immediately on pressing review button and zoom in up to 10X. LCD can be hard to see (both pictures and camera settings) in bright sunlight. Increasing LCD brightness to maximum helps. Viewfinder is bright and clear (duh, it's TTL optical) with good eye relief for eyeglass wearers. After an hour of outdoor shooting in windy conditions yesterday, however, a major problem developed. The focus screen located inside the top of the camera body AND the internal mirror got contaminated with dust and yellow tree pollen. I only had the internal camera body exposed for maybe 90 seconds total during the course of 4 lens changes. I was able to get the mirror clean but I could not completely clean the focus screen - it's impossible to access with the dust blowers I have. If I cannot keep camera internals clean over course of 3 days, what will happen over 6 months or a year of use? What if the digital sensor gets dirty? Also, I find the inability to use the LCD to frame pictures BEFORE taking them to be a BIG negative. YES, I realize this is a "feature" of SLR cameras, but it still sucks. For these two reasons, and the small LCD that is nearly unusable outdoors in bright sunlight, the camera has been returned. Guess I'm not cut out for a digital SLR. For those that are - the Canon Digital Rebel XT is a fine camera, and I can highly recommend the 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6 IS USM lens. I also advise "try it - before you buy it" if this is possible, and definitely don't buy from a store that does not allow "no-questions-asked" "no restocking fee" returns for some period of time after purchase (2-4 weeks). Well worth every penny. Bought the black body--which feels sturdy, solid, expensive and comfortable in my hands--with an EF 24-85 1:3.5-4.5 zoom lens. I love this, my first SLR, camera. It's fast, takes big bright sharp pictures and has more features than I can imagine using right now. I'd recommend it to anyone looking to upgrade to an SLR from a point and shoot. Obviously, a pro would be limited by this camera, but not, yet, a regular user like me. My only beef so far is a minor quibble: custom white balance is a 5 or 6 step process I haven't mastered yet. The best thing I've ever bought The XT is amazing. The battery comes partly charged so you can immedietly start using the camera (thank you Canon!) I've already shot about 200 pictures with it and the battery hasn't died yet. I can't give you a comparison between the XT and the 20D as I haven't owned a 20D, I can tell you a few things you may wish to know before buying. This camera, is TINY. Extremely tiny. I'm a woman in my early twenties and I have small hands. The camera fits just right in my hands, but honestly, I don't see how someone with bigger hands would be 100% comfortable holding this. If my hands were any larger, they would be slipping off the bottom. I had tried holding a 20D at a camera shop once and it felt too large in my hands to grip. The camera size is perfect for me, but just beware if you have larger hands. You may want to look into the battery grip, or test out holding the camera at a store before you order it. See the picture I uploaded above to get a size relation and how the camera fits in my hands. For anyone who is migrating to this camera from a standard point and shoot digital camera, you cannot frame the image you are about to take using the LCD screen on the back. You must look through the viewfinder. The LCD screen is soley for menu use and preview mode after the picture has been taken, nothing more. Something I've noticed is the camera makes a ratteling sound when moved around. I couldn't figure out what the heck it was, and then I finally reazlized it's the hinges from the pop-up flash. It sounds like they are loose when the flash is closed. I went to Best Buy and looked at their display model, and yep, it has the same problem. Well, it's not really a *problem* but frankly something ratteling around like that sounds cheaply made to me. My Canon film SLR doesn't make that sound. I use a 420EX Speedlite flash with my SLRs so the popup flash doesn't concern me, but it was something I noticed and thought I would share. I love that Canon gave the option to have a black finish over a silver one. The startup time is instantaneous which is absolutely wonderful. The burst mode is excellent with 3 fps. It's extremely quiet. The image quality is excellent. You can get photo quality prints at 20x30, and even then I bet you could push it further. I really can't elaborate more then what other reviews have said. If you are looking for a step into the digital SLR world, this is the ticket. Or you can even check out the newly reduced original Digital Rebel, but for the extra hundred bucks or so, I would just get the XT. You will not be sorry. Two upgrades I would make right away: Get a Speedlite flash and the Canon 28-135mm lens. Also, I don't know why people are submitting bad reviews grading Amazon on shipping for the Rebel XT. When I preordered the XT from Amazon (not from another 3rd party), it said it would be released March 20th. I got my Rebel XT in the mail yesterday (the 22nd) which if you ask me, is pretty darn good. Want something right away? Then walk into a store and buy it instead of ordering from the internet. Awesome Camera! Totally satisfied! I purchased this camera a few days ago, and I like it more and more with each passing day. When I first held the camera in the store, I did not like the smallness of the camera. I have average sized hands, but the camera still felt too small. I have the original Canon Rebel, which always felt good in my grip. I purchased the Xt despite the size (i am a megapixel junkie) and I am glad that I did. This camera is small, but mighty. It is fast, sleek and caputres colors and subtle shadows flawlessly. I settled on the silver finish, which looks classy and solid. The original Rebel, although comfortable to hold, always looked a bit cheap, and too plastic like. The new Xt does not. I have yet to make an enlargement, but I am confident that I can go up to 16x20 inches without feeling a loss of quality. I am a high school art teacher with a degree in photography, so I have developed an eye for color and texture over the years. I am very demanding of my photographic equipment. I know that I will not be dissappointed with the Rebel Xt. I use a 512K memory card, which is on the small size, but does not seem to slow down the camera at all. I am delighted with this purchase. Considering the price difference between the Rebel Xt, and the Canon 20D, it does not make sense to spend $500.00 more for 1/2 a megapixel difference. I wouldn't be surprised if the Xt out performs and out sells the 20D. So, my advice is BUY this camera. It is lightweight, fast, sleek and delivers impressive results. It Is Cool SLR! I bought this camera right after I have seen it is comming up 2 amazon. This is my first SLR. It is really good and I like it and I am glad to have it! I was really suprised how light is it! If you hold it in your hands.. it just fit really good! I use 1gb flash card II and I can fit about 262 pictures on standart Large size and 118 in RAW format. Thats, I think, pretty good. Camera is really quick. I like the flash (you can change the flash exposure) I like the parameters and b&w filters. You also can change the white balance in many different ways. AF mode and metering mode is good too! In automatic modes everything works properly. One night it was snowing and I wanted to take some pictures at night about treets with snow on but it didn't let me take picture because of snowing... It is lot of work to set everything correctly but if you know how the picture look really pretty!!! I am also fine with the battery. Some reviewers criticises it but I like it. I was taking lot of pictures outside all day (without flash) and my battery is still ok.. so I can not say anything bad. The thing I don't like the most is the strap. It is cheap and non comfortable! I also bought the EH18 case for this camera but I am very disapointed, such as I wrote in the review about it. It is really complicated to put the camera out of the case and then after that you have to put the case somewhere because it doesn't have any strap. Also the front lens cap. You have to put it somewhere because it is not connected to the camera by any string or something. I am really enjoying this SLR. Now I need other accesories... I would love the 17-88 zoom lens but is expensive! The price of this camera is ok. I found it today $50 cheaper then I payed but it is ok. Also tripod and better case is needed. In the end, I really like this brand New Digital Rebel XT SLR! Great Camera! After some 400 photos, I have mixed feelings about the camera. I've been using non-DSLRs for four years, and have owned 5 of these. All of the others allow more consistent results than the XT. However, I am relearning my old SLR ways (the hard way). I LOVE the viewfinder and the speed! The housing looks good, but scratches easily. As with all DSLRs, it is exceptionally easy to get dust on the CMOS sensor (and difficult to clean). Sure wish they'd fix this (couldn't they put a charge on the sensor to repel rather than attract dust?)