Rebel XT

Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2005 7:20 pm

I played with a rebel XT in the store today side-by-side with a 20D. There are a billion user reviews all over the net, so I'll keep it short and simple, and won't talk about feature sets because they're practically identical with only minor variations that people can nitpick about...

The rebel XT is a very compact but functional little beast. I was pleasantly surprised with how it felt - dense and sturdy. And it's quiet and almost vibration free, the mirror/shutter sound is more like a little "zzzzp" than the usual "chiCLUNK" of my film SLR and the 20D. Very nice. No problems with the size or the build, it seems very well made. It might feel funny with a big lens on it, because it's dwarfed by even the 18-55 kit lens. It's responsive, basically the same as my film SLR. Turn it on and start firing away.

The viewfinder is very small. Not unusable, in fact it's still pretty nice, but by my standards coming from film it's stilll awfully small. The 20D on the other hand - wow, big and bright viewfinder. Honestly that's the only reason I could see to prefer the 20D, that and the fact that it's bigger and heavier and looks more professional (ego).

Basically if you can't afford a 20D or can't justify the extra cost, you'd probably be very happy with the XT. I think I'm going to get a 20D, but only because I just won a huge scholarship and have some disposable income to burn (after 2 more months of bureaucratic paper shuffling, of course). Otherwise I"d have no qualms about the XT.

Joined: 19 Mar 2005 Posts: 203 Location: colleyville, texas

hmm very interesting. I cant wait till i get mine!

Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2005 7:17 pm

just saw it yeaterday... seems way to small and cramped in my hands... no can do for me!

I'll just have to saveup for the 20D!!

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Joined: 11 Apr 2005 Posts: 14

I have big hands and I was using a Canon IXUS 4, so imagine how small that seemed. Get or make a strong wrist strap instead of a neck strap and unless you are wearing ski gloves it is a breeze, it hangs onto your fingers, unless you are left-handed. The XT is a fantastic camera, instant startup and no shutter lag. FINALLY I can take pics of my children before they move. No closed eyes when I use the flash, no more redeye. Although it is 8MP, I only use it on medium resolution which is effectively 4MP (only have a 256MB flashcard). Even so the pics are a quantam leap above the IXUS in qaulity. Better glassware I suppose.
Only complaint is silly position for the timer - easy to press by mistake. It should be a press for three seconds or such. Also lousy choice of colours for the menu LCD. Impossible to read in sunshine.

Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2005 6:14 pm

Well, this month I have my finances together to get either the XT or the 20D. I was playing with the two side-by-side in the store today, and I think I'm decided - in favor of the XT. I'm starting to think of the size as a bonus, and when you compare the viewfinders side-by-side they really aren't THAT different. I was able to focus manually with my fisheye quite easily on both cameras. It's a really slick little camera, it's easy to forget that if you spend too much time reading the equipment review sites (which seem to be full of mutants with gnarled hands who can't hold a camera without going into spasms of agony, if you believe everything they say about ergonomics). Menu operation and settings changes seemed totally straightforward - the cross buttons on the back play a dual purpose - each one is assigned a setting (ISO, white-balance, autofocus mode, etc) and brings you right to the proper menu item. People have sure spent a lot of time on other sites complaining about the fact that these settings are in the main menu, but I can't see any problem with that. With my film camera it's ten times the hassle to switch ISO and white balance :)

I can't wait to get the thing, actually. Next paycheque, ohboyohboyohboy.

Joined: 11 Apr 2005 Posts: 14

Can't dissagree. Get the black body though, the silver will show scratches.

Joined: 16 Apr 2005 Posts: 23 Location: Singapore

The Rebel XT is a great camera - despite the less than great reviews by some folks out there.

Joined: 11 Apr 2005 Posts: 14

Yes I am having loads of fun with my XT. I also got the RC-5 remote control. It does mirror lockup as well as instant and 2 second delay.
I just wish Canon would bring out a software update to change the LCD menu contrast settings so I can see them in outdoor daylight, plus focus bracketing seems like a logical feature to have.
Anybody else agree? Can we lobby Canon?

Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2005 12:44 am

I've been playing with it for awhile, and there are three things that bother me. When I say bother me, I mean bother me in the same way that having to boil water in the morning before I can have coffee bothers me, not an icepick under my fingernail or army ants in my pants sort of bothering.

1. Pressing "set" to change ISO, WB, etc, is required. It should also be finalized with a shutter button press, though I've adapted.
2. Exposure bracketing - no dedicated key, have to hunt in menus. Everything else is basically shortcut accessible, but not this.
3. At certains angles, the sun blasts my glasses and into the rear of my viewfinder and I have to find a way to shield my eyes to see anything at all. Again, not a severe problem, but a bit annoying.

Otherwise, it's an awesome camera. I do need to pick up a USB card reader though, transferring images from the camera is very very slow.

Joined: 11 Apr 2005 Posts: 14

Good to see you finally got the XT Walter. I use the camera with a USB2 port and find it very quick - 50 full res pixes in a few minutes
John

Joined: 11 Apr 2005 Posts: 14

Max resolution .jpgs take approx 1.0 second to transfer from my XT to my computer.

Posted: Thu Jun 02, 2005 10:57 pm

Actually I'm only using USB1.1, I think my motherboard has USB 2 ports on it. I should check into connecting them.

By the way, I hope nobody notices the idiocy of commenting on a camera I did not even own. The more I use it, the more I get used to it's small size.

Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2005 12:12 am

Yup, USB 2.0 is faster. I had forgotten to install the USB 2 controller drivers, so windows was running it as a USB 1.1 device.

Posted: Fri Jun 10, 2005 5:24 pm

This review is not very structured, so it may jump around a little.

Okay here's my take on this little thing so far:

I've held it previously, so I knew how small it was going to be. Not too much of a size difference between my T2 and the XT, but the battery grip does see a future on this thing. I have large hands, and my fingers are feeling a little cramped, but not too bad.
It does feel a little cheaper. For the first few weeks, this thing is gonna stay in a case. Pretty easy to get shooting, as the layout is pretty similar to my other Canon. The image quality is excellent. I zoomed in on a "hold the camera backwards pointed at yourself and press the shutter release" shots I did once the batteries were charged and it amazed me how much detail there was. Every pore, hair, and spot of dry skin was amazingly sharp. I was amazed at this, since I'm used to the sub-par performance from my girlfriend's Panasonic 2mp P/S.
I've read the manual, which is very thorough, as far as camera manuals go. Most of the functions are pretty self explanitory when you cruise through the lists on the LCD, but there are a few that require some futrther looking into..at least for me. I like the layout of the directional keys, giving quick access to ISO, white balance, autofocus modes, and metering modes.
It would have looked better if the lettering on the back of this silver camera was all black, but the blue lettering for some of the keys is not that hard for me to read in daylight, and I imagine I'm going to remember the layout so this won't be an issue.
I noticed a little rattle inside, but after further reading the manual, I discovered that it is only the vertical/horizontal orientation doo-hickey making this noise. This is so it will rotate your image for you when viewing on-camera. Perhaps the cheap casing only makes it sounds louder.
My cheap lenses seem to all work with the XT, but my Zenitar 16mm's mount seems to fit awfully snug. I worry about it wearing down the mount on the camera, or leaving metal shavings on in the interior. I just may be forced to get the 10-22. :)
That's about as far as I have gotten with it. I'm still learning the ins and outs of the white balance, adn the other functions. I will post again when I can.

Joined: 29 May 2005 Posts: 177

after doing alot of reading up on reviews for this camera i've got my mind set on getting the XT. I wanted to get a refurbed/used 10D but most have the same going price as a new XT. I was also able to see one in person and kinda play around with it. Felt comfortable. Is quite a bit smaller then the regular rebel.