If action photography is your specialty, the Rebel XT offers a continuous shooting mode that captures as many as 14 images as fast as three frames per second (with shutter speeds of 1/250 second or faster.) The camera offers a shutter speed range from 1/4,000 to 30 seconds, and a bulb x-sync at 1/200 seconds. Best of all, it features an ultra-fast 0.2 seconds startup time, a shutter release lag of 100 milliseconds, and viewfinder blackout time of 175 milliseconds -- all of which means that you'll always be on top of the action.

Despite its wealth of advanced features, the Rebel XT is also one of the easiest, and most user-friendly digital SLRs you'll find anywhere. It's compact design -- 4.98 x 3.71 x 2.63-inches (WxHxD) -- and wight weight (less than two pounds) means that the camera body will fit snugly in you hands. The EOS Digital Rebel XT has a newly developed high-precision seven-point auto-focus (AF) system for speedy and accurate focusing in any situation. You can easily choose your own point of focus or direct the camera to choose it automatically. You can even use predictive AF to ensure that moving subjects stay focused while you compose your shot. With a built-in dioptric adjustment mechanism and a new precision matte screen, achieving sharp focus is fast and easy with the Rebel XT, no matter where or when you're taking pictures.

A number of additional automatic setting and shooting modes -- including Portrait, Landscape, Close-up, Sports, Night Portrait, and Flash Off -- allows you to concentrate on your subject and leave the camera to sort out the details. A redeye reduction via a built-in illuminator keeps your face shots on track, and USB 2.0 connectivity for both PC and Macintosh lets you upload your images with ease and without the need for additional software. The camera also supports direct printing with PictBridge compatible printers. In short, the Rebel XT is the ideal digital SLR choice for both the serious photographer who demands the ultimate in high-quality features, as well as the weekend picture taker who demands the ultimate in affordability and convenience.

Product Reviews:

          
Another stunning winner from the bright minds at Canon, March 15, 2005
Reviewer: Gadgester
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.
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