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October 31, 2008

Canon EOS 450D review

Product Code: 2758B009AA

It's easy to look at the Canon DSLR product line and slot the cameras into ‘beginner', ‘intermediate', and ‘advanced' categories. But to call the Canon EOS 450D (also known as the EOS 450D) a beginner or starter DSLR is a misnomer. The Canon EOS 450D is an incredibly capable camera that just happens to be small, and it yields great images.

We've never been a fan of the smaller Canon bodies because they've always felt cramped in the hand. With the EOS 450D, Canon made a number of tweaks to the camera's body and handgrip, making it more comfortable to hold and use than previous Rebels. If you're looking for a lightweight, comfortable camera, the Canon EOS 450D is hard to beat.

The Canon EOS 450D also sports some important interface changes. The ISO control is now a single button located behind the shutter release. With the control in this new position, you can very easily access ISO with your shutter finger, without ever taking your eye from the viewfinder.

Because the in-viewfinder display now shows ISO, you can easily make ISO tweaks while looking through the camera. The Canon EOS 450D also has a larger LCD than previous Rebels, which means some buttons have had to be moved. But all essential controls (Program Shift, Exposure Compensation, and ISO) are easily accessible while shooting.

The camera still lacks a dedicated status screen. Instead, the LCD is used for regular camera status. Fortunately, a proximity detector automatically disables the screen when you look through the viewfinder. Personally, I prefer a dedicated top-mounted display, as it's easier to see, less intrusive in low light, and less of a battery drain.

The Canon EOS 450D has a 12-megapixel sensor and a Digic III image processor; the previous Rebel model, the EOS Rebel XTi, had a 10-megapixel sensor and a Digic II processor. The new hardware produces image quality that is top notch, and the camera performs great in low light, even at ISO 1600.

Live View allows you to use the LCD as a viewfinder. As with the EOS 40D, focusing in Live View is a bit cumbersome. The Canon EOS 450D provides two focusing modes when in Live View, and both are fairly slow. But if you're shooting over-the-head or tripod-mounted shots, or are in any other situation where getting your eye up to the viewfinder is a problem, Live View is a welcome addition.

You can buy the Canon EOS 450D body only, or purchase a kit that includes a new 18-55mm lens. Small and lightweight, this lens is far superior to Canon's previous 18-55mm lens. It offers very good sharpness but is not plagued by the chromatic aberration (colour fringing) troubles of its predecessor.

Most importantly, the lens now includes Canon's excellent Image Stabilization technology. With stabilization, you'll be able to shoot handheld in more situations, without worrying about camera shake softening your images.

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Independent customer reviews from

Canon EOS-450D scored:
9.0 out of 10 100% real reviews

The 2 most helpful reviews based on 179 reviews:

02 Aug 2008 Tom, Norfolk

9

Good Points

All buttons are within easy reach, each of the manual modes remembers the settings that you used last in that mode - not just blanket settings across all manual modes. The body is light, large screen that is easy to see even in bright sunlight, included kit lens (18-55mm) provides crisp images & if you treat yourself to a 58mm macro filter/adaptor it can produce some stunning close up images. Focusing is fast and quiet - the 9 AF points work well and on the whole the auto mode works well. I rarely change to a manually selected AF focal point. In some situations I do use manual focus - but mainly for macro shots. Auto white balance detection seems to work well, again I rarely use the manual selection and this is only if I'm using off camera flash with colour correcting gels etc. The custom user menu is a very useful feature that I use a lot....all the options that I use the most in one place - this can also be setup from your computer using the provided Canon software which makes it incredibly easy to setup. Battery life is excellent - even using the flash. I use the camera most days & can take around 250 shots over a few days before needing to think about charging again...I expect it would last a lot longer past this point. I have also used the camera with a Tamron AF 70-300mm LD Di Tele-Macro lens this is capable of some great photos, but the lens is not as crisp as the kit 18-55mm lens. Despite saying that it is a nice lens and works very well with the camera - its as great lens for everyday shooting, particularly for nature etc If you properly compare the specs on this camera with others in the same price bracket, or even some of the other current Canon models (eg 40d), this camera provides serious power for the money & I would whole heartedly recommend it to anyone looking at getting a DSLR.

Bad Points

Bad may be a little strong - but here are a couple of fussy comments: The depth of field button is tricky to find....I find myself fumbling around trying to find it - I don't use it often so not too much of an issue. No proper auto focus in Live view mode - again not an option I use much anyway, but it would be nice. It would be nice to have some manual control over the built in flash - this is more a wish that a negative. I would also like to see a custom user program mode like some of the higher models have...that would be a very nice addition. I would also like to see a couple more ISO settings - what is provided is fine, I'm just greedy! My biggest negative comment is on the flash synch speed - the built in flash will only synch at 200, and the camera will not let you go faster than this. I also have an external flash setup with remote triggers and two different flash units that I use in manual mode - one of these synchs at 250 & the other at 160. It would be nice if Canon could half this or more and get the synch speed to 500 or faster - as far as I am aware this is the same for all current Canon models (although I may be wrong). One point on software compatibilities - I shoot in RAW and use Adobe Lightroom to manage/adjust my photos. It seems that the set picture style is not taken into consideration by Lightroom, so your colours/contrast can appear off at first. There is now set of beta released profiles for Lightroom 2 that does a good job of addressing this, but even still the colours are not quite the same as they appear in Canon's own software. If you shoot in jpeg, this is not an issue.

16 Aug 2008 Anonymous verified purchaser

10

Good Points

I bought this because I have a newborn and I want to capture the best pictures possible. My first DSLR and I grasped it straight away before even looking at the instructions with the automatic mode! My baby looked so gorgeous in the photos - the tone and textures really stand out. Packed with lots of features that I need to play with, but so far I just love the quality of photo compared to my compact digital camera. Particularly like the AF 9 point system which you can change to manual or auto and set the focus to any one of those points - just love it!!!!! Tried the automatic sports mode (for quick moving stuff) on a train passing by and it worked a treat!

Bad Points

The live view (so you can see on screen) takes ages to switch on (a few menus to get there). However, this is only because I'm so used to my compact digital camera. PLUS you can set up your own quick menu buttons to make this quicker, just haven't done this yet! Wish there was a help menu on screen to tell help newbiew into DSLR photography with all the various functions.

See more Canon EOS-450D reviews on Reevoo.com

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Canon EOS-450D

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