! AWB mode yields varying results (looking at a series of daylight photos taken in different directions seconds apart, it's amazing that some are overexposed, some underexposed, and some have obviously better white balance than others). Wish the ISO extended to 3200. Until a smaller, better build camera comes out, this will be the one! do not buy this!! I have had an EOS Elan Canon SLR 35mm for years and was very excited to get the digital equivalent when the Rebel XT came out. I brought the camera with me to the desert in S. Calif during this past wildflower bloom. I figured it would be the perfect camera for the variety of colors on display now in the desert. I cannot describe my disappointment with the camera. First of all, the camera quickly got a small amount of dust on the sensor (even without removing the lens) and ruined most of my pictures. I could remove it with Photoshop, but I don't want to go through that for the nearly 2000 pics that I took. Additionally, the color was horrible. I get better color from my Canon s400 elph. I tried using AV,Program mode, manual, landscape....all of them were problematic. Also, many of the pics were washed out. The main problem is the stock lens that comes with the camera. it is a very slow f3.5 lens. junk. buying a faster lens adds another grand to the total price. other sources of irritation: cannot use lcd screen to take pics. results in using the viewfinder and your nose squished up against the lcd screen. I am returning this tomorrow. that last dude is an idiot first of all, i dont know of many (if any) dSLR's that can shoot using the LCD. second, you obviously don't know how to use the camera, b/c if you're getting "washed out" photo's, that's an easy thing to fix using the exposure control. Also, the color is great on canon dSLR's, you obviously don't know how to control custom WB/saturation (you need to take a photo of a white piece of paper or card at the location and then "set" it as yor custom WB). Next is the fact that you used the kit lens. Don't blame the body for a cheap lens (although I think its decent for the wideangle). Finally, the dust on the sensor is your fault. you obviously don't know how to check and clean your camera. if you want a sealed-tight dSLR, you have to spend thousands. My advice for you is to stick with point and shoot. You're not ready for dSLR. Disappointed with this camera I have played with the new Digital Rebel XT for a day now and I am growing more and more diappointed with it. I had a Powershot Pro1 and I thought the Rebel XT was going to be an upgrade from the Pro1. So far I have taken over two hundred pictures, side by side, using both the XT and the Pro1. For each picture I used the same settings within the choosable range for both cameras. I have taken pictures in the evening, in the night when the light is very dim, and in a sunny morning in the outside. I set the focal length at 200 mm on the Pro1 and 130 mm on the XT, which were almost exactly equivalent. After I took the pictures I came inside and open them with Microsoft Digital Image Pro to compare side by side the pictures of the same objects taken by the two cameras. Without fail, when auto focus was used for both cameras, the Pro1 produced much sharper images and a much better depth of field. When I switched to manual focus, though, the XT did produce razor sharp image with full details. I am impressed with the speed of the Rebel XT as compared to the Pro1. But I do not want to focus manually all the time. My decision is to stick with my Pro1 and return the XT tomorrow. One word to the Canon engineers, finally. You guys are idiots, wasting such a good camera with such a lousy auto focus accuracy. Digital focus processor needs some tuning.... The circle is now complete: I started with film SLRs about 35 years ago, used them professionally in my job, but for personal use, I had gone to point and shoot film and recently point and shoot digital. I have not been happy with the sharpness of the point and shoot cameras so I thought it might be time to try the digital SLRs for sharpness and higher resolution. I ordered the silver body Rebel XT camera as I like it better than a faux pro black camera (this is afterall not a pro camera), and black cameras look dirty or dusty all the time. It came rapidly from Amazon.com. I have had mostly good pictures with this camera, but there are a few things I would add to the other posters. Pro: compact, light, fast, good in outdoor daylight. Cons: in incandescent light the AWB is only fair. The picture color is better if you set this manually in a manual mode rather than using the AUTO mode. Sometimes the autofocus has a tough time figuring out where things are indoors, and sometimes there is severe hunting, with an occasional focus which is way off. You can fool this autofocus in situations where the subject is further back than foreground objects unless you set the focus point ahead of time, which is usually not what you think about on the spot. ISO speeds in AUTO mode is 400, and cannot be set higher. You can set this to 1600 with very little noise in the non-auto modes. Kit lens is a bit soft in my example, despite good reviews. I got in a Tamron lens (28-75) which seems sharper, but some say this lens has a yellowish cast, which I have not seen yet. One other thing pointed out by the professionals: you have to wait till the buffer has saved the picts to the CF card or they will be lost. So long as the little red led has stopped flashing you are OK. Overall I am happy with this camera. I wish it were a bit more user friendly and intuitive, and there was more control over the ISO and AWB in auto modes. You can't expect the kit lens to be very good considering the price it is, but I would rather have a better prime lense than a cheap zoom which you have to replace anyway. Next time round I will just get a body and forget about the kit lens. For those looking to step up from a point and shoot film camera or a lessor digital, this is the right direction. I do wonder if I should have got the 20D instead, but for the difference in price, I got my Tamron lens and I am happy I did it this way. Good luck and happy picture taking to you all... Edit 4/10/2005: before doing my 24-75 zoom Tamron lens rebate, I wanted to be absolutely sure there were no front focus issues with this lens in this camera. Some have said the Tamron lens might have a front focus issue, and I spent a lot of time yesterday and today specifically looking for front focus problems, and found none. I took dozens of pictures indoors and out, with flash and without, and found no consistent problem worth sending the lens or camera back for. As I said above the focus is sometimes off indoors, probably due to low light, but much more often than not it is good. Outdoors today I shot some sharp pictures which focussed spot on, and I am pleased with the Tamron len's performance in my Rebel XT. Better than I am Fabulous camera - incredibly fast and accurate. Pictures are really awe inspiring. Very good software interface as well. Highly recommended. Canon Kiss Digital N (Digital Rebel XT) I'm stationed overseas so most companies won't let me buy cool electronics like the Digital Rebel XT so I went out on the Japanese economy. This is my first digital SLR. I've struggled trying to capture great shots of my daughters playing soccer, basketball, running track..etc., with the "enthusiast" zoom cameras. The Kiss Digital N is made in Japan and has a few minor differences from the U.S. model. The kit zoom 18-55 lens for instance is USM. I bought it as a kit with another Canon lens as well, a 55-200 EF. It's light, cheap, and good enough as I'll get to in a minute. In the end it was between the Pentax istDS or the Digital Rebel XT. After completing all of my research on-line it came down to Canon picture quality, and technology. Am I happy? So far this camera is light years ahead of any digital that I've owned. It's fast, the pictures are sharp if you understand the limitations of the lens you are using, and it's easy. My wife can use it just fine and she doesn't have a digital clue. For the enthusiast, there is plenty of stuff to play with. The 8 megapixel CMOS sensor produces amazing results. The soccer pics tell the story for me. The 55-200 EF produced some incredible shots. It's USM and focuses fast and sharp. It's not an "L" lens but I don't even know what that means! This camera will sell like crazy. Eventually I plan on buying a 35mm EF prime F2.0 lens, the wireless remote, the battery grip, and Canon Flash. Highly recommended. Top Notch digital I bought this camera as soon as it was available on Amazon, and have had it for about a month now. The experience has been fantastic. The pictures are nothing less than stunning. Colors are great, resolution is amazing, and the software package is very complete and easy to use. Probably the best features are the number of modes that are available, and the ease of use. It can be set to a full program mode, and used as a point and click snapshot camera by anyone at all, or put into full manual mode for the more experienced. I do have a couple of suggestions. Order this body without the Canon lens. I upgraded to a Sigma 28-300 mm Macro Zoom for about the cost of the original lens, and now have one lens for virtually any situation. Also, get top notch compact flash card. I bought high speed, 1 GB Lexar 80x flash because I really wanted the ability to take high speed repetative pictures. I was not disappointed. You can either take one picture after another about as fast as you can hit the sutter, or put the camera into repeat-shot mode and hold the shutter button down. This is a great feature. Also order a spare battery or two. It takes a lot of pictures on a single charge, but seems to go from a full battery indication down to dead real fast, so there's not a lot of warning that you need to charge up. All in all, a very outstanding bit of technology. Awesome! What an amazing small compact SLR camera! I was originally thinking of purchased the 20D but I found it a bit too big for my taste. The Digital Rebel XT is small and compact and perfect for my wife and I. Although small, the battery can easily shoot 230 shots in a single charge (20% using flash). I highly recommend this camera it's perfect for amateur/professional photographers. This is an excellent upgrade from my previous Canon G2. If you are new to photography I would recommend the G6 before this camera. But the best next step would be this one. Also, with the $700 dollars that I saved getting this instead of the 20D, I purchased a new Tamron SP AF28-75/2.8 XR Di LD Lens. What an AMAZING lens! i would highly recommend this lens. There is no other lens equivalent to this lens for the money. An equivalent Canon L series lens would cost nearly $1200. Hope that this help! This is one awesome camera I bought from amazon after being let down by Dell. It arrived next day and on the weekend i gave it a good workout at a local airshow. I took just under 1000 photos and was amazed by how well the shots came out in sport mode. Very quick focus and spot on. excellent camera and well built , not small as some people have noted, works for me... Great dSLR especially for the money Got this camera after considering between this and the 20D. Was very impressed with the 20D, but the price difference could easily give me a very good lense, and the feature differences are minor, so Rebel XT it is. I am a photography enthuiast who wishes he had the budget for a canon 1D MarkII but instead have the budget of a mortal and have to pay for a personal camera out of his own pocket. I have been reading some other reviews on this site and other sites regarding digital SLR cameras in general. I had to admit, most of the reviewers really are better served with a point and shoot. This is a SLR camera, it will take great pictures in automatic modes, but if you use your camera in those modes, get something like the Canon Pro1. This camera is to be used in Av, Tv or Manual modes, maybe in Program in a pinch. It requires you to understand WB, depth of fields, exposure metering as well as other wide array of nuances that come with a SLR camera. If you