Looks like Canon China spilled the beans a day early. http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/digital/canon_eos_400D.html Given the projected price, it may in fact be my next upgrade.
800 bucks? Dang, that's a steal! Next year, I wanna add this to my camera bag.... Thanks for the link!
I had thought (predicted) that something else was on the imminent horizon, since they appeared to be dumping the Rebel XT's (8.0mp) Harold
I guess I'll wait forthe true English translation, so I can understand exactly what is happening,,,, I am very happy with my Rebel XT / 350D so far Harold
And you should be--it's one of the best professional/budget DSLR's there is out there. I'd be happy for an XT, but I'll take an XTi, too!
Yep, I noticed many of the consumer electronics places advertising the "new" Sony (Minolta) 10 mp DSLR this weekend in their ads... Harold
Now on Canon's website: http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelDetailAct&fcategoryid=139&modelid=14256 Digital Rebel XTi EOS Digital SLR Camera Item Code: 1236B002 Available September 2006 The Power of Simplicity. Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi offers an unbeatable combination of performance, ease-of-use and value. It has a newly designed 10.1 MP CMOS sensor plus a host of new features including a 2.5-inch LCD monitor, the exclusive EOS Integrated Cleaning System and Canon's Picture Style technology, all in a lightweight, ergonomic body. The Digital Rebel XTi is proof positive that Canon continues to lead the way with our phenomenal digital SLRs. High performance digital SLR with 10.1 Megapixel Canon CMOS sensor and DIGIC II Image processor. Large 2.5-inch LCD monitor with new user interface and wide viewing angle. Fast 3 frames-per-second shooting with 27-frame burst and a 0.2 second startup time. High precision, wide area 9-point autofocus system. Picture Style settings for a broad range of control over color, contrast and sharpening. Print/Share button featuring advanced camera direct capabilities for greater user control while direct printing. Fully compatible with over 50 EF and EF-S Lenses and a wide range of EOS System accessories. Strong, lightweight body with the EOS Integrated Cleaning System including a Self Cleaning Sensor Unit.
Canon 400D / Rebel XTi http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/digital/canon_eos_400D.html New lenses: http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/reviews/ef_50_12_and_70_200_4_is.html There is also a new image processing chip announcement, but it's not in any camera yet. Look for an interesting update in the spring, probably aimed at the top end cameras. There are also three new consumer point and shoot (non-slr) cameras.
Kinda along the lines of the XTi, but also for the XT, is there any need for an uber-fast memory card? I mean, a 1 Gig CF card that writes at 133X, is twice as expensive as the 55X card, from http://www.bhphotovideo.com/, Is there a need for that kind of speed, occasionally shooting a burst of a few frames, no professional stuff here. Will a cheaper card do OK, or should I pony up the cash for a super fast card? Is it worth the extra expense for a fast card, if I'm not a pro shooter?
I would say invest in a quality card (name brand). As far as the ultra-high speed cards, it sounds like it may be overkill for your intended use. I use SanDisk Ultra II cards (I have a 2 gig and 2 1 gig cards) in my Rebel XT. The specs are that they write at 9 megabites per second and have not had a problem exceeding the camera's capabilities. They are also reasonably priced (Circuit City recently ran the 2 gig card at $79 after rebate). Harold
I have seen memory drop in price significantly onver the last 2 years.. Sams Club has 1GB CF cards for a whopping 40 bucks, IIRC?
The faster card will allow you to shoot in burst mode and not stop until the card is full. I know with the Nikons, the Sandisk Ultra II is THE card to get. With a D70 and an Ultra II card, you can hold down the shutter at 3 fps and it'll keep going (JPEG). The card is faster than the camera which is a good thing if you shoot in multi frame mode. Also, if you do a lot of chimping, there's nothing more painful than waiting for the frames to load as you try to cycle back to a certain frame.
MK, There is now a SanDisk Ultra 4 card out there with write speeds at 40MB/sec! Thanks for the info. I don't think I need an Ultra 4, but I better spend a bit more for a better card than the cheapo cards.
I suggest you read these two articles: http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/digital/sandisk_extremeIV.html http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/digital/compact_flash_memory_cards.html You see, many cameras can't read/write the flash at anything near the flash's true speed. As such, as faster card is wasted in terms of the camera. The original digital rebel (which I have, the 300D) was extremely poor in this respect. As for the XTi (400D) that was just released, I'm unsure how fast it can read and write. Also note that you need a good reader in your PC to get the read speeds. My PC card reader does only about 40x tops even with my 80x card, where as my firewire 800 reader does the full 80x. My recomendation, find a friend or a camera shop that will let you try a faster card for a few images. You'll know quickly if your camera can use it. If it can, get it, you'll thank yourself later, if not, consider if you want the faster card for "investment protection" for a future camera or not. I use an 80x 1G, and 55x 2G. It's rare I fill the 1G, and only once (a wedding) have I filled the 2G. They are both way faster than my digital rebel.
Here's a database of the Nikon and Canon DSLRs and how fast they can utilize the various high speed cards on the market. Click on the upper right drop down menu to select your camera. http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=6007 Speed is important if you are shooting high speed action, like sports, R/C car races, etc. I know people who shoot 30 frames in burst mode as a car zooms buy.
Speed is sometimes important in nature photography also. When I am shooting animals, I'm almost always in burst mode, because I never know what's going to happen. New Mexico's sole whooping crane surprised me once on the Bosque del Apache. I got twenty images. Only one was really good, but that's all it takes. I'm very pleased with the 140x 4-gbyte cards from TwinMos.
It's good info, but the speed of technological change makes it almost instantly outdated. Still, the effort is appreciated.
