Review based on a production Canon EOS 400D
Almost exactly three years since Canon changed the digital SLR market forever (with the $1,000 EOS 300D) they announced the third generation of their affordable entry level series, the EOS 400D (Digital Rebel XTi). This new camera follows the design of the EOS 350D, being very compact and relatively lightweight but not compromising on manual controls or in-use performance. The headline changes are another two megapixel step up (to ten megapixels), the nine-point AF sensor from the EOS 30D, a new dust removal system which includes anti-static surface coatings, low-pass filter vibration and software based dust pattern removal. Less important but just as noticeable are the removal of the status LCD, replaced instead by a camera settings screen on the now larger 2.5" LCD monitor and the eye proximity sensor just below the viewfinder to turn this off when composing your shot.
UPDATE 18/Dec/06: In our original review a mistake was made in the measurement of ISO sensitivity, this has now been corrected and the releveant pages of this review updated.
The headlines features for the EOS 400D are its ten megapixel sensor, nine-point AF sensor (from the EOS 30D) and new 'EOS Integrated Cleaning System'. I'm sure there are many Olympus E-series owners having a chuckle at this moment, through the many years of 'there is no dust problem' emanating from Canon owners to see Canon now admit (but also address) the potential problem.
Dust occurs in the mirror / shutter chamber from many sources, but mostly; fragments released from the moving components inside the camera, dust introduced from the body cap, lens changes and from some of the more 'affordable' lenses which have a more push-pull movement which can draw air in. In the past the only way to clean this dust out of your camera was to use some kind of blower (which sometimes worked), clean it using a swab (dangerous) or take it back to Canon (with a cost). So here's what Canon has done to address this:
If you're new to digital photography you may wish to read some of our Digital Photography Glossary before diving into this article (it may help you understand some of the terms used).
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Dpreview use calibrated monitors at the PC normal gamma 2.2, this means that on our monitors we can make out the difference between all of the grayscale blocks below. We recommend to make the most of this review you should be able to see the difference (at least) between X,Y and Z and ideally also A, B and C.
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Canon Digital Rebel XTi 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera (Silver Body Only) | $194.96 |
Canon Digital Rebel XTi 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera (Black Body Only) | $899.99 |
Canon Digital Rebel XTi 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens (Black) | $999.99 |
Canon Digital Rebel XTi 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera (Black Body Only) | $899.99 |
Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS II Telephoto Zoom Lens (Import) for Canon EOS 7D, 60D, 70D, Rebel SL1, T1i, T2i, T3, T3i, T4i, T5i, XS, XSi, XT, & XTi Digital SLR Cameras + 6pc Bundle Accessory Kit | $177.77 |
Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS II Telephoto Zoom Lens (Import) for Canon EOS 7D, 60D, EOS Rebel SL1, T1i, T2i, T3, T3i, T4i, T5i, XS, XSi, XT, & XTi Digital SLR Cameras + 10pc Bundle Deluxe Accessory Kit | $186.00 |
Canon EOS Rebel T3i 18 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II Zoom Lens & EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III Telephoto Zoom Lens + 11pc Bundle 16GB Deluxe Accessory Kit | Too low to display |
Canon Digital Rebel XT 8MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only - Silver) | $599.00 |
Canon Rebel XS 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens (Black) | $429.99 |
Canon EOS Rebel XS 10.1-Megapixel Digital SLR Camera - Black (Body Only) | $489.95 |
Canon EOS Rebel T1i 15.1 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 3-Inch LCD and EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens | $489.00 |
Canon Digital Rebel XSi 12.2 MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens - Black | $659.99 |
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