The Canon EOS Rebel XTi is the best digital SLR camera for amateurs or casual photographers on a budget and it makes a good backup body for professionals, a testament to its high quality. As you'll see, the Canon Rebel XTi is a great value and, if coupled with a high quality lens, produces outstanding pictures that are acceptable for nearly any purpose.

The Canon Rebel XTi is an improvement of an already superb camera -- the Rebel XT -- with Canon's latest and greatest innovations to make digital SLR photography more like you remember from the film days and with more versatility as well. Very simply, the Rebel XTi is compact, lightweight, rugged, inexpensive, responsive, and compatible with dozens of the world's best lenses.

OUTSTANDING FEATURES

There are a lot of reasons why the Canon Rebel XTi has become the world's most popular digital single-lens reflex camera. Let's have a look at its feature set to see which most important attributes have propelled this digital camera to the top.

The Canon Rebel XTi, a major advancement over its successful Rebel XT predecessor, is a sophisticated 10 Megapixel Digital SLR that gives plenty of photo prowess for your money. More pixels, a bigger LCD, and dust reduction are all welcome.

AUTO FOCUS: FAST, ACCURATE, AND LOW-LIGHT CAPABLE

However, faster Auto Focus (borrowed from Canonâ's professional 30D model) is probably the most celebrated Rebel XTi feature.

This translates into a great benefit because now you're able to get shots that you couldn't begin to imagine with the XT. The focusing of the Canon Rebel XTi is instantaneous and very accurate. The Rebel XTi capitalizes on a refined 9-area autofocus system that produces its speed, precision, broad frame coverage, and class-leading low-light detection. All of this makes it easy to take great pictures in low light situations. (Think candle-light!) The center Auto Focus point of the Rebel XTi is the best setting in low light.

With pixel resolution of 3,904 x 2,598, the Digital Rebel XTi not only offers the most pixels in its class, but, surprisingly, bests many professional-level cameras in this regard. And the Digital Rebel XTi's shutter can record images as fast as 1/4000 of a second and as long as 30 seconds, plus bulb, and bursts at up to 3 frames per second (fps) for 27 consecutive shots. So, whether youâ%u20AC%u2122re taking fast-moving sports shots in bright sun or delayed-shutter night shots of city lights and fireworks, you're assured the Rebel XTi delivers beautifully.

The Canon Rebel XTi is available as a body only or in a standard kit form, which includes the excellent Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3 zoom lense. The XTi is compatible with all Canon lenses in the EF lineup, ranging from ultra-wide angle to super telephoto lenses, and including Canon's EF-S series lenses, manufactured specifically for Canon's APS-C sized digital sensor. In addition to Canon's EF lenses and Speedlite flashes, many other accessories are designed by Canon to work perfectly with the EOS Digital Rebel XTi.

DUST-CLEANING IMAGE SENSOR

Another Canon innovation found in the Rebel XTi (and not found on the 30D) is the Self-Cleaning Sensor Unit. To combat stray dust that enters the camera and adheres to the image sensor during a lens change, the Digital Rebel XTi features an all new, Canon-designed, Self Cleaning Sensor Unit. Call it a Dust Delete feature! It's worthwhile noting that the Digital Rebel XTi is the first digital EOS SLR camera to feature this important technology. This insures that the sensor is free of dust and debris so that the camera produces clear, clean images all the time.

PRO-FEATURES WITHOUT THE PRO-PRICE

The XTi offers an expanded feature set that matches or exceeds the capabilities of the Canon professional 30D. For instance, the Rebel XTi inherits the 30D's extensive image adjustments, notably the Picture Styles menu that allows selection of profiles governing sharpness, color saturation, and contrast.

And here's where the value component really shines for the Rebel XTi. Compare three categories for the Canon 30D professional camera that eclipse those of the XTi: The 30D excels with a more robust build quality (magnesium-alloy versus polycarbonate), spot metering, and longer estimated shutter life. In the real world, they're not enough to convince most non-professional photographers that the 30D is worth $300-$400 more than the XTi, especially since the XTi wins or ties in most other categories. So why pay more?

TWO REBEL XTI COMPLAINTS NOT REALLY A PROBLEM:

1) The most common complaint deals with XT's flash exposure issues. Most pros already know you have to calibrate your camera. This is true with film, and it's even more important with digital cameras. So, any flash exposure issues are totally correctable in just a few minutes from the camera setup menus.

2) The included rechargeable Lith-Ion battery is sufficient for a day of active photography, somewhere between 300 and 500 photos plus the reviewing you do. (Please note: The Canon Rebel XTi will not run on disposable AA batteries.) In order to recharge the battery, you must use the travel charger (which is a bit bulky if you have to carry it around on your person) that simply plugs directly into a wall socket. If you are a serious photographer, you should probably purchase and carry a backup NB-2LH battery for convenience.

TWEAKING YOUR PHOTOS

For the more advanced user, shooting can be done in RAW format, which provides greater flexibility with image editing. If and when you reach the point where you want to really fine-tune images, you can learn to work with RAW files. In fact the Rebel XTi makes this very easy in two ways: You can record RAW files simultaneously with highest-quality JPEGs. Or record in RAW alone. The Canon RAW converter/editing software included with the camera (Digital Photo Professional 2.2) is fairly easy to learn and use.

Whether you use other imaging software, such as Photoshop, or Canon's, you won't have to spend too much time post-processing, with such conveniences as the Rebel XT's inclusion of an auto rotate feature (enabled from the first tools menu). The DIGIC II Image Processor, the brains of the Rebel XTi, is the result of Canon's extensive in-house development. The DIGIC II Image Processor has been designed specifically for Canon digital SLR cameras, and it enhances every aspect of image capture, eliminating the need for most post-processing.

CONCLUSION

Overall, the compact, lightweight, easy-to-use EOS Rebel XTi is the ideal digital SLR choice for both the serious photographer who demands the ultimate in high-quality features, as well as for the weekend picture taker who demands the ultimate in affordability and convenience. The Rebel XTi is a generational update that brings much of Canon's experience and technology into play.

Getting to 10 megapixels, while maintaining industry-leading image quality as well as offering speedy, accurate focusing in any situation, is quite an achievement. It's the factor that keeps the Rebel XTi worthy of the word compelling. Maybe that's why PCMagazine, after their in-depth review, stated Overall, the Canon Rebel XTi is an all-around excellent performer, and gave it their undeniable Editor's Choice Award in the Digital SLR category.

To see a user rating comparison of the three top-selling digital SLR cameras, illustrating eight quality categories side-by-side, go to http://digitalcamera.leveragenow.com . ChrisCordoba@infoworldhelp.com . (c) 2007 Chris Cordoba

About the Author

International Photographer, Photo-Technophobe, and Consumer Advocate