Canon EOS 1000D Review

The EOS 1000D is a solid addition to Canon's extensive range of DSLR cameras, filling the gap at the sub-£500 / $700, entry-level price-point. Canon have cleverly ensured that it's different enough to the more expensive 450D to tempt you to upgrade, yet still producing a very capable camera that suits its beginner target audience. Whilst 2 megapixels, 2 AF-points, 0.5 inch of LCD real-estate, lack of Highlight Tone Priority and no infra-red remote control are fairly significant differences, I really missed the Spot metering mode, larger viewfinder and faster RAW continuous shooting that the EOS 450D offers when compared to the 1000D.

Live View has made it onto the 1000D and is a great addition on paper, but don't expect a point-and-shoot experience as the contrast AF mode is infuriatingly slow, and the Quick AF mode is of most interest to macro and studio photographers. I much preferred the quicker, more seamless Live View mode of the Sony A350. The new EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS kit lens is actually more beneficial than Live View, providing much needed image stabilisation, although obviously Canon's system is still lens-dependent and therefore more restrictive than that of Sony, Pentax or Olympus (which instantly work with any lens).

Image quality is on a par with the EOS 450D, with noise-free images up to ISO 800 and a very usable fastest speed of 1600, so usable that I don't understand why the EOS 1000D doesn't also offer ISO 3200. Chromatic aberrations are kept to a minimum and colours are accurate - the only minor negative is the soft JPEG images, which may put off users more suited to sharper point and shoot cameras. Performance is also good, with no shutter-lag to speak of and fast processing times even when shooting in RAW single-shot mode. The 3.0fps continuous shooting mode for JPEGs is a little slower than the EOS 450D, but for RAW things take a turn for the worse, with the rate dropping to just 1.5fps for up to 5 shots, enough of a difference to consider the 450D if you predominantly shoot using the RAW format.

Mark Goldstein

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