Camera Biography

Introduction

The Canon Digital Rebel, also known as the Canon EOS 300D, was introduced in October 2003 and was the first digital SLR (DSLR) to break the $1000 barrier at its introduction price of $899. In fact it's still the lowest price DSLR on the market. It is also available as a kit with the EF-S 18-55/3.5-5.6 lens (more on that later), and is still priced below $1000 ($999).
Though it's a Rebel, which is the designation for Canon's most basic, entry level, cameras, it has many features you might only expect to find on more advanced models, such as depth-of-field preview, white balance bracketing and flash sync at 1/200.
This review is part of a trilogy. This is the first part which deals with the Digital Rebel camera body in some detail. The second part is a detailed look at the EF-S 18-55/3.5-5.6 lens which is sold as part of a kit with the Digital Rebel body, and the third part of the review is a detailed comparision of the Digital Rebel (EOS 300D) with the EOS 10D.
So lets get on with Part I - a look at the Canon Digital Rebel DSLR body.

What's in the Box?

The following items are included with the Canon Digital Rebel:
  • EOS Digital Rebel Body
  • Digital Camera Solution CD-ROM
  • Adobe PhotoShop Elements
  • Software and hardware manuals
  • Video Cable VC-100
  • Interface Cable IFC-300PCU
  • Wide Strap EW-10DB II
  • Battery Charger CB-5L
  • Battery Pack BP-511
  • EF-S 18-55/3.5-5.6 lens (KIT ONLY)
Note there is no CF memory card supplied with the camera.

Canon Digital Rebel Specifications

Here's a short list of the major features
  • 6.3MP CMOS digital sensor (22.7 x 15.1mm)
  • 7 AF zones, 35 metering zones
  • Shutter speeds 30 - 1/4000. 1/200 sync
  • ISO 100-1600
  • 2.5 fps with 4 shot buffer
A full list of the complete Digital Rebel (EOS 300D) specifications can be found on the   Digital Rebel specifications Page

The Sensor

The CMOS sensor is 22.7 x 15.1mm and can generate a 3072 x 2048 pixel image. Since the sensor is smaller than a standard 35mm frame (36mm x 24mm), lenses will have a narrower field of view when mounted on a Digital Rebel than when mounted on a full frame 35mm camera. This gives rise the the 1.6x "cropping" or "multiplying" factor, so a standard Canon 50mm lens when mounted on a Digital rebel will give the same field of view as an 80mm lens (50 x 1.6 = 80) would on a normal full frame film body.
There are 3 image sizes and a total of 7 image capture modes:
  • Large/Fine: Approx. 3.1MB (3072 x 2048)
  • Large/ Normal: Approx. 1.8MB (3072 x 2048)
  • Middle/Fine: Approx. 1.8MB (2048 x 1360)
  • Middle/Normal: Approx. 1.2MB (2048 x1360)
  • Small/Fine: Approx. 1.4MB (1536 x 1024)
  • Small/Normal: Approx. 0.9MB (1536 x 1024).
  • RAW: Approx. 7MB (3072 x 2048)

The Lens

The Canon Digital Rebel is an SLR body, so there's no lens if that's what you buy. However there is a kit which includes the EF-S 18-55/3.5-5.6 lens - which is reviewed here in a separate article. Basically this lens gives you similar coverage as a 28-90 lens on a film SLR in terms of angle of view. It's a decent lens, better when not used wide open, and is certainly very good value for only $100 when purchased with the Digital Rebel body. Note that it is ONLY available as part of the kit, so if you want one, buy the kit. If you buy the body, then decide you wish you had bought the lens, you're out of luck if you want a new one. You'll have to search around for someone selling a used one.

Exposure Modes

There are the usual Canon EOS exposure modes found on all film based consumer EOS cameras, so if you've ever used a Rebel or Elan, these will be very familiar. The "Creative Zone" modes allow more user control (for example you can select ISO and one shot or continuous shooting). The "PIC" modes are designed to automatically give the best choice of settings (metering mode, AF mode, shooting mode, flash mode, ISO setting) without the user having to think much.
Creative zone modes:
  • Program AE (shiftable)
  • shutter-priority AE
  • aperture-priority AE
  • auto depth-of-field AE
  • full auto
  • manual.
Programmed image control modes ("PIC" modes)
  • Portrait
  • Landscape
  • Close-up
  • Sports
  • Night Portrait
  • Flash Off
  • E-TTL autoflash program AE

ISO settings and noise

The camera can be set from ISO 100 to 1600 in full stop steps (100, 200, 400, 800, 1600) in the "creative" modes. In the "PIC" modes ISO is set automatically to ISO 100, 200 or 400, depending on the mode. For example in portrait mode, ISO is always set to 100. In sports mode, ISO is always set to 400. In the other PIC modes, the ISO setting depends on shooting conditions.
Because of the large sensor, and hence large pixel size, noise levels are much lower than normally found on digicams with physically smaller sensors. Below are 100% crops from test images shot at each ISO setting. At ISO 100 and 200 noise is pretty much invisible. At ISO 400 there is just a hint of noise. At ISO 800 noise is visible and at ISO 1600 it's quite evident. However remember these are 100% crops. The samples are 107 pixels square, so the full image would be 28x wider and 19x taller. On my monitor (17", 1280x1024) they would represent sections from something like a 20x30 print.
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