don't want to spend some time to learn some details about photography, you will be better served with a point and shoot. If you decide to use the attached flash for in door portrait shots, you're probably better served with a point and shoot. If you need to frame your shot on the LCD, you're better served with a point and shoot (becasue the whole SLR concept of through the lense view of the scene, DOF checking, focus accuracy is completely lost by that opinion). Yes the sensor on dSLR's will get dirty and require maintenance. Some one mentioned why don't engineer design the sensor to have the opposite charge to rebel dust. Well, dusts don't have one single polarity in their charges, so 50% of the dust will be attracted to the sensor doesn't matter what polarity the sensor is charged with. Also, this is not a Canon 1Ds either, so it does have its limitations, but then again, people who will feel completely limited by this camera should have gotten a Canon 1D series camera anyway. The best merit for this camera is foremost image quality. It's extremely low in image noise all the way up to ISO 800. ISO 1600 is completely usable if you stay below 8x10 enlargement and don't mind photoshopping your image a little. Again, if you don't ever want to bother with photoshop adjustment of you pictures, you probably will be better served with a point and shoot. The kit lense is of decent quality again for the price, but you're definitely short changing yourself if that's the only lense you decide for have for this camera. If you want to buy the kit and had no intention to buy another lense, you shoud seriously be considering Canon Pro1, it's got a L glass and a good match between the lense and the body. Buying this camera will be at most 50% of your investment if you truly want to make it worthwhile, the other 50% will be needed for buying good lenses (get the Canon 17-40mm USM L lense, the 70-200 4L zoom, and the 28-135mm as a walk-around, the Tamron 28-74 is an excellent medium range lense as well and is probably a superior substitue for the Canon 28-135 USM). I would have to say lack of spot metering does give the Nikon D70 an advantage, but this camera does have a center metering mode with exposure lock, so it is not really a show-stopper. Compared to the D70, the Rebel XT has superior noise level performance. This is from my personal experience as well as photos from a wide variety of sites on the net. Low noise level is very important to me, so if this is on your priority list, you really can't go wrong with the Rebel XT at this price point. What I want to emphasize here is seriously consider your needs before buying this camera, to make this camera truly worth the money you spent, you need to spend a bit more of your money and a lot of more of your time on learning how to properly handle a piece of equipment like this. Otherwise, you guessed it, Canon Pro1 is a very very good candidate. Greeeaaat Camera !!! This camera makes photography more fun. All the positive things that have been said are true so I'll spend my time with some ideas for those who are on the "fence" or who are not sure if a DSLR is for them. If you are new to DSLRs and/or photography, this camera (and any dslr) takes more knowledge than a standard p&s camera. The biggest complaint I hear is it is not as sharp as my old P&S and the pictures are softer. DSLRs do not apply as much in camera sharpening so your images may not be as sharp straight from the camera (you can change that in the camera). Best results will always come if you do some post image processing (pp). If you do not like PP, this is a negative, however, you can set the in-camera options to apply pp to your liking. It is just better controlled in pp software. Knowledge of photographic concepts such as Depth of Field(dof) and exposure control are needed. People sometimes complain about the cameras soft images when in actuality it is user error due to the concept mistakes above. Plan to spend more money on lenses!!! The 18-55 is very good for the money ($80-$100 market) but is nowhere near the quality of other options that you have. Plan to spend more on at least 1-2 quality lenses for best results. There is really, really a noticeable difference. A few reasons I rated this camera 4 instead of 5: 1)The eyepiece view is a little smaller than other DSLRs. This makes composing a little more challenging, espec. for manual focus. 2) the viewfinder is too dim and gets washed out in the sun. In the end, image quality is king and the images from the 350D arethe kings crown. Not perfect, but a great camera This is my 2nd D-SLR, after the Pentax *ist D. I switched because more lenses are made for Canon, the lenses are easier to find, and Canon also has USM focusing available. I've had the camera for a little over a month, and don't regret buying it at all. It IS small, and light. The 20D looks better on paper and feels more solid, but it's also larger and heavier-about half a pound more than the Rebel XT. After using the Rebel XT for a few days the size didn't seem like a disadvantage anymore. It isn't weather-sealed, but neither is the 20D. Like others have noted, the LCD is hard to read in direct sunlight. Here is where we see the advantage of having most information (ISO level, etc) in the small grey LCD--it's readable in all lighting conditions, whereas the color LCD washes out in bright sunlight. The camera also rattles a little, due to the hinges on the pop-up flash. It doesn't sound broken or worrisome, but you are definitely aware that this isn't a professional-grade, durable camera. The XT doesn't feel as durable and substantial as the Pentax *ist D, or the Nikon D70, or some of the offerings from Minolta and Olympus. But at the same time, it doesn't feel cheap to me. Frequently the heft and density of cameras gives the illusion of quality. The Rebel XT, though it feels superficially a little flimsy, is much more of a camera than any point-and-shoot superzoom made by Sony, Canon, or anyone else. SLRs give you much faster focus, much better low-light performance, and the advantage of interchangeable lenses. That being said, you may be disappointed if you expect to get the Rebel XT and only the kit lens. The kit lens isn't a good indoors or low-light lens. If you absolutely don't want to spend any more money past the initial investment, stay away from SLRs. You'll still get some advantages, granted, such as the faster focus, but overall it might be a disappointing experience for you. I like the XT's kit lens, but it has its limitations. There is no one do-it-all-well perfect lens. If you shoot under good lighting conditions from f8-f11 you'll get good pictures with the kit lens and have nothing to worry about. In a dimly lit room you'll need either a faster lens or something with image stabilization, like the Canon 17-85mm. Overall, this is a great camera, and the kit lens is a perfectly serviceable beginning lens, which is also small and light enough for travel. I would prefer a more solid build, but I opted for the lighter weight and smaller size of the XT over the better build and durability of the 20D. Both take about equivalent pictures, though there are some specs that are different, like more frames per second and ISO 3200 capability on the 20D. Ultimately SLRS are more about lenses than the camera, and really all photography is more about the photographer than the equipment. The XT, with the right lenses, is as capable as anything else on the market. Unless you need ISO 3200, or 5 frames per second, or a heavier, sturdier build, I see little reason to opt for the 20D. Put the $500 difference into lenses instead, and you won't regret it. Best per buck - Excellent quality of photographs straight out of the box - Very fast in all departments - Intuitive (easy) menu system - Quiet operation I also experienced very good battery life (with preview turned off, which in my opinion for fast shooting should be off anyways) As a side note: no matter how big/small your hands may be: get the vertical grip (BG-E3). It's extremely well built, gives the whole set up nice heft without feeling too heavy. It also gives you a choice of power (rechargables - one or two, or AA batteries). Overall, I don't see anything else in this price range that's even remotely close to what the Rebel XT represents; in built quality and the actual photographic output. my switch to digital 1. Complete control over every aspect of the picture-taking process. You can pretty much override and alter any of the "default" settings with ease. One complaint: there should be a mode in which you set the aperture & shutter speed and the camera picks the optimal ISO; perhaps there is one -- I haven't found it yet. 2. The menu system scared me at first, but after about an hour of playing with it, it becomes remarkably intuitive. A little practice is all that's needed. 3. According to the gurus, 8 Mpix is enough resolution to easily beat out even the slowest film in terms of detail. It's not that digital has better resolution, it's that the "noise" is much lower. I'm used to medium format work, and I have no qualms about the switch. 