Canon EOS 1000D / Rebel XS Review

When Canon first announced the EOS 450D / Rebel XSi in January 2008, most assumed it would be the natural successor to the best-selling EOS 400D / Rebel XTi, but the older model was kept on as an entry-level proposition. Then in June 2008 Canon announced the EOS 1000D / XS as its new entry-level DSLR and the true successor to the 400D / XTi.

The EOS 1000D / XS shares several key aspects in common with its predecessor, most notably the 10.1 Megapixel CMOS sensor which continues to deliver excellent results – indeed in our tests with the default settings, the output was sometimes preferable to the 450D / XSi. The screen on the new body is also the same size as the 400D / XTi, although now brighter with a wider viewing angle. The body shape has additionally been refined and it’s now the lightest DSLR from Canon to date, while also adopting the 450D / XSi’s switch to SD memory and a new battery. But the major improvements over the 400D / XTi are support for Live View and the standard bundling of an Image Stabilised lens.

The Live View implementation on the 1000D / XS is identical to the 450D / XSi, and as such it won’t win any contests on speed of operation nor does it have a flip-out screen for flexible composition, but you do get technical benefits including 100% coverage, magnified manual focus assistance, a contrast-based AF option and both a live histogram and alignment grid. You can also see the live feed on your computer monitor over a USB cable with the supplied EOS Utility software, which additionally allows you to fully remote-control the camera and even focus the lens.

The bundled kit lens is the same EF-S 18-55mm IS model that’s standard with the 450D / XSi (although ours came from a different factory), and in our tests this time round the Image Stabilisation delivered a useful four stops of compensation.

Gordon Laing

more : cameralabs