ladykeetes's Full Review: Canon Digital Rebel XT / EOS 350D Digital Camera w...
I've had this camera about 3 years now. It has served me very well. It is a basic, digital single lens reflex camera that is great for getting started with more advanced photography techniques. This camera has a number of automatic shooting modes, which while they can be useful are limited in their abilities.
The manual modes are this camera's strengths. You can select from Auto Depth of Field Mode (A-DEP), Manual (M), Aperture Priority (Av) and Shutter Priority (Tv). Using these modes you will have far more control over your photography than you ever had with your point & shoot.
The in-camera light meter is fairly accurate and when using it in combination with the histogram mode, you don't need a ambient light meter (though I would still recommend one). You will want a light meter if you start using flash, unless trial and error is your preferred method.
The on-camera flash is harsh and provides unflattering lighting, but does work for snapshots. I would strongly recommend investing in an additional separate flash unit if you will be using flash and trying to create more professional images.
The ISO speeds offered (100, 200, 400, 800 & 1600) offer a broad range for different situations. I tend to stick with 100, since I use this with my studio lighting quite regularly. For the weddings I've shot, I've had to go higher due to lighting in various locations. The camera does produce a high level of digital noise at ISO 800 & 1600. I personally find these speeds produce so much noise as to be unacceptable to me and the quality I expect. I tend to use my film body now when encountering similar lighting situations.
The body size is a hindrance for photographers with larger hands. I have fairly big hands for a woman and have no place to rest my pinkie when holding this camera. I recently invested in the battery grip which seems to solve this issue. The controls are also not positioned as they are on higher end models or even Canon's film SLRs. The location of the controls is not as intuitive if you are familiar with the other body styles. For me, this means when changing things, I often have to actually look at the controls to do so. This can mean missed shots.
The 18-55mm lens that comes with this camera is... useful in a pinch, but I would strongly recommend investing in a few other lenses as soon as possible. Most versions of this lens are soft, and do not yield clean, crisp focus. It is a light weight lens and does not see much use in my arsenal. The wide angle is a useful for certain situations, but other wide angle lenses are much better.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 700 This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Flexible Enough for Enthusiasts
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