4. Camera is small and light. I don't know what other people are talking about; I have big fat hands and have no problem manipulating all the controls, taking steady pictures, etc. Perhaps they are just used to larger cameras? In any case, there's no reason to be afraid of this guy because of the size. 5. Autofocus sometimes has to "hunt" a little in low-light conditions, and its possible to confuse the system. However, I can't cross-compare: this is the first system I've used with autofocus! Love-Hate Relationship I love the size and potiential of this camera. The fact that I could use my old lens was what caused me to only look at Canon Cameras. PROBLEM: White Balance was way off. When I took pictures, the blues did not come through. For example, I took one picture of a fortress in Corfu, Greece that had a background of a blue sky with a few white clouds with the new Canon XT and my wife's $300 5mp Sony. The Sony showed blue skies and white clouds and the Canon showed all grey skies. No distinction between the clouds and the sky. I shoot this in the automatic (green square) mode. I worked with the professional photogragher on our cruise ship and he agreed there was a problem. I returned the camera and obtained a refund. I was disappointed. One final comment: I am not a professional photographer so this could be pilot error! Sad story about Canon Digital Rebel XT fill-in flash failure I bought a Digital Rebel XT last april 2005 after taking a lot of information on this camera on internet websites and with retail stores. I chose up this Canon product for two major reasons, first Nikon D70 was not available at that time and second Digital Rebel XT + lense EF-S17-85mm IS USM seemed to be better and affordable choice. But 2 months and 24 days of use later, I feel very disappointed. When I tried to take pictures of my daughter receiving honors at her "gala meritas", the fill-in flash with loud clickety-clack noises refused stubbornly to pop up. It was impossible to take any pictures with flash even after the camera was shut off and reopened again. Each time an error message was appearing up in the viewfinder, blocking completely the use of the camera. And this is not the end of this sad story because Montreal Canon customer service is very slow to handle up my request of service, at least 4 weeks. And don't try to ask questions to a Canon technician. Only the retailer is able to get a few information and answer you to wait because you don't buy at least a $5000 camera to have the right to get faster service. Really, really frustrating buying experience... canon eos 350d i love photography and for a long time, i've been watching from the sidelines of the digital world using point and shoot cameras. when it came time to purchase a digital slr, however, it came down to either the 20d or the 350d by canon or nikon's d70. all three were entry level professional cameras, but i ended up going with the 350d--the digital rebel xt. i have not been disappointed with this camera. it does everything from landscapes to macro to portraits. i think a lot of the people giving it lower rankings haven't taken full advantage of the camera's abilities yet or tried out new lenses; they complain about how it fits their hands without trying a battery pack, or they complain about the range (i.e. zoom) when they're using a 18-55mm lens! they need to realize that this is not a point and shoot, this is a camera that requires either previous knowledge or the ability to learn hands on. if you want to do skyline photography, you should not expect the default kit lens to do a decent job; rather, you should buy a wide angeled or telephoto lens. in other words, it's a great camera and that's why i'm writing this review. i was seeing too many negative reviews from people who don't seem to totally get what a digital slr is and how much it requires; new lenses, new abilities, and a lot of time. Excellent Semi-Pro Digital Camera The Canon Digital Rebel XT is a great camera. I have been able to use all my Canon EF lenses, which was the main reason I purchased this jewel. The shots are absolutely stunning. It takes great shots in auto mode, but has the ability to let your creativity fly with manual and other program modes. If you have legacy EF lenses and you want to maximize that investment, this camera is definitely the way to shoot digitally. I love it! I received my new Canon Digital Rebel XT 2 weeks ago. It has performed excellent for me. I have already printed off some images..stunning quality. This camera is easy to use and produces wonderful results! Jam-packed and ready-to-go I've shot Canon cameras since the late '70s; literally 10's of thousands of frames of film. I've also shot as many frames through Nikon and Pentax cameras. So, naturally when I went to DSLR format I wanted something I was familiar with; something with credibility, too. I found that and a lot more in the Rebel XT 350D. A lot of camera in one small, very low-priced unit. I would recommend this camera to anyone wanting to get into serious digital photography. This camera will do just about anything you would or could get from another $2K or so. So, why spend it on the body when you can on the lenses. That's what I did. I would also recommend that you purchase the battery-grip as well. Not so much for the extra battery power -which is nice; especially on remote shootings - but for the balance and feel of the unit. It make a world of difference in the feel. NOTE: The very low-cost, yet extensive array of settings and adjustments (many found on the higher-end DSLRs) make this one of the best buys in Digital photography. ofieldstream Too small, and too little We were using a Digital Rebel 6.3MP and an old Sony 5.0 MP 7X optical when the Sony got wet and began working intermittently. Time to replace the Sony and move up a notch! Having been well-impressed with the Rebel 6.3 and the two lenses we'd added (EF 55-200 4.5-5.6 USM and the superb EF 700-200 2.8 with Canon's 2X extender bought used), we decided to jump on the Digital Rebel XT with the 18-55 lens. It arrived Thursday, and we sent it back Monday. Here's why. It was too small. Smaller is usually better, but the XT started to feel and look like a toy camera, or at least a point-and-shoot. My wife and I both have smallish hands, and the XT was bordering on being too small to be ergonomic for us. With the 70-200 lens attached, the Rebel XT disappeared. The second why is features. This is not a knock on the XT, which is a fine (excellent, really) camera with significant improvements over the original Digital Rebel. When we sent the XT back, we got Canon's 20D. Aha! you say. The XT and the 20D are basically the same camera. Not completely, and here's Canon's language comparing the two: "There are, of course, some very real differences between the EOS Digital Rebel XT digital camera and the more advanced EOS 20D. While the 20D SLR includes performance features such as faster continuous shooting speed (5 frames per second [fps] vs. 3 fps) with larger burst capability (23 frames vs. 14 frames) and custom function settings (18 vs. 9) that more than justify its heftier price tag, this new Rebel XT model was created for those dedicated SLR users who are migrating to digital for the first time and don't wish to give up the flexibility an SLR system offers." After using the Digital Rebel and three lenses (plus extender) we evolved from point-and-shoot to serious amateurs, and now we're knocking on the door of "prosumer." The 20D puts us there. It also uses the same batteries as the Digital Rebel, which is a plus. Like the Digital Rebel, the 20D is the size of a traditional SLR and easier to handle than the XT, even if it weighs a bit more. This is not a rip on the XT, but a word to the wise for folks like us who feel ready to move to the next level. We took some fine photos with the XT, which we aren't discarding just because we sent back the XT. A final note: If you get the XT (and that is not a bad thing), get the body only and a lens other than the 18-55 that comes standard in the Digital Rebel and XT kits. Again, this is a fine lens with good, middle-of-the-road capability. But if you're getting serious, you need all the lens you can afford, or even a little more than you can afford. The Canon EF-S 17-85 4.5-5.6 gives a lot of range and versatility and would be great with an XT if you're trying for really good photos while keeping life simple and your camera-lens package light. Even better is the EF-S 10-22 3.5-4.5. But the prize of our collection is the EF 24-70 2.8. It provides superb performance. Yes, the cheapest of those is about the price of an XT body. You get what you pay for. We were lucky enough to have fallen into a little cash and put it into a 20D and a great lens (24-70), a really good lens (10-22), and a relatively compact versatile lens that performs well in good light (17-85). If you're sitting on the fence as to your photographic future, I hope this helps. Very pleased I bought this camera at B and H Photo on Wed, 7/6/05, so I've owned it for less than a week. This Canon 350D is a digital replacement for my N75. My family loves Nikon and during my search for a digital camera it was difficult passing over the Nikon D70, but only initially. The size, weight, and feel of the Rebel XT is comparable to my N75. I have small hands and found the D70/D50 and even other Canon SLRs to be too large and quite heavy. I am the sort of person who enjoys bringing my camera everywhere; toss it in a bag or backpack and go. The only real difference in weight now is very minimal, even with the battery pack. I haven't read the manual yet. The controls are pretty intuitive and fun to play around with. Connection to my PC is pretty simple. I'm not too excited with the Zoom browser software. I'm going to kill it and remove it from my pc soon. It's just a silly interface and I really prefer the simplicity of XP's Explore browser which is sufficient. This camera has a USB 2 connection which I don't have yet. I've taken about 200 photos the past 3 days in large format and upload time hasn't been an issue using my 1.0 USB ports. My USB 2.0 PC card will arrive soon and I am looking forward to seeing the difference in speed. I will update my review then. I bought the body and lens kit. I thought I might be annoyed with the lens since I'm used to 28-80, but I find that it's an easy move to 18-55. As for a true critique in the quality of this particular lens, I am not qualified for I am an amateur photographer/hobbyist. (...) I hope my experience helps someone with their decision in the pursuit of purchasing a digital SLR regardless whether this is the choice or not. ---- Update 8/8/05 I had a month of shooting with this camer. I've taken over 600 shots all in large format without delay due to writing. I have a sandisk Ultra II 1Gb CF. A large percentage of these photos are images of people. There is no shutter delay; quick and responsive focusing to handle the most animated of my friends and even the family cat. I've had no problems shooting indoors in low lighting to a brifght sunny day outdoors. One thing: indoors the flash can be excessive and I tend to turn it off or go manual. Battery: Power is eaten up with viewfinder preview. I turn turn off that option. USB 2.0: Nice With all of the reviews I've read about folks manipulating their images after using their d-SLRs I was pretty apprehensive, but I've had no need to do this. Simply learn the different settings that should be used in different environments. There continues to be complaints regarding the size of this camera being too small. Before making a purchase and finding disappointment, go to a photo/electronics store and test it out. Get a feel for the size, weight and positioning of the buttons. Beware of marketplace scammers This is a great camera but be aware of the prices in marketplace that seem too low. They are. These people are just trying to scam you. DO NOT wire them money. a NYC Art Director's opinion... I've art directed my share of photo shoots in NYC and I'm also writing, designing and photographing my cookbook and this camera is perfect for me. Through my experience, I've seen some amazing photography but had never taken the photo. Now I can. It's the easiest camera to operate. I'm a total