Photography BLOG

The 6-megapixel Canon EOS Digital Rebel came on the scene in late 2003 and
instantly established a new category of “affordable digital SLR cameras” with a
price of under $1000, including a zoom lens. It rapidly became the best-selling
digital SLR of all time and as with all things digital, Canon has just updated
it.

The Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT SLR takes everything found in the original
Digital Rebel and improves the resolution to 8-megapixels, speeds up all of the
camera operations, adds more creative control and put it all into a smaller and
lighter body. This easy to use digital SLR is compatible with all Canon EF
lenses including the EF-S lenses and still retains the sub-$1,000 price point
for entry-level digital SLR consumers.

Many of the feature advancements and innovations on the EOS Digital Rebel XT
digital camera are inherited from its EOS 20D “prosumer big brother.” Both
cameras employ a Canon 8-megapixel, high resolution color CMOS image sensor, and
provide the same effective angle of view, equivalent to 1.6 x the normal EF lens
focal length. The consumer looking only at the fact that they are both
8-megapixel SLRs might not easily see the real differences between these two
cameras. The 20D offers faster continuous shooting (5 frames-per-second (fps)
vs. 3 fps) with a larger burst capability (23 frames vs. 14), more custom
settings (18 vs. 9) and a rugged magnesium body. The Rebel XT was created for
those migrating to digital that don’t want to lose the power or flexibility of a
SLR system, but can’t justify the $600 higher price of the EOS 20D.

The Digital Rebel XT may be an “entry-level” camera but it’s quite the
performer thanks to Canon’s most powerful SLR imaging engine. The DIGIC II
processor provides high-precision and high speed, natural color reproduction
including high-saturation, bright subjects, improved auto white balance, along
with increased white balance correction control and white balance bracketing. In
addition to image quality improvements, DIGIC II speeds up the camera’s start up
time to an amazing 0.2 seconds – ten times faster than the Digital Rebel. It
also reduces the shutter release time lag from ~120 milliseconds to 100
milliseconds, reduces viewfinder blackout time from ~225 milliseconds to 170
milliseconds, and yields CF card data-writing speed approximately 3.5 times
faster than the Digital Rebel. And capturing the action is no problem with the
ability to shoot up to 14 consecutive Large/Fine (8.0 megapixel) JPEGs, five RAW
files, or four RAW + Large/Fine JPEGs at a rate of up to three
frames-per-second. The Digital Rebel XT’s 12 exposure modes are easily selected by a turn of the
top-mounted Mode dial. These exposure modes cover virtually all the shooting
conditions you’ll ever encounter and are: Full Auto, Portrait, Landscape,
Close-up, Sports, Night Portrait, Flash Off, Program AE, Shutter speed-priority
AE, Aperture-priority AE, Manual and Auto Depth-of-Field AE. The camera’s ISO
sensitivty range is 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1600, Canon raised the Auto ISO
setting to include ISO 400 in order to help improve image quality, reduce camera
shake and brighten the scene behind the subject when taking a flash photo.

Among the new features found on the Digital Rebel XT are user selectable
metering and AF modes, flash exposure compensation control, improved E-TTL II
evaluative flash metering and for the first time in this product category,
custom function control. It also offers a monochrome mode for those who enjoy
the subtleties and shadings that only black and white images offer. These
additional controls greatly increase the creative power of the Digital Rebel XT,
without taking away any of the automated functions that made the original
Digital Rebel so popular with beginning photographers.

Utilizing the same 7-point autofocus system as the Digital Rebel, the Digital
Rebel XT is capable of analyzing where a subject is — even when it is off
center – and almost immediately bringing it into focus. It can also analyze
subject movement and automatically select locking or tracking AF modes as
needed. These features simplify the camera’s operation and optimize its
performance. The Digital Rebel XT allows users to select locking or tracking AF
modes independently, adding a new dimension of creative control. The DIGIC II
chip actually help increase the speed of autofocus calculation and hence the
responsiveness of the autofocus itself.

Another feature improved by the presence of DIGIC II is the speed of the
direct printing function, which is PictBridge compatible. DIGIC II also produces
faster startup times, faster CompactFlash card writing speed; and approximately
10X faster data transfer speeds via a high-speed USB 2.0 interface. It also
reduces the power consumption (and extends battery life) by approximately 35%.
The NB-2LH Li-ion battery and charger are included with the Digital Rebel XT
camera and a new vertical grip (BG-E3) that accepts up to two NB-2LH battery
packs or six AA-sized batteries and an AC Adapter Kit (ACK700) are available as
optional accessories.

 

Digital Rebel XT Features:

• Compact (5 x 3.7 x 2.6″) and lightweight, less than two pounds
• Canon EF lens mount, compatible with over 50 Canon EF and EF-S lenses
• 8-megapixel (effective) CMOS image sensor, RGB primary filter
• Three JPEG resolutions: Large, 8 megapixels; Medium, 4.1 megapixels;
  Small, 2 megapixels, Canon .cr2 RAW, or JPEG+RAW file formats
• Fast, Wide-area TTL AF with 7 focusing points, manual or auto
  selectable.
• One shot AF, AI Servo AF with focus prediction, AI Focus AF, and manual
  focus modes.
• Canon DIGIC II image processor speeds up image processing, camera
  functions and improves image quality
• Full range of exposure modes: Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority,
  Depth-of-Field AE, Programmed AE with modes for Landscape, Macro, Night
  Scene, Portrait, and Sports, and full Manual
• 35-zone TTL metering, Evaluative (linked to all focusing points), Center
  weighted average, or 9.5% central-area spot metering
• White Balance: Auto, six presets and Manual plus Bracketing
• Continuous Drive mode: 14 frames at 3 fps (1/250 second or faster)
• Shutter speeds: 30 to 1/4,000 seconds, plus Bulb
• Eye level TTL viewfinder with diopter adjustment, illuminated AF points,
  depth-of-field preview and detailed information display.
• Auto exposure bracketing: -/+2 EV in 1/2 EV or 1/3 EV increments
• Nine Custom Functions with 24 settings including mirror lock
• 1.8 inch, color TFT LCD, 118,000 pixels, 5 levels of brightness
• Playback image zoom 1.5x–10x in 5 steps with scrolling
• ISO sensitivity range: 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1,600
• Built-in E-TTL II popup flash with red-eye reduction.
• Hot shoe for Canon EX Speedlites
• CompactFlash Type II card slot, Microdrive & FAT-32 compatible
• I/O ports: USB 2.0 Hi-Speed, Video Out (NTSC or PAL), N3 remote control
  socket
• High capacity Li-ion rechargeable battery and compact rapid charger
  included
• Direct Print to Canon CP-100/200/300, Bubble Jet Direct and PictBridge
  compatible printers
• Optional BG-E3 Battery Grip holds two NB-2LH batteries and adds vertical
  grip, shutter release and controls

 

All EOS Digital Rebel XT kits include the camera body, li-ion battery and
charger, USB cable, video cable, shoulder strap and bundled software (ZoomBrowser
EX for Windows and ImageBrowser for Macintosh, Digital Photo Professional for
RAW image editing, and ArcSoft Photo Studio.)

The Digital Rebel XT is offered in two kit configurations: with and without
Canon’s high-quality EF-S 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom lens.  

The Digital Rebel XT will be available in stylish brushed silver patina
or Canon matte-black finish.