Macworld Rating
4.0 out of 5 Mice, Jan 19, 2007
Pros
- Good price
- Increased resolution over the Rebel XT
- Excellent image quality
- Good feature set
Cons
- Consumer-style build and feel
- No dedicated status display
$799 (body only); $899 (with EF-S 18-55mm lens kit)
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi
Cosmetic changes
A look at the back of the camera reveals the most significant cosmetic changes over the XT. Canon has increased the size of the camera’s LCD screen to 2.5 inches and eliminated the dedicated status LCD. The main LCD is now used as the status display, just as it is on the Sony Alpha A100K and the Pentax K100D ( ). Normally, I would find this very annoying, but, as on the Sony Alpha, the XTi includes a proximity detector near the viewfinder, which automatically activates and deactivates the LCD screen as you move your eye up to and away from the viewfinder. Still, I much prefer the dedicated status display of the XT as opposed to the XTi’s offering.
Looking through the camera’s viewfinder reveals a few other changes. The XTi now shows flash exposure lock and white balance adjustment in the viewfinder’s status bar--both welcome additions.
Overall, the control and interface on the XTi is identical to the XT’s. All critical shooting functions are easily reachable through the four-way buttons and LCD screen on the back of the camera. Exposure compensation, program shift, drive mode, exposure lock, and focus point selection all have dedicated buttons. In this market, only the Nikon D80 offers an equivalent level of dedicated controls on the camera body.
The XTi’s menu system has been improved over the XT’s, offering simpler menus and easier navigation. Pulling a feature from its EOS 30D ( ) and its EOS 5D, Canon has added Picture Styles to the XTi, which offer predefined image parameter sets for shooting in particular situations. For example, you might choose the Portrait style, which provides custom contrast and saturation settings that are well suited to reproducing skin tones.
Enhanced XT features
The XTi retains several features from previous versions of the Digital Rebel, but they have been enhanced and updated. For example, you can choose to view the histogram display in monochrome, RGB, or luminance (brightness); there are new long-exposure noise reduction options; and there are improvements in the Auto Rotate During Playback mode. In the image review that appears immediately on-screen after you shoot, you can now magnify and pan around the image.
Under the hood, the camera now has a new 10.1-megapixel sensor. While this is not a huge boost over the XT’s eight megapixels, it does put this new version in line with the competition, so it is a welcome change. Canon has also implemented a three-tiered sensor cleaning system. First, the sensor is coated with an anti-static, dust-repelling coating. Second, a clear element in front of the sensor vibrates whenever you turn the camera on or off to shake loose any dust. And finally, you can create adust reference shot that can be used to digitally remove dust spots later.
The vibrating cleaning cycle occurs both when you power on and off, but Canon has wisely made the power-on cleaning cycle interruptible. A half-press of the shutter stops the cleaning cycle so you can shoot immediately. Dust is a problem for any SLR, so these changes are valuable.
As with the XT, the XTi yields excellent image quality, with very little noise up through ISO 400, and minimal noise at ISO 800 through 1,600, the maximum speed available. An increase in resolution can sometimes result in noisy photos, but Canon has managed to increase the resolution on the XTi’s sensor without increasing the noise. As such, the extra two megapixels are welcome, and provide much more output and cropping flexibility.
performance
Scale = Superior, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor
specifications
The image-quality rating of the camera is based upon a panel of judges’ opinions in five categories: exposure, color, sharpness, distortion, and overall. Battery life testers follow a precise script, including shots with and without flash, until the battery dies.—Tested in conjunction with the PC World Test Center
Macworld’s buying advice
You need to get your hands on the Digital Rebel XTi before you can make an evaluation as to whether it’s right for you. If you like its size and feel, then you’ll find it to be a full-featured camera that yields excellent image quality at a very reasonable price.
[ Ben Long is the author of Complete Digital Photography, 3rd Edition (Charles River Books, 2004). ]
Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi
Macworld Lab Results
Performance (New)
| Exposure | Good |
| Color | Good |
| Sharpness | Good |
| Distortion | Very Good |
Performance
| Battery Life (minutes) | 273.5 |
| Image Quality Score | Superior |
| Image Quality, Color | 55 |
| Image Quality, Color--Adjusted | 63.2 |
| Image Quality, Color--Auto | 46.9 |
| Image Quality, Distortion | 77 |
| Image Quality, Distortion--Noise | 69.7 |
| Image Quality, Distortion--Noise Reduction | 73.5 |
| Image Quality, Distortion--Sharp Interpolation | 83.1 |
| Image Quality, Exposure | 47.2 |
| Image Quality, Exposure--Flash | 47.9 |
| Image Quality, Exposure--Normal | 46.9 |
| Image Quality, Overall | 51 |
| Image Quality, Sharpness | 48.6 |
| Number of Batteries | 1 |
| Number of Shots | 500 |
Type
| Type | slr |
Image Processor
| Effective Megapixels | 10.1 megapixels |
| Image sensor | CCD |
| Image format |
|
| White balance |
|
| Image stabilization | Lens-dependent |
Lens Features
| Lens Model | Canon EF-S 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 |
| Maximum Optical Zoom | 3 X |
| Maximum Wide Angle | 28.8 mm |
| Maximum Telephoto | 88 mm |
| Lens mount | Interchangeable |
| Focus features |
|
0 Comment:
Yorum Gönder