This lens is special for the Rebel only. It won't fit the inner clearances of other cameras' mirrors, due to the deeper back-of-mount depth the optics need to provide the coverage to the 62.5% scale sensor.

Seven focus zone boxes are arrayed across the center line of the image, five horizontal and two more on the vertical center. Several modes control how they work but the most popular is to let them observe and indicate which area is being identified and acted on for auto focus. A tiny red light blinks in the center of the active one(s) when that area is focused on. It's more accurate than your fingers would be.

One nice feature to manual focus is that if it is performed while the shutter release is half-pressed, the focus zones will light and chirp as subject material under them hits sharp focus. Rather a semi-automatic focus technique.

While the lens has motorized autofocus, it isn't the linear motor high speed wonder found in their upper EF lenses, but it works quickly and positively. The front element can be used in a manual focus mode, the switch for that being on the upper left of the lens barrel. Manual focus feels... inexpensive.

The front element is a bit wiggly and auto focus has the habit of twitching the image a little with every seek/find operation. People worry when their front element moves in its mount, but the slight side to side motion of those elements is not harmful to the image--it just doesn't feel confidence producing.

This kit lens appears to be a variant on the optical design seen in the 28-90 mm f/3.5-5.6 lens (left) often bundled with film Rebel designs. In optical design terms, the lens group closest to the film carries the job of focusing the image at the film plane. For a smaller image patch, that implies an optic that sits closer to the focused image, which limits the size of things in the mirror chamber, notably the mirror itself, which swings aside to let the light through. When all the factors are added up, the smaller, closer rear elements of the 18-55 (right) make sense. And the rear protruding back elements, smaller mirror and inner chamber all fall in line.

Magnification Factor

Being a camera with a large image chip doesn't guarantee a full frame chip and this one, as with most dSLRs comes with a "magnification factor" built in. Any lens that is attached will function as if it were 160% of the millimeters engraved on its barrel. A 400 mm lens, for instance, becomes a 640 mm lens in practical terms. Simply multiply the posted number by 1.6 to estimate the coverage if you are used to 35mm camera lenses.

Some common equivalents:

Lens mm \ camera	35 mm full frame	EOS Rebel 1.6X equivalent
18 mm	100°	28.8 mm / 73°
24 mm	84°	38.4 mm
28 mm	75°	44.8 mm
35 mm	63°	56 mm / 42°
50 mm	46°	80 mm
105 mm	23°	168 mm
135 mm	18°	216 mm

Canon's own 11-megapixel dSLR, the 1Ds has been out for a year with a sensor that is about twice the pixel count, so what value might it command? Nine grand, plus lens. A great machine at a great price. In the sense of "large."

RAW Deal

In a practical sense, the 6.3-megapixel image produced by the Rebel competes favorably with 35mm film. Not all emulsions, but in general. Sensors have their own "look" and don't have some of the inherent qualities of film, but with Canon's excellent RAW image format, the line of distinction is not so distinct in a metaphorical sense. But the image looks great and has a palpably longer tonal scale than shots made in JPEG form. The world has settled on the "Digital Negative" description of RAW images and it's a good way to think about the format.

RAW seems to recover an extra stop above and below the tones that show up in a JPEG, especially in the highlights. RAW images need to be interpreted in your computer the same way that the camera processes them in order to become a final result and Canon will be glad to sell you that software. Photoshop CS comes with a RAW interpreter built-in. Get Photoshop CS. The upgrade from your previously owned PS is worth the jump, and not just for the RAW interpreter.

RAW images are a "clean scan" of the image sensor. Each pixel's value on a 4096-division scale of tonality is represented as a 12-bit number. Since the range of response is greatly extended per each RGB color channel, the RAW image doesn't even have an exact white balance, the way a JPEG does. You can change the WB to suit yourself in the computer with no loss whatsoever. The only down side to RAW is that it consumes over 6 megabytes of storage space and moves slower through the computers of the camera and digital darkroom.

Motorama

Rebels only shoot strings of motor-drive shots at 2.5 per second for a maximum of four pictures. This may actually be a firmware or hardware limitation imposed (crippled) to distinguish the EOS 10D which can blast 9 shots into its buffer before pausing to take a breath.

