Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi SLR Review

The "digital half" of the EOS Digital Rebel is on the back. Here you'll find the 2.5-inch color LCD for displaying camera settings, accessing the menus and reviewing captured images. The two buttons in the upper right are for index and enlarged playback functions. The Av+/- button is for setting the aperture value or exposure compensation. Below that is the drive mode button. The 4-way controller lets you navigate menus and select images during playback. In record mode the "Up" button is used to change the ISO values and the "Down" button changes white balance settings. The "Left" button changes metering modes and the "Right" button changes the AF mode. Below the 4-way controller is the CF card activity light. Above the LCD to the left is the Print/Share button, and between the LCD and viewfinder is the Display-off sensor that turns-off the LCD when you place the camera to your eye.

Buttons to the left of the color LCD are:

DISP - In record it displays all camera and exposure settings (see it below), in playback it toggles the different review modes (see next page), in trimming mode it rotates the frame

MENU - Toggles the menu on/off

JUMP - In playback it jumps 10 or 100 pictures ahead

PLAY - Puts camera into playback mode

DELETE - Erase images

The XTi eliminates the monochrome data display that was on the back of the XT, instead displaying the complete set of camera settings on the large 2.5-inch color LCD monitor. Shutter speed, Aperture, ISO, Shooting mode, Exposure level indicator, Exposure bracketing, Flash exposure compensation, White balance, Metering mode, AF mode, Drive mode, Custom function, White balance correction, White balance bracketing, AF point selection, Monochrome shooting, Beeper, Red eye reduction Image-recording quality, Battery condition and # of pictures remaining can be seen at a glance. The information display is turned off by by the Display-off sensor when the camera is raised to your eye, or it can be manually turned-off by depressing the DISP button.

Record Menu

• Quality:
  Large/Fine - 3888 x 2592 low JPEG compression - 3.8MB
  Large/Normal - 3888 x 2592 high JPEG compression - 2.0MB
  Medium/Fine - 2816 x 1880 low JPEG compression - 2.3MB
  Medium/Normal - 2816 x 1880 high JPEG compression - 1.2MB
  Small/Fine - 1936 x 1288 low JPEG compression - 1.3MB
  Small/Normal - 1936 x 1288 high JPEG compression - 0.7MB
  RAW+L - 3888 x 2592 - 13.6MB (also saves a Large/Fine JPEG)
  RAW - 3888 x 2592 - 9.8MB
  
• Redeye - Enable/disable redeye reduction flash mode
• Beep - Enable/disable "button beep" sounds
• Shoot w/o card - Allows or denies shutter release when no CF memory card is installed
• AEB - Enables AE Bracketing and sets the step increment (-2 to +2EV in 0.3EV steps)
• Flash exp comp - Enables flash exposure compensation (-2 to +2EV in 0.3EV steps)
• WB SHIFT/BKT - Set white balance correction or the step increment for white balance bracketing
• Custom WB - Set the custom white balance value using a stored image
• Color space - sRGB, Adobe RGB
• Picture Style - Selects image effects; see next menu description.
• Dust Delete Data - Takes an exposure (of a white object) to identify dust spots on the image sensor. The dust data are appended to subsequent images for post-processing removal by Canon's Digital Photo Professional software.

Picture Style Menu

• Standard: For vivid, sharp and crisp images

• Portrait: For nice skin tones, slightly sharp and crisp

• Landscape: For vivid blues and greens, very sharp and crisp images

• Neutral: For natural colors and subdued images; no sharpening applied

• Faithful: For colormetric adjustment of colors of subjects shot under a color temperature of 5200K; no sharpening applied

• Monochrome: For Black and White images

• User Def. 1-3: For user-defined Picture Styles

• Detail set.: For changing parameters of the pre-defined and user-defined Picture Styles - see next menu

The numeric parameters (or N) shown for each style are from left to right Sharpness, Contrast, Saturation and Color Tone.

Picture Style Menu - Detail set

Processing parameters for both the pre-defined and user-defined Color Styles are set from the Detail set menu.

• Sharpness: Adjust from 0 (no sharpening) to 7 (maximum sharpening)

• Contrast: Adjust from -4 (low contrast) to +4 (high contrast)

• Saturation: Adjust from -4 (low saturation) to +4 (high saturation)

• Color tone: Adjust from -4 (reddish skin tone) to +4 (Yellowish skin tone)

The Monochrome Color Style's Sharpness and Contrast can also be adjusted, plus a Filter effect of None, Yellow, Orange, Red or Green, and a Toning effect of None, Sepia, Blue, Purple or Green.

Metering, ISO, Autofocus and White Balance Menu's

Digital Rebel XTi's settings for ISO, Metering mode, AF mode and White balance are directly accessible from the buttons of the 4-way controller, and not available in the shooting menu as they were on the Rebel XT.

The metering system can be set for Evaluative, Partial (9%) or Center-weighted average.

In the Creative Zone, ISO can be set in the range of 100 to 1600.

One-shot AF focuses once when the shutter is half-depressed, good for still subjects. AI Servo AF focuses continuously while the shutter button is half-depressed, good for moving subjects. AI Focus AF focuses once when the shutter is half-depressed and switches to AI Servo AF if subject movement is detected, good for subjects that move unpredictably.

White balance selections include Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent, Flash and Custom. The Custom white balance is set in the Record menu (above).

Custom Functions

Setup Menu

• Auto power off - 30 secs, 1, 2, 4, 8, 15 minutes or Off
• Auto rotate - Enable auto rotation of portrait mode images in camera, on computer or both
• LCD brightness - LCD back light intensity, 7 levels
• LCD auto off - Enable or Disable the display-off sensor from turning the LCD off
• Date / Time - Set date and time
• File numbering - Sequentially number, auto reset, or manual reset
• Format - Format the CF card
• Language - Sets the menu language
• Video system - NTSC or PAL video output
• Custom Functions - enter Custom Functions menu (see below)
• Clear settings - Reset camera settings or Custom Functions
• Sensor cleaning:Auto - Enable/disable auto sensor cleaning, or activate a cleaning cycle now
• Sensor cleaning:Manual - For manually cleaning the image sensor - mirror flips up and shutter opens to expose the image sensor.
• Firmware Ver. - Display camera firmware rev#, update with new version stored on CF media