novice but the quality of the photography is phenomenal. I can't wait to see the photos when I know what I'm doing. For the curmudgeons that said it doesn't feel like a traditional camera, you're right. But that's a good thing. It's smaller, lighter, faster, sleeker and takes great pictures. I'm sure tradition cameras will copy the XT's design. You'll find that it's not too small. The XT is like a Mercedes and the Nikon is like a Cadillac. My favorite feature is how easily I was able to take pictures from my powerbook. The photos displayed on my screen almost immediately. Then I could change the aperture, ISO, and take another photo instantly. I don't even know what that stuff means but I was able to see the results and through trial and error take a decent photo. I had always seen photo grain in digital photography, even from high-end professional cameras, but my photos have almost no grain. It's really hard to believe. Digital photographs have always shown grain. Good product but too small - mine was defective- had to return it Hi.. I bought the Black XT the first week it started selling at Amazon. I researched for several months on which D-SLR to buy, at first I read a lot about avoiding bulky and heavy d-SLRs. So I decided for the XT because it is a newer generation product, seemed small a very light. The camera performed well but mine had a defective flash mechanism, I also noticed a soft focus problem (this has been mentioned in several forums). So I returned to amazon - they gave me a refund after 30 days and I decided not to buy the same product again. IT IS JUST TOO SMALL FOR MY HANDS, I couldnt get a good firm grip on it. So I went to a store and tried the Nikon d70...PERFECT Ergonomic design, so I bought it. Be careful, go to your local store and see if this camera feels good in your hands.. when buying a d-SLR, you will probably stick with the camera longer that a point-shoot camera, it is essential that you feel comfortable with it. I liked the d70 very much, also the quality of the Nikon kit lens is much more better than the canon kit lens, take that into consideration seriously, just do a search on google for the price of the Nikon 18-70mm lens v.s. the price for the Canon 18-55mm lens. When moving into SLR camera, in future years, you will probably stick with your lenses and just upgrade the body, lens technology does not change as camera bodies do. Battery life is also better on the d70. The XT is still a great camera and a good buy. d70 has a better body finish. So go to you local camera store and take a couple of sample shots with the different D-SLRs available before buying online. Rebel Indeed This camera deserves this description very well. It is a rebel in terms of its price-value ratio. Since nothing is perfect in this world, there's no point going on about what is missing in this camera. I found lots of things, including the 8.0 million pixel resolution, that made me happy from the very start. Picture write and read speed is fine, depending on the manufacturer of the card one uses. Focusing is done in a snap (and so far I haven't taken the camera outside from the dusk of my flat to see how it performs in better lighting). Even with the basic kit on, one can easily crop pictures taken at maximum resolution (RAW) to achieve a very good digital zoom (if you do not distinguish between the two types of zoom). Now, invest some money in people selling things for photographers:), and they'll let you have better lenses to take pictures from whatever distance your selected moose or stark naked woman on the beach feels comfortable with your presence.:)) The software that came with the camera, is easy to use. All functions are easy to learn and remember. If not, some reading of the manual and additional material concerning medium-level basics of photography will help settle this dispute between what the camera offers and what you have chosen to learn so far. I don't agree that the camera seems too small. Or is it that some of those complaining about this aspect would still prefer to use the first makes of cellular phones? I doubt that. Smaller buttons is an overall tendency for all types of electronic equipment nowadays. Learn to live and deal with this. No complaints whatsoever on my part. An entry level digital SLR that doesn't take entry level pictures! Perhaps the best quality of this camera is the image quality. Simply put, it is fantastic. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the quality of pictures taken with this camera equals that of the MUCH more expensive 20D. Image quality is also superior to the Nikon D70, both in terms of noise level and resolution (8MP vs 6.1MP). So while this camera may not have the metal body, substantial feel, and features of the above two cameras, it either equals or exceeds these two cameras in terms of image quality. And is image quality not perhaps the most important quality of a camera? I should also note that the Rebel XT is cheaper than EITHER of these cameras. Of course, this camera is not without some hitches. One is, of course, the lens. Many others have complained about this. Admittedly, it is not too bad in many situations. And perhaps I have not found all of its faults. But it has one SEVERE shortcoming I have painfully noticed - no numbers on the focusing ring. This is quite a problem if you like night photography. In such a situation, it is VERY hard to focus using the viewfinder. And an estimation of distance generally results in a better focus. Numbers would also make landscapes easier to focus on, as you often just go to infinity. Speaking of night photography, another annoyance I have found is a few errant bright pixels in dark areas. This is a particular problem with high ISO and/or long exposure times. And the noise reduction does little to nothing to deal with this. However, I do not know that another digital camera would do better in this area. These sorts of artifacts could very well represent a shortcoming of digital technology (vs film) which has not yet been overcome. Another issue is size. This camera is quite small. But this can be a good or bad thing. On one hand, it can make the camera more difficult to hold. But on the other hand, it makes it light and easy to carry with you. I guess it all boils down to what you are comfortable with. The bottom line: despite any shortcomings, a GREAT choice for your first digital SLR. It's inexpensive. And it takes pictures that WON'T leave you wishing you had spent more. Great camera Overall, very impressed with this camera. All my old lenses are compatible and picture quality is superb. My only complaint so far is that my old speedlight doesn't appear to be compatible. I am still experimenting with it, but so far i have had no luck. One of the things i have been most impressed with is the battery life of the camera. The sleep mode works very well and has no impact on the usability of the camera. Amazing quality and versatility What an amazing camera! I am just now moving into amateur/hobbyist photography. My setup: Rebel XT, 1GB SanDisk CF, 28-135mm/3.5-5.6 IS Canon, and 50mm/1.8 Canon (fixed) for low-light indoors shots. After printing several vacation shots on my Canon PIXMA iP5000, I cannot tell a difference from 35mm film even after close scrutiny. My choice was between Digital Rebel XT or Nikon D70. What sold me on the Canon was the lens selections, particularly the image stabilization feature. I concur with the other reviewers: the IS lenses are amazing. For example: outdoor night shot 1/5 sec at 100mm on ISO 400 and no tripod - NO BLUR. Don't ask me how this is possible, but it worked. I got some amazing nighttime photos of the city skyline in Nassau, Bahamas, long after the sun went down. Things I liked: - phenomenal picture quality, even in very low light - aesthetics. yes, i'm vain... - fast shutter response - good built-in flash - excellent lenses (esp. 28-135mm/3.5-5.6 IS!) - nice menu shortcut buttons on rear panel - ability to shoot RAW - 1GB CF holds ~260 finest JPEG photos Small complaints - brightest LCD setting still dark in sunlight - auto white balance gets it wrong once in a while - white balance modes are just so-so in my experience Unless you are an extremely discriminating photography professional, I cannot imagine you would be displeased with this camera. For the money, you'll probably not find a better camera. Happy shooting, I LOVE this camera I am not a professional photographer. I take the usual memoir-type photos, but in addition I am a flora/fauna enthusiast. This camera with the stock lens--off the shelf--is great for taking close-ups of flowers and insects. I had anticipated having to buy a more specialized macro lens (and I no doubt will, eventually) for this type of work but I was pleasantly surprised to find that I could take better than expected closeups with the supplied kit lens. I also have aquariums and this camera is great for aqua-photography as well. Performance: My last digital camera was a Nikon CoolPix. From necessity I got used to the lag-times involved in actually capturing images. With this Canon model, however, that's not an issue. When you click, you get your photo, and you can take one after another, without delay and with that satisfying "click" you get from an SLR. With the Nikon, I was never sure when I had even taken a picture. This camera is outstanding. The only issue that may affect your decision is weight. If you're looking for a small, light-weight type of casual camera then go with something else. This camera is designed more for those who want the flexibility/options of the traditional SLR. It's got the heft of an "old-style" SLR, so if you want something less cumbersome this isn't the model for you. I SHOT TWO FORMER PRESIDENTS!!! With my camera of course. I am in the Navy as a photojournalist serving on board a ship. My job entails me to shoot a lot and I mean a lot of photos. I am actually using the 300D model of this particular SLR and have had nothing but fun shooting this camera. The shots that I have been able to produce have been nothing short of spectacular. The crisp vibrant colors and the many features on this camera have been amazing. I recommend this camera to anybody who wants to start out in the wonderful world of photography. I am looking forward to using this camera out in the civilian sector of my job. Oh by the way, if you are wondering which two presidents I have shot with this camera they were Presidents George H.W. Bush and President Bill Clinton while they came aboard to thank my many shipmates for our part in the humanitarian relief efforts that took place earlier this year to help the victims of the December 26th tsunamis. Canon D-Rebel XT, a great buy. I upgraded from the original Digital Rebel two months ago and am happy I did so. The original digiRebel was a very good camera but the XT is a great one for serious amateur photographers. The shutter is wonderful and the eight mp resolution is nice too, but the best feature might be the Digic II processer. While the 18 x 55 kit lens is shunned by photophiles, I found it to be okay, however I have recently upgraded to the EFS 17-85 IS USM. Great Buy Just recently purchased this camera to replace my old Canon 35mm SLR which had been sitting in storage for a couple of years since I bought my first digital. Already having Canon USM lenses I got the body only and am very impressed with the results so far. I can honestly say that the only photos that haven't come out the way I wanted them to were purely my fault. Gave it 4 stars for 2 reasons. 