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I finally have a little bit of time here at lunch to review my 300D. I won't be going over the specifications of it, and if you want a spec sheet I encourage you to visit »canoneos.com and/or »dpreview.com to explore what the camera's specifications are.

In my opinion, Canon has targeted many advanced hobbyists or advanced amateurs with their new digital SLR, the Digital Rebel. It feels and acts just like a Single Lens Reflex camera in your hands. You can change lenses, plus you have a wide range of control over how the camera acts. The narrow depth of field available from a larger lens is almost always a plus as your pictures come out more defined. The 3:2 aspect ratio of the photos equals the ratio of 35mm prints, so no cropping is needed when having your digital pictures sent off someplace to have 4x6" prints made.

The image quality is superb. Because of the larger sensor and its more advanced technology, higher ISO speed photographs at lower noise levels are offered. I own the Canon Powershot G2 as well as the 300D, and I can readily achieve ISO400 photos on my 300D that are cleaner than the G2 at ISO50. No joking.

Battery life - the battery (BP-511 li-ion pack or equivalent) battery that is used in the 300D lasts a LONG time on a full charge. I can get 500+ (4/5 of them being without flash) shots out of it on a single charge. I bought the optional BG-E1 battery grip which holds two of the BP-511 battery packs. I can get 1300+ shots (again, 4/5 of them not taken with a flash) with two fully charged batteries in the grip. The camera offers a nice external charge that wll fully charge a battery (from my experience) in just over 2.5 hours.

Overall, I don't regret spending a single penny on the Digital Rebel. I also don't regret the $2000 that I have spent on accessories thus far.

If you're looking for something light in weight and requiring minimal add-ons, this is NOT the camera for you. If you're looking for a SLR that offers you superb digital image quality and versatility, and you're willing to spend a bucket of money on accessories when your interests mature, the 300D / Digital Rebel may be for you.

As always, I encourage those to go out and TRY the camera out in a camera store (or wherever it may be sold locally) before one makes a purchase. I also encourage you (if you are within the US) to order your camera online from a reputable retailer because you can most likely get a better price than you can if you were to walk into someplace like Best Buy.

A few cons that I need to mention in order to make this a fair review:

•Canon really needed to include an AC adapter with the camera so that you could use the camera while hooked into a wall outlet. Such a thing is made but not included with the camera.
•I often smear the screen with skin oils from my nose and accidentally press buttons when looking through the viewfinder. Canon should have extended the eyepiece out a few more millimeters and they would have done well.




•Contrary to most people's initial concerns with the camera's AI AF settings, the AI AF on the 300D and the lack of an option to switch AF operation modes does not really pose a problem under many uses.

One thing to clarify: I tossed around the names "300D" and "Digital Rebel" a lot. Both are the same thing essentially, the proper US name being Digital Rebel.


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by SurfTheSky See Profile edited by tmpchaos See Profile
last modified: 2004-07-14 08:58:28