Canon SLR Reviews

Canon Digital Rebel XT 8MP Digital SLR Camera with EF S 18 55mm f3 5 5 6 Lens Black

Want high digital-camera performance in an SLR format? For convenience, ease of use and no-compromise SLR performance, look no further than the EOS Digital Rebel XT. Featuring Canon’s Digital Trinity 8.0 Megapixel CMOS sensor, Canon’s own DIGIC II Image Processor and compatibility with over 50 EF Lenses-the new Digital Rebel XT has an all new lightweight and compact body, improved performance across the board and the easiest operation in its class, simplifying complex tasks and ensuring a perfect shot every time. With intuitive simplicity, powerful performance and unprecedented affordability, the Rebel XT is for everyone. File Size – JPEG – (1) Large/Fine – Approx. 3.3 MB (3456 x 2304), (2) Large/Normal – Approx. 1.7 MB (3456 x 2304), (3) Medium/Fine – Approx. 2.0 MB (2496 x 1664), (4) Medium/Normal Approx. 1.0 MB (2496 x 1664), (5) Small/Fine – Approx. 1.2 MB (1728 x 1152), (6) Small/Normal – Approx. 0.6 MB (1728 x 1152); RAW – Approx. 8.3 MB (3456 x 2304) USB 2.0 HighSpeed Interface (maximum speeds vary) Exposure Control Systems – Program AE (shiftable), Shutter-priority AE, Aperture-priority AE, Automatic Depth-of Field AE, Full Auto, Programmed Image Control modes (Portrait, Landscape, Close-up, Sports, Night Portrait, Flash Off), E-TTL II Autoflash Program AE, and Manual Focusing Modes – One-Shot AF, Predictive AI Servo AF, AI Focus AF (Automatically selects One-Shot AF or AI Servo AF selected according to shooting mode), Manual Focusing (MF) Auto pop-up, retractable, built-in electronic-flash in the pentaprism (shoe available for adding optional Canon Speedlite Electronic-Flash) 10-Second Self-timer PictBridge and Canon DirectPrint compatible 1.8 LCD Viewscreen – Any of the following 15 languages can be selected – English, German, French, Dutch, Danish, Italian, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Spanish, Simplified/Traditional Chinese, Korean, Russian, and Japanese Dimensions (W x H x

User Ratings and Reviews

3 Stars Ok starter camera, not OK repair costs
Up to this point in my ownership of the camera—two years—I have been quite happy with this camera as a camera to get into photography with. I have pulled quite a few shots I have been extremely impressed with. However, I was recently performing some lens sharpness testing, and in the middle of it, my mirror lock-up feature stopped working: it would not record an image at all while that custom function was enabled. I called Canon’s technical support number, and the guy on their end was very friendly and we tried resetting the camera to its default settings and custom functions. When this failed to work, he gave me the address to return it for repairs, not really mentioning that because I was out of warranty that this wouldn’t be a cheap expenditure. I’m sure he couldn’t really speculate as to how much since he didn’t know the problem, but a heads up of the possibility would have been nice. Instead, I got an email notification of the repairs estimate, and it was $210!!!!! Not too much shy of what a person might buy a used or rebuilt camera for on here. For $50, a person can get an extended warranty from Canon for an additional 4 years. I think that would be well worth it, since you know you will pay significantly more than that in repair costs if and when your camera goes south. Something to think seriously about, because it is an electronic item, and the standard warranty of a year doesn’t get you very far. I would have to say that I think Canon’s repair charges are a bit steep though given the total worth of such a camera. I can’t say that I’ll take my shopping to another brand’s camera lineup though, because I do like Canon’s products, but I was just disappointed this time that they couldn’t get that function back up and running for considerably less.

2 Stars Bad experience
the camera it’s very good for the price, the lens it’s mediocre but..again, for that price what do you want?

I purchased this camera at Target, it was the last one on the shelf. I got a great price but then I realized why. as I purchased the cf card (in another place since they were out) I noticed the infamous “Err CF” message: the pins were bent. But not only..I decided (shame on me for not returning it) to ship the camera to Canon, I thought it would be fixed for free and then it would be ok. I received the camera back and for a while it’s been working fine. Then it started giving that message again, every now and then, to the point that it was hard to take pictures. I shipped the camera back to Canon and they wanted to charge me for the repair. They said the pins were bent. THEY WEREN’T!! There is a problem with the firmware/hardware in the card reading/writing process. Some cameras have it some don’t. I wouldn’t reccomend this camera.

5 Stars Excellent Digital
I know that these are no longer on the open market, so my review is simply to explain why I think these are an excellent value on the used market.

Bottom line is this – unless you are going to blow up your photos to poster sized, the 8MP XT is a great choice. The upgrades to later versions give you a larger display screen, sure, but the basic functionality doesn’t change much for at least two generations. While I’d like to be able to preview the picture in the display (which you can’t do on this model), the quality of photos as well as the excellent feature set (all laid out in other reviews) make this an excellent choice.

Combined with the incredible array of excellent lenses, the compact size, excellent battery life and great feature set make the Rebel XT a great choice on the used market.

1 Star Beware of lemons
I received my Canon Digital Rebel XT in 1/08. Despite some minor complaints with the design of the camera, I enjoyed it for just over 12 months until it seemed the battery was quickly fizzling out and then suddenly stopped powering on all together. I thought it was a poor battery so I ordered 2 more, which had no effect. Canon tech support was compltely useless and bascially told me that the only option was to send it in. There are not local shops to fix these cameras because they are so intricate and specialized. So I went ahead and spent the money to send it in, which isn’t cheap when you add the insurance factor. Now I just found out that it will cost $228 to get the thing fixed. That’s a lot of money for something I owned for such a short period of time! However, I feel it has to be paid because of the amount of money I already invested in it and how much more it would cost just to buy a new camera. To add to my frustrations they never indicated what was wrong with the camera. All I was told was how much it would cost to fix it. Just like another reviewer asked, is it wrong to think that such an expensive piece of equipment should last longer than 13-14 months? Needless to say I have lost my faith in Canon and don’t plan on buying another one of their cameras. Now that I go back and look at these camera reviews again I am seeing that other people had the same problem as me…what a disappointment.

FYI – Should this happen to you and you haven’t sent your camera in yet, the written warranty is 12 months, but the Canon repair rep told us they will honor warranty repairs up to 14 months (they don’t advertise that).

5 Stars Canon Digital Rebel XT 8 mp
I owned the 6.0 MP Canon EOS Rebel (300D), which was Canon’s first digital SLR, for several years until an internal mirror latch broke and for just a little more than it would have cost to fix, I purchased (refurbished) the next model up – which is the 350D or EOS Rebel XT.

The XT has been fantastic and a substantial upgrade. It’s lighter (which really does matter when you have a heavy lens on) and faster in many respects than the 300D because of the DIGIC II image processor.

The image sensor (8MP) is comparable to the 20D’s which is 8.2 MP.

The continues shooting speed is also a bit better at 3.0 fps.

The control layout was redesigned with a new drive mode button, new metering mode and AF buttons. I’m still getting used to that but it should not take long. Overall, I can recognize and feel the model upgrade and I’m once again enjoying taking Canon high quality images with this camera.

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