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 its now the lightest DSLR from Canon to date, while also adopting the 450D / XSis 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 wont 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 thats 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