November 19th, 2008
Holiday Gift Guide 2008: The best entry-level digital SLRs
With prices on digital SLRs continuing to erode, it’s getting easier and easier to make the jump from compact point-and-shoot cameras to dSLRs. If your favorite snapshooter is ready to move up in the world, check out this list of my favorite entry-level dSLRs.
Canon EOS Rebel XS
Canon created the entry-level dSLR market with its first Rebel back in 2003, and has been fighting off the competition since. Rather than merely letting its older models drop down to fill lower price points, Canon slipped this aggressively priced 10-megapixel model in below the higher-end 12-megapixel Rebel XSi.
Though it doesn’t beat all of the specs of the 10-megapixel Rebel XTi which it essentially replaces (with only 7-point autofocus rather than 9-point, for example), I still like the XS best–it offers the best photo quality among similarly priced competitors and it doesn’t scrimp on the features that will be important to new SLR users (adding a LiveView mode, the newer Digic III processor, as well as features borrowed from its higher-end siblings like the customizable My Menu and the Auto Lighting Optimizer) and its switch from CompactFlash to SD memory will be convenient for most point-and-shoot upgraders as well.
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Janice Chen has been covering technology for almost two decades. She got her hands on a Nikon Coolpix 900 back in 1998 and has been a digital camera enthusiast ever since. See her full profile and disclosure of her industry affiliations.
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