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CNET editors' rating:
3.5
stars
Very good
Detailed editors' rating - Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 36 reviews
- See all user reviews
Product summary
The
good: Compact and lightweight; fast and responsive; intelligently designed with shooting-friendly layout.
The
bad: Second status LCD has been eliminated; slow kit lens; no spot metering; poor exposure of backlit subjects.
The
bottom
line: The Canon EOS Rebel XTi remains a very good first dSLR, but ultimately a disappointing followup to the XT, which cedes its lead to the Nikon D80.
Specifications: Digital camera type: SLR ; Resolution: 10.1 megapixels ; Optical zoom: 3 x ; See full specs
Price range: $429.95 - $639.00
CNET editors' review
- Reviewed on: 09/22/2006
- Released on: 09/15/2006
Although much of the design remains the same as the XT's--it comes in either black or metallic-silver plastic--there are a couple of key changes. The LCD display grew from 1.8 to 2.5 inches, which essentially squeezed the status/info LCD into the ether. On one hand, using the main LCD allows for an exceptionally readable, in-your-face method of monitoring the settings. However, the paper-white background gets distracting, and the automatic sensor--which blanks it when you put your eye to the viewfinder--makes it even more so. You can turn it off altogether, but the info in the viewfinder doesn't include ISO speed, white balance, battery level, and other useful settings that generally display on a status LCD.
In most other respects, the control layout on the XTi mimics that of the XT, which is pretty much how it's been on Canon dSLRs since the beginning. That's an unfoolish consistency I can get behind. It can also accept all the same accessories as the XT does.
Most amateurs will find all the essentials: a handful of manual, semimanual, and automatic exposure modes; user-selectable nine-point autofocus, and AI Servo autofocus for moving subjects; and simultaneous raw-plus-JPEG capture.
To keep up with the camera Joneses, the CMOS chip in the XTi is now self-cleaning. Similarly to many other dSLRs, the low-pass filter layer vibrates when the camera powers off or on in order to shake dust away from the sensor; plus, there's an antistatic coating on the filter that repels dust. Furthermore, a bit of adhesive surrounding the sensor is designed to grab the dust, keeping it from flying around inside the camera chassis. In addition to dust control, Canon has split the low-pass filter into two parts, effectively placing whatever dust does settle beyond the range of focus.
Unfortunately, like the Rebel XT, the XTi lacks a spot meter; it supplies only evaluative, center-weighted average, and partial center-weighted metering. There is simply no substitute for a spot in tricky lighting situations. In fact, I couldn't avoid severe underexposures of a backlit subject with the available metering tools, which is inexcusable for a camera of this class.
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User reviews
- Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 36 reviews
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Where to buy
Canon EOS Rebel XTi (EF-S 18-55mm Lens, black):
$429.95 - $639.00
| store | price | in stock? | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
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Amazon.com Marketplace
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$549.95 | Yes |
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$566.95 | Yes |
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$429.95 | Yes |
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