Canon EOS 400D Review

The new Canon EOS 400D (also called the Canon Digital Rebel XTi) is the latest entry-level digital SLR camera from Canon. The Canon 400D builds on the success of its predecessor, the extremely popular 350D, by adding a number of key new features. A 10 megapixel CMOS sensor, 2.5 inch LCD screen, dust protection system, 9 point auto-focus and continuous shooting at 3fps are the main improvements. But in a constantly changing sector of the market, is the 400D still competitive? Read our in-depth review to discover the answer.

Website: Canon EOS 400D Review

Published: Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Reader Comments

1. Just a question about your comment that the 400D is no longer the top in its class. Is it because of the inferior lens or the camera itself? Also which would you consider top of its class?

   Fredy Ross at 11:14am on Monday, December 04, 2006

2. I've always thought the Canon EOS was such a nice camera with so many really stable features. I should have bought this one rather than the Minolta I bought, but at the time the Minolta offered more pixels.

   Bobbie at 06:28am on Tuesday, December 05, 2006

3. Fredy, the standard kit lens doesn't help, swapping it for a better model when you buy the 400D would help, but would also add to the overall cost.

   Mark Goldstein at 11:10am on Wednesday, December 06, 2006

4. I just purchsed the Canon EOS400D, I can hear a faint rattle of something when I tilt the camera backwards and forwards gently? Is this normal or should I return it to the store. I have checked that its not the strap making the rattling noise, its coming from inside the camera unit. Does anyone know if there is a lens stabiliser inside the unit which might make this type of noise. Or do you think its a faulty camera?

   Natalie at 03:07pm on Monday, January 08, 2007

5. Fantastic review of the 400D. Many thanks for taking the time and trouble to do it.
   It helped me loads! I've already got the 400D with the Tamron 18-200mm XR DiII LD lens, but I've been quite dissapointed with the lack of sharpness to my images - almost like a soft focus even though I get the red-LED's and focus-lock beep. After reading your review (specifically page 3) where you talk about image quality and sharpness you mentioned some "on camera settings". Well I've read the manual and obviously it didn't all sink in! I just went to the index and looked for "Sharpness" and it explains how to alter the picture style settings to bump up the sharpness.
   Thanks!!
   
   Nige.

   Nigel Davies at 11:31am on Wednesday, January 24, 2007

6. Thanks Nige, glad you enjoyed the review and found it so helpful!

   Mark Goldstein at 12:57pm on Wednesday, January 24, 2007

7. The comment about the rattling from the 400d is from the pop up flash hinge. It's actually nothing to worry about but i noticed it the day i bought the camera. Is there anyway to adjust or fix the rattling or just something that I have to put up with?

   Morlich07 at 06:37pm on Saturday, March 10, 2007

8. Natalie - faint rattle is coming from the small stays in the pop up flash. Seems to be by design.
   
   If you pop the flash up you will be able to see them moving.
   
   Regards, Mark

   Mark R at 08:22am on Monday, April 02, 2007

9. my flash wont pop up at all after a month of having it, no flash fubctions work at all, i am trashing the damn thing and getting a decent nikon instead, canons have allways been crap , ireally dont know why i bothered getting another canon, big mistake, the 400d is the worst camera i ever owned . crap crap crap

   paul at 01:49pm on Saturday, April 14, 2007

10. calm down spock

    morlicj07 at 05:54pm on Saturday, April 14, 2007

11. Thanks for the comments RE: rattle. I just bought my Canon and was disappointed at the thought it was faulty.
    
    I just love the pictures on automatic! Can't wait to start playing around?

    puku75 at 06:41am on Thursday, April 19, 2007

12. Nice to here puku75. I can understand the build quality isn't at it's best on this camera but the photos that can be produced by this camera are amazing.

    morlich07 at 11:48am on Thursday, April 19, 2007

13. Just had my canon 400d with the twin lens kit. For the cash its a great deal. Colours, saturation, (with the right sharpness setting) pretty decent. Even in tricky low light situations.
    
