Canon has shaken up its entry-level offerings for the second time in 2008 with the launch of the Canon Rebel XS consumer-grade DSLR. Announced way back in June for the European market (as the EOS 1000D) but only recently available on this side of the Atlantic, the Rebel XS slots in at the very bottom of Canon's DSLR line – providing a second new entry-level option in Canon's lineup and a lower-cost, lower-res alternative to the relatively advanced XSi.
The ace up Canon's sleeve in the case of the XS, though, is that this camera retains a surprising amount of the technology that made the XSi an Editor's Choice pick around these parts. If you like what Canon's doing at the entry level but have been turned off by the Rebel XSi's upper-tier market position and street price, the new XS may just be the Rebel you've been waiting for.
FEATURES OVERVIEW
The Rebel XS represents a shift in strategy for Canon; with the manufacturer bringing a second simultaneously developed and supported DSLR to the bottom-tier consumer market. Traditionally, Canon has demoted its previous-generation Rebel into the entry-level spot with each new announcement. While the new XS diverges from this formula insofar as it was purpose-built for beginning DSLR users (rather than simply a more advanced hand-me-down, as in the case of the XTi that it replaces), the net result really isn't that different from what we've seen before: in terms of both hardware and design, the XS is very much an amalgam of XSi and XTi.
To this end, the XS uses the previous-generation 10.1 megapixel CMOS sensor as well as the XTi's smaller 2.5 inch LCD. XSi-level upgrades include DIGIC III processing, Canon's advanced "Picture Style" menu that allows shooters to fine-tune image processing (and includes space for several user-defined custom settings), and an impressively fast advertised continuous shooting speed with a new-for-XS unlimited buffer for JPEG shooting.
The XS also brings the XSi's live view system (which allows the screen to be used for shot composition) all the way down to Canon's entry-level model. The XS's live view implementation moves beyond the basic with the addition of a contrast-detection AF mode that allows the camera to auto focus without interrupting the on-screen preview to do so – a feat not possible in the first generation of live view DSLRs.
As with previous Rebel DSLRs, the XS's shooting modes are divided into two basic groups, which Canon terms the "Basic Zone" and the "Creative Zone." The Basic Zone is made up of the XS's auto exposure and scene preset options. Basic Zone presets are as follows:
- Auto Exposure: Camera selects all exposure values
- Portrait: Settings are optimized for portraiture, with adjustments to image tone and flash mode
- Landscape: Increased contrast mode that favors narrower apertures
- Macro: Moderate aperture settings are preferred in this mode
- Sports: Continuous drive and AF options are enabled; higher shutter speeds are preferenced
- Night Scene: Enables slow flash sync to capture both subject and background
- Flash Suppressed: Flash is disabled
Note that in the Basic Zone, many exposure control and general shooting options (including AF drive mode, metering options, and flash modes) are locked out or limited.
Canon's Creative Zone modes encompass the full range of expected user-controlled exposure options, with a few interesting additions:
- Program: Auto exposure mode with user control for flash settings, metering mode, etc.
- Shutter Priority: User selects shutter speed, and camera calculates aperture for correct exposure
- Aperture Priority: User selects aperture, and camera calculates shutter speed for correct exposure
- Manual: User selects both aperture and shutter speed
- Auto Depth of Field: Camera automatically calculates aperture to ensure that depth of field covers all focus points
Like most DSLRs, playback options are fairly basic with the XS. The camera does incorporate an orientation sensor that automatically rotates portrait-orientation images during playback. As with Canon's point-and-shoots, it's also easy to scroll through images either 10 or 100 at a time using the control dial.
Kit Lens
I appreciate that Canon has incorporated its proprietary optical Image Stabilizer by default into the new kit lens – the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS – but as noted when we tested the XSi, I still don't have a lot of good things to say about the upgrade. The lens feels flimsy, and our review sample – which appears to have spent some time taped to the inner fender of a Jeep given the amount of dust permanently adhered to the crevices of its zoom ring – reminds me of just how poorly these all-plastic budget lenses age if you don't handle them carefully.
Optically, the lens remains a weak spot for this setup as it was for the XSi, but the flip side is that with slightly less resolution, the 18-55mm also isn't as taxed to pull out details in this application. Not surprising then that on balance it seems to perform better here than on the XSi.
For a detailed listing of specifications and features, please refer to the specifications table found at the bottom of the review.
