The 6-megapixel Canon EOS Digital Rebel came on the scene in late 2003 and instantly established a new category of "affordable digital SLR cameras" with a price of under $1000, including a zoom lens. It was succeeded in 2005 by the 8-megapixel Digital Rebel XT, which offered improved image quality, shooting performance and flexibility in addition to its higher resolution.
The third generation Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi SLR takes everything found in its predecessors and improves the resolution to 10.1-megapixels, provides a more responsive 9-point AF system, adds a large 2 1/2-inch LCD monitor, and incorporates the Picture Style image processing controls first introduced on the Canon EOS-1D Mark II N and 5D. It also solves one of the gotcha's of digital SLR's, dust on the image sensor, with the EOS Integrated Cleaning System featuring a self cleaning sensor. This easy to use digital SLR is compatible with all Canon EF lenses including the EF-S lenses and still retains the sub-$1,000 price point for entry-level digital SLR consumers.
Many of the feature advancements and innovations on the EOS Digital Rebel XTi digital camera are inherited from its EOS 30D “prosumer big brother.” But the XTi offers greater resolution (10.1 versus 8-megapixels), greater burst shooting capacity (27 versus 23 frames) and a self-cleaning image sensor, leaving us waiting for the other shoe to drop in the form of a 10-megapixel successor to the 30D. Other differences between the two cameras favor the 30D, including faster continuous shooting (5 frames-per-second (fps) vs. 3 fps), more custom settings (18 vs. 11), a 3200 ISO sensitivity setting and a rugged magnesium body. The Rebel XTi was created for those migrating to digital that don't want to lose the power or flexibility of a SLR system, but can't justify the higher price of the Canon's prosumer EOS models... [read more]