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Very good camera, lousy kit lens

Started Oct 16, 2011 | User reviews thread
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ProfHankD
ProfHankD Veteran Member • Posts: 9,153
Very good camera, lousy kit lens

Although this camera is now quite old, I'm writing this review to make a point about DSLRs....

I had one of these for my research, and it was great in that it was a very good quality DSLR that could be remotely operated by a computer. However, I was using a remotely-operated PowerShot S70 side-by-side with the 350D and the kit zoom lens, and the 7MP S70 out-resolved it by something like 20%! This shocked me, especially because the S70 has a collapsing lens, bringing serious doubts about construction tolerances. Both cameras were used in well-controlled optimal conditions, and I'm sure the 350D would have been much more tolerant of less-than-optimal conditions, but the disturbing truth was that the optics on Canon compacts were way better than the kit lens on their DSLRs.It is also true that various lens options probably would have brought the 350D a little past the S70 in IQ. Note that dpreview commonly tests DSLR resolution with prime "fast 50s" set to their optimal aperture, whereas compacts are tested with the lens they come with.

The 350D sensor and camera body are pretty good, if rather plastic. Operation is quite fast, high ISO performance is good, and images look very smooth (PP well).

Problems:

Buying a DSLR to use exclusively with a mediocre kit lens is hard to justify on IQ grounds, and the 350D definitely came with a lousy kit lens.

 ProfHankD's gear list:ProfHankD's gear list
Canon PowerShot SX530 Olympus TG-860 Sony a7R II Canon EOS 5D Mark IV Sony a6500 +32 more
Canon EOS 350D (EOS Digital Rebel XT / EOS Kiss Digital N)
8 megapixels • 1.8 screen • APS-C sensor
Announced: Feb 17, 2005
ProfHankD's score
4.0
Average community score
4.5
bad for good for
Kids / pets
excellent
Action / sports
excellent
Landscapes / scenery
good
Portraits
unrated
Low light (without flash)
excellent
Flash photography (social)
unrated
Studio / still life
acceptable
= community average
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