FORM, FIT, AND FEEL
Styling and Build Quality
Hold up an XS and an XSi side by side, cover their badging, and I'm betting even their designers wouldn't be able to tell them apart. These two share that much in common in terms of form.
Per Canon's specs, the XSi is ever so slightly larger, but having recently worked with both cameras I can say that in hand, there's essentially no difference between them.
This means that the Rebel XS is wrapped in Canon's signature smooth black plastic that's more than a bit controversial around here. In reviewing the XSi, I expressed some displeasure with the cheap feeling that the use of an oddly finished, all-plastic body exudes. Shiny black plastic buttons aren't nice to look or nice under hand, and the control dial has a clicky feel that doesn't inspire confidence.
The XS has lost some of the XSi's detail touches as well, lacking both a padded thumb rest on the back panel and the XSi's more comfort contoured grip area. You also won't find an IR port on the front of the grip area, as the new model doesn't support a wireless remote.
Styling is a direct carry-over from the XSi, with swooping lines and few hard edges. As before, it's basic and generally inoffensive if you can get past the copious use of plastic all around – though it should also be noted that all of this plastic makes the XS and kit lens weigh in lower than Canon's current ultrazoom, the SX10 IS, with batteries loaded.
I still maintain that some will find the level of fit and finish for what is unquestionably one of the premier entry-level DSLRs on the market unappealing. But if the Rebel's cheesy finish choices don't send you running for a Nikon or an Olympus, there's no reason to write off the XS without some shooting time – there's simply too much that's good here to get hung up on some iffy design decisions.
Ergonomics and Interface
As with the build quality discussion, there's not much to say about the XS's interface that hasn't already been said about the XSi's arrangement. That's because the new camera copies the button layout of its predecessor directly, with a four-way controller and a row of buttons to the right of the screen, a few controls above the display to the left, under-thumb focusing and exposure controls, a top-mounted ISO button, and a multi-function control wheel.
Well considered dedicated controls provide quick access to just about everything that the average shooter might need to adjust in setting up a shot, making the XS easy to shoot with once you figure out its layout.
The XS's grip area remains, like those found on previous Rebel cameras, too narrow for many to comfortably wrap their fingers around, though the camera feels less awkward in hand with a little bit of time. It should also be noted that the XS maintains the XSi's ludicrous depth-of-field preview button placement: the small, hard-to-press button is positioned just under the lens mount release, making it a bit of challenge to grab easily with a left-hand thumb as Canon presumably intended.
Canon's menus are easy to appreciate as well: simple, uncluttered, and to the point. The most advanced arrangement of controls lies in the multi-page custom functions menu. Otherwise, the XS eschews multi-page menus in favor of brief lists of options under each of its tabbed main menu headings.
A customizable My Menu system can also be set up to display the adjustment options of the user's choice, though setting up the system is perhaps not as intuitive as it should be.
Display/Viewfinder
The XS's LCD is a 2.5 inch, 230,000 dot spec that appears to have been sourced directly from the XTi. Color reproduction is reasonably accurate, as is contrast.
When in shooting mode, the rear LCD also serves as status indicator, providing detailed information about exposure parameters, battery life, and number of available shots remaining. The basic look and layout of the status display has been the same on the last few generations of Rebel cameras – definitely not a bad thing, given its clear, plain, and logical information arrangement.
The XS also features a live view mode, allowing the LCD to be used for shot composition. With good color reproduction and only the slightest hint of sluggishness, the LCD is up to the task of on-screen composition as well, performing up to the standards of a high-quality compact camera in live view use. Screen brightness is adjustable across seven levels, easily handling outdoor composition and shot review in all but the brightest situations.
The XS's viewfinder is similarly spaced to the pentamirror units used on both the XSi and the XTi, with 95 percent coverage all around – though its 0.81x magnification puts its higher eyepoint closer to the XTi's spec than the XSi's. If it's a little dark and boxy compared to an advanced amateur DSLR's finder, the XS's prism is better than what we've seen from most of its entry-level competitors.
The XS also gets the Rebel XSi's reworked in-viewfinder information console, which provides a full-time ISO setting display in addition to a focus confirmation indicator, a metering scale with shutter/aperture info, flash mode information when relevant, and a read-out of the number of burst-mode shots remaining. All in all, for an entry-level model especially, the XS's heads-up display is about as good as it gets, providing users with a straightforward arrangement of useful information and a bright image that makes manual focusing and low-light composition less tiresome than with previous generations of the Rebel.
