Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi

One curiosity we observed here were the larger RAW files when shooting RAW+JPEG compared to RAW.

Shots taken at ISO 100 and ISO 200 were very clean, but beyond that, the photos couldn't take much retouching without drawing attention to the noise.

The most obvious internal improvement is the CMOS sensor, which is increased in resolution to 10.1 megapixels and now includes an automatic cleaning system, which uses a combination of an anti-static coating on the anti-aliasing filter, ultrasonic vibration and pixel mapping to ensure that dust on the sensor is less of a problem.

Plus, it has the advantage of optical image stabilization and a quieter motor.

The Sony DSLR-A100 also has better ergonomics, spot metering, a bigger battery, faster USB and built-in CCD-shift Anti Shake (although we don't believe this to be as effective lens image stabilization).

Below you can see the current line-up of sub-$1000 ten megapixel digital SLRs (Nikon D80, Canon EOS 400D / Digital Rebel XTi, Sony Alpha DSLR-A100).

Picture quality is simply superb.

It is extremely quick and accurate even in low light, and it would probably be even quicker if it wasn’t for the camera’s one weak point.

As expected no color balance issues using the internal flash although perhaps slightly under-exposed due to the flash metering picking up a reflection from the white wall.

Battery life is lessened to a degree, but you'll still see 250 or more shots per charge.

Quoted CIPA test battery life compared to the EOS 350D is down, but not significantly, this will no doubt be due to the use of the main LCD monitor for status display.

The Lithium-Ion NB-2LH is the same battery used in the EOS 350D (and the PowerShot S60/S70/S80 compact digital cameras), which is rated at 7.4V, 720 mAh (5.3 Wh).

Cleaning at startup is indicated by a small animated icon (shown on the left, below) and at shutdown with a full screen message (on the right, below).

However the use of the LCD monitor for status display means if you wish to check your settings before shooting (as most of us do) you will have to wait just over one second.