1. I am used to changing the focus from Single to Servo using a dial. Since I change this setting a lot I do not really like having to push buttons to do this. 2. They have made this camera a lot smaller than the 'traditional' Canon SLR. Mostly in the width...I did prefer the larger body size personally. 3. Having to push buttons to change the focus point really does annoy your subjects for portrait shots. (It takes some time) I know I should have bought another camera with Eye focusing if this was an issue for me, but it is just what you get used to I suppose. What a great camera! I have been dabbling in photography and astrophotography for a couple years now, and was looking for a good upgrade to my Coolpix 995. Boy, was I blown away by this camera! The XT is olidly constructed, has loads of manual features, and works well in the basic zones as well. I would have liked to have seen it bundled with a better lens, but that's just nitpicking -- the lens is a solid performer for its $100 street price. I highly, highly recommend this camera!!! Outstanding Quality and Versatility I've had my Digital Rebel XT for several months now, I've taken over ten thousand pictures with it, and it is without question the most versatile camera I've ever owned. It is also one of the easiest to use. With a simple turn of the dial, you can put it in point-and-shoot mode, specialized automatic modes for various situations, or any of the "artistic" modes, including fully manual. You'll want to shoot using the higher-end modes, because you can save your pictures in RAW format, allowing you to fix errors afterwards that cannot be corrected in a jpg. If you can afford it, get this camera body only, and skip the kit lens. Instead, fork over the $600 for the 17-85mm IS lens by Canon. The Image Stabilization is well worth it, and the lens is versatile enough that you don't have to change lenses at all for most shooting. Although I've not had any problems with dust, this is supposedly a weak spot for digital cameras, and not having to change lenses is a major plus. (In fact, the only other lens I use on this camera right now is a 600-1300mm zoom.) The camera's computer will automatically balance the lens IS feature in both automatic and "artistic" shooting. I also got the Canon speedlight 580 with this camera, and the camera's computer also accurately balances with the flash, syncing at up to 1/200th, I think. Outstanding. The only thing I wish this camera had that it doesn't was 1/8000th of a second. There have been some bright daylight shots in which I didn't have time to get the shot in, because 1/4000th wasn't enough, and the shot was gone before I could adjust everything to it. Shooting in RAW, however, I was able to correct most of it afterwards. I did lose some pictures by snapping the shot right before turning the camera off. If you do that, you will lose the shot. (It only takes about a second to save a shot, so you just have to not turn it off instantly after the shot.) All in all, I could not be happier with this camera. I've used it to shoot baseball and softball, both portraits and action, including action close-ups with a long zoom and both a tripod and monopod, several thousand wildlife shots, mostly with a long lens, several hundred outdoor scenery shots, and several thousand candids. It hasn't faltered once, and it has performed perfectly. Although it is easy to use right out of the box, it is WELL worth reading the manual. EOS XT Rebel or 350D is the valuable and best semi pro camera Canon EOS 350D is the most sophisticated gadget I ever have. Previously I have a 35 mm film camera and pocket Digital camera and this camera more valuable for the semi professional consumers. Start with the new look design (smaller then Nikon D 70s or D 50) and light then both of its. The feature it's rich. You can find this feature in professional camera also. The advantage of this gadget is you can set every scene manually or automatic from focus, white balance, aperture, speed, flash, ISO, metering etc. This is important for the professional photographer to have the best photo. Continues shooting feature is 3 times a second and starting time below a second. I just bought I month ago and I feel I already expert on using it. I try a many setting in manual shoot with set the aperture, white balance and aperture the result is very good that I never have a photo like it is before. The battery is good even I already shoot 100 times with maximum jpg files (8 m pixel) the batteries still function in good condition. The 350D can use any Canon mount lenses. I recommend this camera for the professional photographer beside the complete features this gadget has a valuable compare its price. You can have this Gadget with standard lens of EF-S 18-55 mm with only $800. You will be a professional shortly with this prosumer camera. A review for the Overview: Current equipment (recently purchased) Canon Digital Rebel XT (EOS 350D)w/Lens Kit Canon Digital Rebel XT "Starter Kit" w/Bag, extra battery, haze filter. Do NOT confuse this with the Digital Rebel (non-XT)starter kit, which is also for sale. Canon 420 EX Flash SanDisk CF Type II (1 GB) Canon Semi-hard Case (EH-18L) Canon Remote Controller (RC-1) Experience: Currently 34 years old, began taking pictures at age 10 with non-SLR type cameras. Previous cameras include Canon AE-1 Film SLR, Sony Mavica MVC-FD90, Sony Mavica MVC-CD250 and Sony Mavica MVC-CD400. I'd estimate that I've taken 10,000 pictures with film cameras over the years (non-SLR, AE-1, A-1 and F-1, the A-1 and F-1 being bodies owned by my father, who is a well regarded semi-professional photographer and former instructor at the local Community College on film photography)and an additional 10,000 pictures with various digital cameras. This is my first Digital SLR purchase. General Impressions; My FIRST recommendation to anyone thinking of purchasing this camera would be to download the owners manual from Canon, it's available via the Canon Website in .pdf format. Several hours of your time spent reviewing the actual manual should provide confidence that this camera can be used effectively by any level of photographer. If you're a novice, disregard the "Manual" sections of the manual and concentrate your attention on the "Automatic" sections. This camera is literally so easy to use a child can take an excellent photograph. I let my 9 year old daughter (with me giving her 2 minutes of advice and observing her carefully to protect the camera as she used it) take 25 photographs in the "Full Auto" mode, using only the pop-up flash unit. Out of 25 photos, I would rate 2 excellent on composition and the other 23 very poor (as expected), but the QUALITY of the images was outstanding. Every image was crisp and vibrant. My daughter is a TOTAL novice, other than using a few of the "disposable" pre-loaded cameras at a birthday party, these are the first 25 photos she's ever attempted. The 2 of excellent composition (of her little sister who's 2, and was in full "go" mode moving around) I sent to my father (who hardly passes out compliments on my photographic skills at a whim)with his response being "great photos". I've personally shot 300 frames with the camera in "Full Auto" mode, using no flash (even when one was needed), the pop-up flash unit and the 420 EX (approximately 100 frames each way)and have even tried to "fool" the camera by taking portrait type shots in "Sports" mode and etc. The camera is very intuitive and will save most users from common mistakes associated with trying to take Photographs as opposed to Snap Shots. The only limitation on the quality of the images you can expect mostly relates to your skills in composing the photographs. This camera can be used as a point and shoot camera or can be fine tuned to allow more creative/experienced photographers to push their limits. This is NOT a professional quality Digital SLR (or if it is, I can't imagine a pro using a digital camera, for high end photography this camera has SERIOUS limitations). Having said that, I would recommend this camera to anyone that is comfortable spending the money on it. This is not an inexpensive commitment. Initial outlay for a "basic" set-up will run you between 1200 and 1400 dollars, and additional lenses, filters, accessories will add 500 or more dollars (with your budget being the only limit on the "or more" amount). I've read reviews where users mention several "negative" issues with the camera. First, some reviewers mention that the battery cover "rattles". I can't speak to their experiences, but there is no "rattle" on my camera body at all, none. Very solid. Second, I've read complaints that the size is too small. I'm not a small man, and I have fairly large hands. I think the camera IS compact, but not uncomfortable to use. As a matter of fact, the smaller size keeps me mindfull of the fact that it's a precision instrument and that it takes a delicate touch on the shutter and a light "approach" to taking a great photo. Finally, I've noticed that some people think the camera has a "cheap" feel to it. I can only assume that they're used to camera bodies made of metal. This body is plastic and rubber, but again mine feels very solid in my hands, not "cheap" at all, unless I heft my AE-1 right after the fact. But that's comparing apples to oranges. Photo Quality: In the Large Fine Format, this camera will give you everything you expect in terms of image quality. Ease of Use: If my 9 year old can take pictures with it, anyone can. Value: Relative to the cost of other Digital SLR's (and having reviewed their owners manuals as well) I'd rate this as a very good value. 5 Star Items: Autofocus - Very Fast, haven't "stumped" it yet. Menu - Easy to understand/use Battery Life - Excellent Image Quality - Excellent Canon Engineering - Excellent, I'm biased probably, never had a problem with a Canon Film SLR, don't expect any with a Canon Digital. Speed - Excellent, this camera is FAST. Ready to go. Ergonomics - Very Very Good, but not perfect. 