    But a wiser choice is to buy the body and two canon L lens to get the most out of the camera.
    
    Canon 17-40mm Prime L
    Canon 100-400mm 4.5 L + 1.4x extender
    
    This combo should be enough for the majority of types of shots for distance and light/dark shots. Clearly much sharper than the standard kit.
    
    Downside is this may cost around 3200$ for that kinda setup. (but worth it)
    
    For the prosumers though for the cash this camera is hard to beat
    
    My 2 cents

    lilly the german shepherd at 07:01pm on Saturday, April 28, 2007

14. just a comment regarding the handling of the EOS 400 with large hands: The battery grip offered by Canon greatly improved the handling for me. My recommendation to all with large palms.

    Jay at 03:06pm on Thursday, May 24, 2007

15. I bought my girlfriend a Canon EOS 400D a few weeks ago and decided to do a comparison shoot last night between a Sony Ericsson K800i, Nikon E4600 Compact Digital and the Canon... I write it up here.
    
    http://www.thingy-ma-jig.co.uk/blog/12-06-2007/canon-eos-400d-nikon-e4600-sony-ericsson-k800i
    
    (sorry for the long URL)

    Nicholas Thompson at 02:06pm on Wednesday, June 13, 2007

16. I have recently purchased the EOS 400D having used the manual EOS range successfully for many years. I am a relative novice with digital SLR cameras and am not likely to be producing professional photos. I have always generally used the Automatic shooting setting for the majority of my wildlife/ landscape/ family photos and was hoping to do the same with may new purchase.
    Having recently received my first batch of prints from processing I have been very disappointed with the results - all taken on the automatic setting and mainly family shots. The problem is how dark they all appear. I believe that I am still on the default factory setting and was hoping to avoid any post shooting manipulation on the computer.
    Does anyone know of a simple answer to my problem/ concerns? Do I need to reset anything (exposure setings/ compensation?). I would rather avoid having to use the auto exposure bracketing mode all of the time and I am hoping to find a fairly simple answer that means that I can continue to just "point and press" most of the time. It may well be a waste of many of the added modes/ facilities on the camera but I would like to learn about these in the longer term. Answers to get me back on track would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

    Tim Jackson at 02:51pm on Tuesday, June 26, 2007

17. Im thinking of purchasing this camera as my first DSLR - would you recommend this as a starter?

    Sharon at 10:00am on Monday, September 03, 2007

18. @17: I would DEFINATELY recommend this camera as a first DSLR. If you get a lesser camera then within a few months you'll be saying "I wish I'd got the Canon". It is an unbelievable bit of kit!
    
    @16: Sounds like your white balance is off or the exposures are coming up wrong. Check out my girlfriends blog which offers some really easy to understand explanations about the features of the camera. Its a new blog but she has a fair bit of content on there already...
    
    Blog/Tutorial/Photo Journal
    http://www.kate-harris.co.uk

    Nicholas Thompson at 02:09pm on Monday, September 03, 2007

19. Hi Sheron!
    EOS 400D is a Single Lens Reflex (SLR)camera, which means, that it is more complicated than a classical poin-and-shoot models. So if you are totaly starter (I mean you have never used any kind of cameras), than I recommend you to buy Point and shoot model for the first time. But if you are advanced photographer, than this model is right for you. There is a place where you can gain some very interesting video reviews about this model: Canon EOS 400D video reviews .
    I hope this help!

    Cooper at 10:58am on Tuesday, September 04, 2007

20. Great camera - pity about the confusing instruction manual!

    John Chillingworth at 01:06pm on Monday, October 08, 2007

21. so I just bought my Canon Rebel XTi today. I love it.. however.. i haven't been able to figure out how to make the flash work. I've tried the auto mode. I've also tried pressing the flash button on the side on the other modes. I can't figure out why it wont work. any suggestions?

    kate at 10:14pm on Friday, March 14, 2008