My Rebel XT is the black version. It also came in a silver color which you can see below. The EF-S lens mount will accept EF lenses as well. This camera has an EF 22-55mm f/4-5.6 USM lens mounted on it.
The top deck of the EOS XT is similar to the whole Rebel series. There is the shutter button, Main Dial,, and the Mode Dial. The On-Off switch is on the right but if you leave it on the camera will still time out and shut down on its own. It has saved my battery more than once!
EOS Rebel XT
Introduced in March of 2005, the Rebel XT was Canons second entry level Rebel camera. It was the replacement for the first, the very popular Digital Rebel. In Japan the XT
was called the EOS Kiss Digital N
and in Europe it was the EOS 350D.
When the XT was introduced the
Canon enthusiast level camera was
the 20D with an 8.2 mpx sensor. For
anyone who shoots with the 20D the XT
would be very familiar. It has an
8 mpx sensor and the control layout and menus are similar. However, the XT is
smaller and lighter: much smaller and
lighter.
Because the camera is smaller the weight
does not seem overly light and it actually has a good feeling in the hand. You get a sense that the build is solid. The finish is excellent. This looks and feels like a quality camera.
This camera uses Canon’s Digic II processor. The Digic processors are a line of signal processing and control units developed by Canon specifically for their digital cameras. The first of these was introduced in Canon’s PowerShot G3 in
September of 2002. The Digic II was
introduced on a single chip in 2004 and
was used in this camera, the EOS 5D and
the EOS 30D.
The XT uses Compact Flash (CF) memory
cards, Type I or II. It has a seven point Auto
Focus and is compatible with E-TTL flash
units.
The Kit Lens was the EF-S 18-55mm
f/3.5-5.6 II USM which was a great little
lens with amazing sharpness. A totally
under appreciated lens!
Check out the Review of the EOS XT here at dpReview. This is a wonderful resource for looking up recent cameras of any manufacturer.
The battery used was the Lithium Ion 7.4 volt 720 mha NB-2LH. A battery grip BG-E3 was available for this camera which held two NB-LH batteries. This Grip was also usable on the later XTi camera
I could go on with a description of this camera’s features but why do that when it has been done so much better than I could do over at dpReview.
On the back of the XT is the LCD Panel (the top narrow one)and the LCD Monitor (the large bottom one). The Panel displays the cameras operating status while the Monitor is for reviewing images captured.
The battery compartment is accessed from the bottom of the camera. It takes a 7.4 volt Lithium Ion Battery NB-2LH. The charger this battery uses is the CB-2LW.
The CF Card (Type I or Type II) is loaded through the door on the right end of the camera. The top of the mirror prism housing contains the pop-up flash which deploys automatically or manually as required.
The XT is a sweet camera. It does not have all of the controls of more advanced cameras but it is still capable of fine photography. The more expensive cameras make photography easier but not necessarily better.
This camera will accept all of Canon’s EF lenses as well as the EF-S lenses made for it. Some of these lenses will throw images as fine as any available. And this camera can resolve these images to the limits of its 8.2 mpx sensor with good dynamic range and color.
The controls are positive and the settings easy to figure out. I do find the camera settings visible in the viewfinder to be a little dim and hard to read in bright light but that is picking nits.
As for the images, we can only judge the camera looking at the dynamic range and color. Sharpness is the province of the lens used.
And speaking of the lens, the lens shown with this page is the EF 22-55mm f/4.0-5.6 USM which appears to be a good match for this camera. For effective focal length remember to multiply by 1.6. The XT can use the whole Canon line of EF lenses.
On the left is a full frame image of a Christmas ornament using this lens. The photographer is caught in the reflection. A nice selfie! Good color. And focus was accurate. The image below that is the top of the ornament enlarged to 100% in Photoshop. Still really sharp! This camera can take a really nice picture.
Below is an image of my friend CoCo. I say “friend” because she certainly does not think she “belongs” to anyone! Image on the left is the full frame using the same lens and body. On the right is a portion of the same image, again, at 100%. The color is warm and very pleasing
All in all this is a great little camera. I use it frequently for family snapshots when I am expecting to show the images as small prints or on social media. And for this it is admirable. The files are not large and take up little hard drive space.
Remember, there are no bad cameras. There are only the wrong cameras for the wrong jobs. And the XT can very much be a “right” camera.
This page is not a review of this Canon equipment but rather a record of an item in my collection. I have no connection with Canon and receive no remuneration nor benefit for this listing. It is for my own use and possibly your enjoyment!.