4 Star Items: Viewfinder - It's very good, the placement of the screen leaves a LOT to be desired, but not enough to downgrade the camera overall. CF Slot - Not overly easy to get the card in, but not HARD. Pop-up Flash Unit - Good for what it is, but nothing you want to rely on if you're planning on taking good photographs in every situation. Included Software - Very good, nothing earthshaking. Battery Charging - Very good, under 90 minutes to take a drained battery back to full charge. Changing Lenses - Very good, about what you'd expect. Owners Manual - Informative, but could have been better organized. 3 Star Items: Neck Strap - Poor, not comfortable. Plan on buying a replacment. Included Lens - Average. Meets the "general" purpose shooting requirements for most situations, about what you would expect from a $100.00 lens. Plan on upgrading the lens, but I still recommend buying the full "kit" with Lens, instead of body only. Overall, I gave the camera a 4 star rating, because nothing is perfect, but personally I'm very pleased with my purchase and would recommend this camera to anyone that isn't attempting TRUE professional quality photography. Recommended purchases; 2nd Battery, 2nd CF Card (recommend Type II), Additional Lenses, Camera Bag, Remote Control, Filters, Flash Unit (420 EX, is cost effective and gives good results, EH-18L Body Case and Tripod. Potential worthy purchases; Battery Grip (BG-E3) AC Adapter Kit (ACK 700) Also, I bought my items directly from Amazon.com, got a good price and everything was delivered on time and in good condition. Just to echo some other reviews, if they price is "too good" be wary, as always you get what you pay for. Hope this was helpful information. Why do people unjustly ruin the rating of a product? Why do people ruin the rating of a product??? When their problem is with a seller (and not even Amazon). I do own this camera but did not purchase it from this site. So I thought I would do just to the excellent DR XT and give it 5 Stars here to help counter at least one of the "PRODUCT" Reviews that are actually reviewing a bad experience with a failed purchase. Please do state your purchase experience and warn others of your mishap but it is not necessary to give the "PRODUCT" itself a bad rating and downplay the overall score. Unfortunately, some people only look at the overall (average) rating of a product and will not even see why your "BAD REVIEW" was given. Why not start your review with something like: ***WARNING*** ***WARNING*** ***WARNING*** And, then state your message warning others about your purchase experience. You can do this and still give the actual product the a rating in comparison with previous other actual product reviews that were written previously. This way you are not misrepresenting the product itself. Just my two cents while doing my part to help justify the product rating. Excellent digital SLR It is remarkable to consider that the single-lens reflex camera has been around since the 1970s and, despite the transition away from 35mm film to digital, this type of camera remains one of the best you can purchase. The Canon Digital Rebel XT was my choice as I have always been satisfied with Canon and the quality of their cameras. The camera is aimed at the serious amateur photographer, and priced at under $1000. So onto my impressions of it. The first thoughts on the camera after opening its box is the size, it is one of the more compact SLRs on the market. Some may dislike this, but for me it is a positive feature of the camera. The aesthetics of the camera are good; I choose the model with the silver body. The first minus is the lack of a supplied compact flash card. Canon are a little mean in this regard, and even with their point-and-shoot digital cameras only supply a small (32 MB or so) CF card. I would recommend purchasing at least 1 GB CF card for this camera. For the price Canon really should try and do better. The rest of the review is very positive. Computer support is good (Mac and PC) with the bundled CD applications, though it isn't good enough to tempt me away from Editing in Photoshop. The camera interface is straight forward, and the auto-focus will allow many to use this camera and produce great quality images without the need to change the settings. AT 8 MP, image quality and definition are very high. The manual and supporting documentation is very good and detailed, so without too much effort you can easily learn how to adjust the image settings to produce exactly the picture you wish. The user-interface and LCD is good and easy to work with, and I find Battery life is good. All-in-all an excellent package. One of the best SLR cameras of its type on the market, and you don't have to be a "pro" to take excellent pictures with it. If you don't have one then definitely order a case for the camera, a good quality photo printer, and longer term you will probably want to invest in a tripod and extra lenses. Canon continues to maintain their record of excellence in their SLR cameras. Awesome Camera Just received this camera as an anniversary present. I love it!! It is replacing my Canon Rebel 2000 film camera. The XT is extremely easy to use, fast, and takes incredible pictures! I photographed a painting on our living room wall from quite a distance. When printed on 4x6 photo paper, I could still even read the signature on the painting. As others have stated, there is almost no shutter lag at all--even with a standard 512mb Compact Flash card to record the images. The menus are very easy to understand, and the features are easy to choose and set. The Black and White capabilities are awesome! The ability create and set custom parameters is wonderful. The camera accepts my lenses from the Rebel 2000; however, it does not particularly like my Quantaray 70-300mm zoom lens. Sometimes it works, and sometimes I get an error code 99. It prefers original Canon lenses. (Just means I have a new item for my Christmas wish list.) I am a short person and have no issue with the size of the camera at all. (Some have stated that it is too small.) This is perfect for me and the feel of the camera in my hand is quite "hefty." I recommend a screen cover for the LCD because it is smudged by the nose while taking pictures. I plan to get one right away. This is a great camera for those wanting to switch to a digital SLR, but do not have the extra $$$$$ for the Canon 20D or some of the other choices out there. It has all of the features you could want as an advanced beginner for setting the creative zones for personalized photography. I think it will even work for the novice who just wants to use it in the automatic zone, too!! Awww, why not say it---even some "pros" will probably find this one great addition to their camera collection. This may just be the camera you have always dreamed of having--it is for me!! It really is a good camera Let me say at the outset that I am an amateur photographer but I decided to buy this camera as a gift to myself from last year's salary bonus after previously owning a Canon 35mm SLR and the digital Canon G2. I wanted a camera that I could use for the next 5 years. I also went ahead and bought the recommended telephoto lens, the external flash and a 1GB flash card. I have been using the camera for about 1 year now and I can say that I'm reasonably satisfied with it. I did read all the reviews about it before purchase so I was aware that it had a 'problem' with under exposed shots when the flash is used at night. I thought I could live with that, as I was told that setting the White Balance (WB) to the appropriate setting would eliminate the underexposure. I have not found that to be the case and this has made me very wary about taking shots with the flash at night. I constantly have to check to see if the shot looks ok before the subjects move away. I think I need some guidance as to how to correct this issue once and for all. One thing which surprised me was the filesize. Being an 8 megapixel camera, the smallest filesize still approaches half a megabyte. Trying to e-mail photos to my friends quickly fills up their inbox and often I have to zip and send files multiple times to send all the required files. The other thing which surprised me was that I had to use the viewfinder to take the pictures. Being an SLR, you can't use the LCD when taking shots. The LCD is used for review only. I was not aware of that having been acustomed to my G2 but that was more my ignorance than a fault of the camera. I would still recommend this camera, I have already done so to one of my close associates who have also gone ahead and bought the camera. I can't afford another camera for sometime to come. Great Camera.. I'm no pro, but I just wanted to improve my good eye for photography with a SLR that could help me "feel it more". This is my first SLR, I upgraded from a Sony DSC 717 which is a great prosumer camera. However, I wanted to feel the freedom of a SLR in which I can use some different lenses and flashes to add a more professional look to my photos. I have had this one for one month now and have taken like 500 pics. It's incredibly quick to start and it feels way too god. I think that the black body is a huge improvement because it eliminates the cheap feel of the previous 300D. No complaints until now. Software is good but not a replacement for PhotoShop. A good camera for beginners, but flimsy construction The good aspects of the Canon Rebel series are easy to rattle off: the cameras are affordable, they're compatible with a large variety of Canon's incredible lenses, they can be set on full auto or fully manual (so you can grow into it), and they're compact and light. For someone unfamiliar with SLRs, this is a good starting camera. The downside is equally simple: Canon Rebels don't last forever. I don't find it much fun to hold a camera with a plastic body, and it may be nerve-wracking to know that one minor drop could render your camera broken and useless. Canon makes many genuinely awesome cameras; the bottom-of-the-line Rebel is good, but not nearly so much as some of their others. Call me vain, but... I initially bought this camera because of it's "ease of use", and the compact travel size afforded for an SLR. But after a trip to NYC I completely changed my mind and upgraded to the 20D. First was the size: This camera is an ergonomic catastrophy. I did love its light weight feel while slung around my neck, but if you put any other lense on this camera, you will soon find that it will completely off-balance the camera