Since you can shoot 4 RAW (6.5 megabyte) images just as quickly into the buffer as any other image size/compression combination, the size of the buffer needed to absorb these images can't be the deciding factor, so the argument is strong for an imposed limit rather than a natural barrier. Could Canon sell you a Firmware Patch that lifts the string of shots limit at some future date? Dunno. And would it allow even more medium and small motor drive shots? Can't say.

This four shot limit is something to work around, and the camera is very kind about showing you when images in the string have politely stepped aside, thus giving you the ability to make follow-up shots. A number in the viewfinder display gives you an update on how many shots you could shoot in the next string.

Something that has not seen wide dissemination is that once the four fast shots are in the buffer, the next shots will follow at about 0.6 per second until the camera can't handle any more and pauses for several seconds. Different frame sizes and compression combinations change the actual number of follow ups that can happen before the Big Pause, but all this, including the follow up 4 to 20 shots, is achieved with a single shutter release press and hold.

Scenes

Once you understand the Scene Modes, you will play with them more often. Although camera manufacturers think of these as EZ-Selects for the rank beginner, pros that bother to learn them realize that they're just setup macros that have use, especially when other things compete for a photographer's attention.

Sports Scene Mode is a favorite, though I rarely shoot sports. It's really a "Continuous Predictive Auto Focus / High Shutter Speed / No Flash / Motor Drive" macro that has tremendous use in any fast moving situation.

By the way, motor drive mode doesn't require shooting strings of shots. you can let off the button and just get one or two.

Another fave is Portrait Scene Mode. It also turns on the motor drive but this time it pops the flash (only if it's dark enough) and keeps the aperture wide open as much as possible to make a nice bokeh of out of focus -ness behind your subject. That's the amateur rationale. For me its a "Flash / Wide Open / Motor Drive" macro to be used in all sorts of ways.

BTW, if you want flash fill outdoors, use the Program mode and pop the flash up manually. Now it participates in the sunlight.

Flash

If paparazzi is your style, then you deserve all the flash and dazzle you can get. Canon's own external flash units intimately connect to the TTL sensors through extra contacts in the hot shoe. Other manufacturer's flash units won't, unless they're specifically made to work with Canons. Once that connection has been made, the camera and external flash are one.

Like the bill of a cap, the internal flash unit overhangs the top of the lens. One can release it into working position with a dedicated button, or let it deploy automatically when available darkness calls for it.

Two flashes fire from the on-board unit with every exposure. %$#@!! That simply kills off-camera slave function.

In available darkness, it can become a rapid-fire focus assist light, and that will freak out your subjects! The manual says to warn your subjects not to break pose when they see flashing.

External simple units only fire once, so if you need to shoot with slave flash units, buy a cheap hot shoe triggered unit and cover its tube with a chunk of 35mm black slide film (not negative) to turn it into a slave trigger -er.

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Update, July, 2004.

After months of continuous use, the DR is a winner. Smaller and considerably lighter than pro dSLRs, it travels well, works well and brings back the pictures over and over. Our recent China Travel Shootout includes a wealth of satisfying images acquired through the DR's lenses. See for yourself.

Recent price drops have put the DR within reach of nearly every digital photographer. Under $750 --with the Kit Lens-- from some Internet stores. Happy Googling.

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Update March, 2005

The DSLR: Canon Digital Rebel eBook is out. It took way longer than anticipated, but for all 3,000,000 Digital Rebel owners, it may well be worth the wait.

It's a major improvement on prior eBooks, if I do say so myself. Loads of new and hidden techniques including

• single pulse slave flash triggering,
• IR flash triggering,
• flash brightness adjustment,
• memory saving techniques,
• optical accessories you missed,
• fast moving shooting techniques,
• new demo software,
• over 150 DR-tweaked iNovaFX Photoshop Actions (out of 480+ total),
• a whole new iNovaFX chapter for Photoshop Elements

and a lot more.

Order here.

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As experience grows with this most welcome camera, I'll revisit this report and update it. If you are looking for your first dSLR experience, this is the one to get until some future camera displaces it from its current throne.

--Peter iNova (peter.inova@mac.com)