Make the world your playground with the EOS 400D. 10.1 Megapixels of superior CMOS resolution and Canon's Integrated Cleaning System deliver the EOS hallmark of crisp, clean images, shot after shot.
Ok, I realise that this is a base model camera but still, I am INCREDIBLY unimpressed with its performance.
The camera underexposed by about 2/3 of a stop. I took it back into the shop and explained this and the guy said this was completely intentional - apparently it is to stop beginners from over-exposing their images (it is much easier to "rescue" and underexposed image than overexposed). While this may be the case, I strongly feel that there should be an option to turn this off - there isn't and I have to contstantly exposure compensate, which, needless to say, is unacceptable.
The camera is also VERY small. I don't have the biggest hands but it really is uncomfortable to use. I would forgive this if the image quality made up for it, but it simply doesn't. I shoot RAW and the noise, even at low ISO settings is surprisingly high.
The camera seems to work better in low light than daylight. I have no idea why this is but the images appear sharper and better exposed in low-light situations. During daylight, colours seem washed out and the images are never quite pin sharp, even though I am using VERY high quality lenses.
Overall, I have been desperately disappointed with this camera - I had heard so many good things about the 350D and thought this would be even better. Apparently not and many people I've spoken to have said that the 350 is still better.
Buy it if you must but I wish I hadn't. It may be a base model, but it's still not cheap - if you only want it for snappy pictures, I strongly suggest you go for a Lumix - bought my girlfriend one and the thing is AMAZING for an instant!
Strength
Price
Weakness
Not enough metering modes.
Underexposure of ALL pictures.
Annoyingly small.
Images are not sharp enough.
Colours are washed out.
White balance settings are fiddly to customise.
I wanted the 5d but couldn't afford it. So what did I get with the cheaper model ?
There are two very telling characteristics which make a cheaper digital camera; build quality & viewfinder. The feel of the camera I like; despite it being "entry level" it's compact, solid & neat. The buttons are positioned in good places & don't take long to get used to. I've used many Canons & realise that when they change things from model to model it's meant to be for the better. My one critiscism is that flash compensation is not available as easily as other controls.
The viewfinder was slightly disapointing. It's definitely smaller than what I'm used to after using film SLRs all these years. This was one area where "upgrading" to digital was a backwards slide. I realise tha if I had forked out the extra cash for a 30d or 5d that this wouldn't be an issue. Still, I payed more for this camera than I ever have before. You pay your money & take your choice.
The picture quality is good & compares with other models in it's class. It even has comparable image quality with cameras above it's class; namely the 30d. I always said that I would get into digital when I could afford a 10mp camera. I wasn't going to "upgrade" to digital only to DOWNGRADE in resolution.
One area where I have found issue is exposure. I always loved Canons for their metering. From the old clunkers to EOS they're great. I've found digital to be way less forgiving than good old film. This is not a fault of this model, it's all digital capture. Oh well.
Everything else is iether just fine to great. I love all the usual advantages of digital.
Strength
Neat, easy to use, good resolution, fairly high ISO, dust removal sysrem.
Weakness
viewfinder.
Visitors rate this review
3.25 out of 5
after 4 votes
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Value Rating :
Written By
Beverly(Unregistered User)
Date Created
03/29/2007
Summary
I love this camera! I get crisp, clear pictures for almost any occasion, both indoors and out. I can sit on the back row at a concert and use my Canon zoom lens and get excellent details.
For that price, I bought the body only. I already had 3 lens from a prior Canon camera.
Strength
Love the dust sensor. I also like the LCD panel that disappers as you're moving the camera to your face.
Weakness
At first, it seemed like the batteries didn't last long. Really can't think of a weakness.
Visitors rate this review
5.00 out of 5
after 1 votes
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Written By
Ian Domenighini(Unregistered User)
Date Created
03/24/2007
Summary
This camera is very easy to use and learn on. I went from novice photography on a point-and-shoot camera to this Digital SLR. With some research on the internet and some time spent playing with the features with the camera, it is very easy to take quality pictures with little experience. The 18-55 mm lens that comes with the kit is a decent lens. With more experience and ability, you will learn that you can use other lens' and utilize their features. I highly suggest this camera to anyone that is learning advanced cameras as this will be a nice transition camera.
Strength
Easy to use, easy to understand. The 2.5 inch LCD screen is very easy to see and shows quality very well. This camera is extremely light and comfortable. The addition of a medium sized lens adds does not throw the balance off to become a nuisance.
Weakness
The users manual explains little about the features and their practical applications. Other than this slight problem, little is left to be desired.
Visitors rate this review
5.00 out of 5
after 2 votes
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Written By
jpstanley(Unregistered User)
Date Created
02/04/2007
Summary
About two years ago, I took a sudden interest in photography. I did my homework and bought a Canon Powershot A95. Within a year, I took more than 10,000 photos with that camera, stretching it to its limits (both in indoor available light photography as well as outdoor night photography such as moonlit landscapes and starry skies). I quickly found myself wanting more, so I looked into DSLRs. I had all but decided on getting a Rebel XT when the XTi came out, and I was lured by the newer camera's improved AF, bigger LCD, and anti-dust system, not to mention the extra 2 megapixels with allegedly the same per-pixel signal to noise ratio as the XT.
Shooting speed as well as image quality are light-years ahead of my old Powershot (as well they should be). Indoor, no-flash candids with the 50mm f/1.8 II lens come out very nice. I've gotten some pretty good night photos out of this camera as well, including 10-minute star trail photos that are nearly noise-free (I've gone as long as 30 minutes, albeit with quite a few hot pixels). The camera is intuitive and easy to use. The big screen is nice for reviewing photos. All in all, I'd say it does what I hoped it would do--now the only problem is, I want more lenses!
Strength
Pretty much leads the pack among 10MP DSLRs in terms of image quality.
With a good lens, produces amazingly detailed photos.
Small and light (for a DSLR). Others often complain about the size or ergonomics, but I find the camera comfortable to use.
Weakness
Low light sensitivity/high ISO noise not as good as previous Canon DSLRs (but still on par with competing 10MP DSLRs). I think the sensor is actually a step down from the XT for low-light performance, almost making me wish I saved $150 and went for the older model.
Horizontal line noise artifacts in very low light/high ISO situations.
Dust shaker system is ineffective in my experience.
Kit lens does not do the sensor justice.
Visitors rate this review
4.00 out of 5
after 4 votes
4 of 5