itself and make for an abnormal feel. The case is just too small for me for an SLR. I also couldn't stand the cheap feel of the casing. Hold it next to a 20D and you'll see what I mean. For anyone getting into digital SLR photography I would recommend paying the extra $500 for the model above the XT...20D. Its just as easy to use as the XT, but with MUCH MORE POTENTIAL! Why buy a camera with limited capabilities, even if you are a beginner? By the way, we all know its the LENSE that takes the picture, the camera just processes the information. You will never be sorry buying good L line lenses over the cheap stuff with so-so reviews. I used the 17-40mm L with the XT and it took unbelievable pictures, no question. I'm for sure keeping the lense. In summary; the camera has good but limited features, and with the L lense took amazing pictures, but the petite size and cheap feel didn't work for me. Great camera at an accessible price Having used the pocket Canon S110 for the past three years, and already owning a Canon EOS Elan 35 mm camera, I've long been a fan of Canon. I'd held off on buying a digital SLR due mainly to price. Finally, with the Digital Rebel XT, I could buy for less than $1,000 the quality that pros paid $7,000 for just a few years ago. Likes: - Size and feel: it's about as small as you're going to get for an SLR, yet it still feels good in your hands, with all controls pretty accessible. - Speed: having spent three years cursing shutter lag on my point-n-shoot S110, it's amazing to be able to get off 2 or 3 frames per second. You'll quickly find that you shoot 3-4x as many shots in a day, just because you can get them off quickly. - Battery life - I purchased a second battery but have yet to have to use it. I can shoot 200+ shots and the battery is still going strong. - automatic modes (portrait, action, etc) with options to override focus mode - Basic 18-55mm EF-S lens is a solid, well-performing lens Dislikes: No strong complaints overall. It's taking me a little longer than I expected to learn all of the control options on the menu. Also, in bright daylight, the menu's not that easy to see on the LCD. All in all, the combination of high picture quality (equal to that of the 20D) and virtually no shutter lag makes this a fantastic entry level digital SLR. The ability to change lenses, use filters and modify settings as you would in the 35mm world changes the whole realm of digital photography. I have a feeling my 160 GB hard drive may not support me for long... Buy this camera! I owned the first Digital Rebel and it was quite remarkable at the time. The Rebel XT takes all the great features of the original and improves it in every way. I am a professional photographer and I own a Canon 20D as well. The XT is a great second camera for me as it has most all the features of the 20D and is MUCH lighter. 8 megapixels and the RAW + Jpeg mode are new as is a faster start-up and a greater image buffer for when you are shooting action. Using PhotoShop CS2, I can take the RAW files and turn them into 70 meg files with amazing quality and clarity. I recommend the external power grip as it adds a vertical grip and also the ability to use AA batteries or 2 lithiums! Consider also adding the 420EX flash if you plan to do a lot of flash photography. The 420EX will allow you to save the camera's battery and also give you a more powerful flash that syncs at ALL shutterspeeds in Program, TV and AV modes. The lens is optically sound but not much of a zoom. Consider the 75 - 300mm USM. AWESOME Bought this camera after reviewing it against the Nikon D50. Although the D50 felt more comfortable in my hand (the grip), the Canon was lighter and a 8.1 vs 6.1 megapixel. I took the Canon to Maui and it took INCREDIBLE pictures. I bought it to get into the hobby of photography - but have only used the auto features. AMAZING battery life compared to other cameras I've had. Surprising small for a DSLR. Read the reviews and not just the overall rating!!! Hi, I have had this camera for a week and it totally rocks. [...] Thank you! p.s. this camera is smoking HOT Great, Flexible Camera I selected this Canon d-SLR camera because of the DigicII processor capturing images at 8 megapixels. So far I have been shooting in only two formats-RAW and high-res JPG. After two weeks of shooting, I'm starting to get used to the different options. I like shooting in black and white in RAW format, but it is nice to also be able to reprocess these images back into full color with the software that comes packaged with the camera. The camera is so good that it is forcing me to buy a new photo printer to do it justice. I bought the standard "kit" lens with the 18-55mm zoom. It is a good lens for the price. I just wish it were just a little faster than f3.5-5.6. I do, have the option,however, of buying about four more Canon EF-S lenses (offered as of 9/2005) that are made especially for the camera's sensor dimensions as well as many EF lenses. Flexibility, ease of use, small learning curve, great photos, and a concise but well organized owner's manual all make the Canon Rebel XT (350D) a great digital camera to own. So far, it's great I haven't had a chance to use all the features yet, but I've yet to find anything about this camera not to like. It's easy to learn, with most settings being very intuitive. A great camera for someone who's fairly accompliched with shooting film with an SLR who wants to move to digital. Autofocus poor I've been waiting for a SLR digital that's affordable ($1,000 or less) and which can handle high ISOs well. I enjoy shooting without a flash, and am used to Fuji 800 film which has some beautiful grain, and I didn't want to loose that experience with my "upgrade" to digital". The HUGE dissapointment is the focus appears very poor. I've seen other poeple say the same thing on user groups, including some people suggesting it's only a problem in the "creative zones". Either way, I've ended up with more out of focus pictures in 2 months than I've gotten in 2 years. Until Cannon fixes this problem, I wouldn't recommend anyone purchase it. It's really frusturating to have dozens of great compositions that are out of focus. CANON REBEL XT Wow! Got this camera just before my Hawaii vacation. Although I still haven't finished all the instruction, I did learn enough to take fantastic pictures in all kinds of different lighting. Time exposures at night were superb. High resolution results with the SLR camera cannot compare to digital instamatics with those tiny lens aperatures. Recommend this for any enthusiast who lkie to control their on settings. Good body not so good lens This is a great entry level (or for those like myself who are going from film to digital) camera. I took 30 or 40 shots with the kit lens and they were not real good. I then purchased the EF 100mm f2.8 Macro and the picture quality improved big time. I use this lens for both everyday and macro photography. It is quieter when in AF mode not to mention faster. The best way to buy this camera is body only and then buy a good lens. My upgrade from Point & Shoot 4 stars because of VERY minor niggles, otherwise I would have given 5 stars: 1) No ISO display in view finder 2) View finder could be bigger 3) kit lens (18-55) not great (for this reason I had to buy body only and bought Sigma 18-200mm instead) I have had this camera since July 2005 and love it and no regret over my previous Canon powershot S1. I was thinking about upgrading from S1 to S2 but decided I should go straight into DSLR instead of another Point & shoot (P&S) camera which I will outgrow it and eventually need a DSLR anyway. To be honest, it was my third 350D after two failed on me! The full story and comparison to P&S can be read here in my website: http://www.theteh.com/html/p_s_vs_dslr.html Initially I was disappointed with the poor quality control that one could get faulty camera from Canon. I put of buying the 350D after two failed on me until after 3 months, my urge for a DSLR could not stop me from getting my 3rd 350D! There was no other better DSLR at that time (and still is now as of Sept 2005). I personally think that 350D is still better than the Nikon counter part D70/D50 despite that they have a better lens (18-70mm). Here is my review of my 3rd 350D: http://www.theteh.com/html/my_3rd_350d_xt.html There are many sample photos taken with 350D in my website (check out links under 'Resources') if you are interested. The first travel photos with my 350D (with Sigma 18-200mm and Sigma 30mm f1.4) was the Croatia gallery: http://www.theteh.com/html/croatia.html DSLR is 'FAST' and P&S is 'SLOW' to me. This is the single factor that made me chose the 350D instead of another P&S. Second is the shallow Depth of field (DOF) produced by large aperture lenses (eg the Sigma 30mm f1.4, a truly fantastic lens). If speed and shallow DOF are not what you are after, there is no reason to get a DSLR. See pic was taken with the Sigma 30mm at f1.4 to get shallow DOF: http://www.theteh.com/html/borough_market_18.html Hope this review helps you to decided! Rebel XT for beginners and for pro's I had a Canon film camera (elan 7e) for a while and i decided its time for a digital. I held off for as long as I could. This meant not getting the original Rebel. Which of course turned out for the better. The Rebel XT is a nice step up from the original Rebel. With its 0.2 second start up time its alot faster than the original rebel which had around a much longer time of roughly 2-3 seconds. It also has a larger buffer and increased framerate. The original rebel would take a few shots of RAW at 1.5 Frames per second where the rebel XT takes 3 FPS for 6-7 RAW files and of course even more when shooting JPEG. There are alot of features on this camera which are nice to have even if you don't need them. It's a great camera all around. The smaller size is nice too. There are alot of people who say its way to small.. I'm 6'4" and my hands aren't small either. It fits nicely. And with the grip no one can complain. I would recommend getting a wireless remote for the camera also. top lens recommendations for the money Canon 18-55 ( not a bad starter lens when stopped down) Canon 70-200 f/4L Canon 17-85 EFS IS USM CS_112 FDT2 Expected more from this camera After using the Canon A85 Powershot 4.0 megapixel camera for almost a year, I decided to upgrade to a high quality digital camera and chose the Canon Digital Rebel XT 8MP. I was disappointed from the first picture. The autofocus was extremely poor. Virtually every photo taken in a variety of settings, lighting and speeds were soft or blatantly out of focus. The manual focus has no focus guide, either. Other professional photographer