The Canon Rebel XT: A Great Entry-Level Single-Lens Reflex Camera

Newcomers who find themselves looking into the world of digital single-lens reflex cameras are in for a big surprise. Chances are, these new omers are about to make the jump from a regular point-and-shoot digital camera or a film SLR to the emerging DSLR market. Unfortunately, many are going to balk when they take their first look at the price tag that comes with a DSLR. It is impossible to find a DSLR that falls within the price range of a high quality film SLR camera. In fact, most DSLR's are well above $1000 for just the camera body alone! How does one afford such an outrageous price?

Don't fret. Each major camera company makes an entry level DSLR that falls below the $1000 bench mark. My personal favorite is the Canon Rebel XT, released in March of 2005. The Rebel XT, one of the first DSLR's to be made specifically to fall under the $1000 price tag, provides a great deal along with superb image quality and a user friendly interface. As Canon prepares to release the Digital Rebel Xsi and phase out the XT, I'd like to take a look back at the XT and state why it is still a quality entry level DSLR for the novice photography enthusiast.

The price

The most appealing feature of the hardy little camera is its price tag. At a mere $550 for the camera body and the 17-55 mm kit lens, this camera provides more bang for your buck than any other camera. Nikon's comparable D40 runs a good $100 more than the XT for the same basic setup.

Optic compatibility

If you are making the jump from film SLR to DSLR, optic compatibility is important. Fortunately, Canon delivers. The Rebel XT is compatible with any EF-mount lens, and can even use the more recent EF-S lenses. If you have any EF style lens from Canon or 3rd party manufacturer, the XT will be able to use the lens.

The Build

OK, this is where all entry level digital SLR's make a big compromise. Unlike their film counterparts, modern SLR's tend to be made of a light plastic. I remember my first film SLR. It was built like a rock. It could be dropped from quite a ways up and I never had to worry about it breaking. Unfortunately, DSLR's are made of a cheaper plastic that won't hold up nearly as well. I guess the compromise had to be made to keep the price tag low, but it would still be nice if the XT were a bit sturdier. This isn't to say the camera is fragile, though. It will still take some rough wear and tear.

The screen

The other major drawback to the Rebel XT. While Nikon's, Pentax's, and the other comparable entry level DSLR's each have at least a 2.5 inch LCD screen, the XT's screen measures a mere 1.8 inches. The small screen still is plenty big to see the pictures you take, but the larger screen would have been nice. This problem was attended to in the later released Rebel Xti.

Picture quality

The XT really shines in this category. Although it doesn't come equipped with the fancy inbuilt image stabilization features the more expensive models have, the XT, with its 8.0 effective mega pixels, can provide superb imagery when the right optics are used. Even the kit lens brought plenty of amazing images to my eyes. The XT has sepia, black & white, and filter modes along with varying levels of image compression modes. The XT lets you shoot in low, medium, and high quality JPEG formats and even the highly modifiable RAW format, a plus for any Photoshop enthusiast.

The software

The provided software isn't bad at all. It works great! With just a couple of firmware downloads from the Canon website, your XT will sync right with your copies of Windows XP or Vista. The provided Digital Photo Professional also works great when modifying and touching up your RAW format photos. I would still recommend getting Photoshop if you plan on doing any major image manipulation, however. Although DPP works great for simple fixes, you'll need Photoshop in order to do any major photo manipulation.

The interface

The interface to the XT is simple. You almost don't even have to read the owner's manual in order to figure out the camera. I don't suggest it, though. The XT has plenty of extra's encrypted within that can bring out the most in your pictures. The camera is loaded with features, and each one is simple to access.

Basically, the XT is still just as good of deal as it was when it first debuted back in 2005. I would highly recommend the Rebel XT to any photo enthusiast who is on a budget. The camera captures just as good of pictures as the later released Rebel Xti for $150 less. An avid bargain shopper can find a new or refurbished XT for under $400. That saves you about $300 when compared to the Xti. Hey! That's enough money to buy a pretty good camera lens! So if massive amounts of mega pixels aren't needed, I highly suggest picking up the XT in order to save a large sum of cash.