Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi SLR Review

The controls on the grip side of the camera include the Mode Dial above the Power switch, the Shutter Release button, ISO Speed set button and the Main Dial.

Just as the XTi, the Mode Dial is divided into 2 Zones:

The Basic Zone

• Full Auto - "Point and Shoot" mode, camera makes all settings automatically including the flash.
• Portrait - Sharp subject with blurred background
• Landscape - Scenery, sunsets and open-sky photos
• Close-up - Close up shots of small things
• Sports - Freeze fast-moving subjects with higher shutter speeds and uses Predictive AF focusing
• Night Portrait - Long shutter speed plus fill flash
• Flash Off - Natural looking pictures without the flash

and The Creative Zone

• Program AE - Camera selects the optimum shutter speed and aperture for the shooting conditions.
• Tv - Shutter priority; you select shutter speed (1/4000 to 30 seconds), camera matches appropriate aperture
• Av - Aperture priority; you select aperture, camera matches appropriate shutter speed
• Manual - Manual selection of both shutter speed and aperture
• A-DEP - Aperture is determined to maximize depth of field so that all objects in the 9 focus points are sharply focused

Image Storage

The EOS Rebel XSi is the first EOS Digital SLR camera to use popular SD and SDHC memory cards only. Compact, inexpensive and available in increasingly large capacities, SD and SDHC memory cards are a perfect complement to the EOS Rebel XSi's compact and lightweight body design.

Image Storage

The chart above gives you an idea of the approximate storage capacity of SD memory cards.

Input/Output

Topmost is AV Video Out port (NTSC or PAL format).

In the center is a connector for the Canon RS-60E3 Remote Switch or one of the Canon RC-1 & RC-5 wireless infrared remote controllers.

And at the bottom we see the Digital terminal AKA a USB 2 connection.

Power Source

The Digital Rebel XSi is powered by a Canon Battery Pack LP-E5 rechargeable battery. At normal temperature (73°F and above) it's good for ~600 pictures without flash or ~500 pictures if the flash is used 50% of the time. At colder temperatures (32°F and below) that number drops to ~500 or ~400 if flash is used 50% of the time. The figures above are based on CIPA (Camera & Imaging Products Association) testing standards and are much improved over the battery supplied with the XTi.

The supplied LC-E5 compact charger required ~90 minutes to charge a fully depleted LP-E5 battery pack. It requires no separate power cord, it has fold-out prongs.

AC power can be supplied via AC Adapter Kit ACK-E5 (optional).

(Note that there is also a lithium "button" battery inside the battery compartment to retain camera settings during main battery changes.)

The optional BG-E5 battery grip holds 6x AA batteries or 2 LP-E5 batteries . It provides a shutter button and control dial along with AE/FE Lock, Exposure compensation and AF point selection buttons in a vertical orientation. The Canon BG-E5 offers creative flexibility by providing a stable grip for vertical as well as horizontal positions.