Canon EOS Rebel XSi

Manual Control Options
As befits an SLR, the XSi offers full manual control, where the user can step in and make the decisions about how to capture the image. It also offers a good selection of semi-manual modes, where the user can set specific settings, and the camera decides the others.
Focus
Auto Focus (5.75)
The autofocus of the XSi is above average; it has no problem finding the right spot in all but the darkest rooms. It is a 9-point system; one in the center and 9 in a diamond shape around the center. In really dark rooms, the AF assist beam can be enabled, or the camera can use a pre-flash to assist in finding the focus. But while the autofocus usually found the right spot, it wasn't especially fast, often taking nearly a second of zipping to and fro to find the right spot. Part of this may be the cheap kit lens; other Canon lenses (especially those that use the USM ultrasonic motors) are quicker to focus, but the kit lens is slow and makes a rather annoying buzzing noise while searching. It wouldn't be much good for shooting wildlife; all but the most photographed or sedentary beasts would take off as soon as the lens started grinding its way into focus.

Manual Focus (5.5)
The XSi offers a decent manual focus option; you flick the switch on the side of the lens to the MF setting, and the front of the lens rotates to focus. It is rather loose when it rotates, and as we mentioned before, the whole front of the lens can move up and down a little, which can change the framing of the photo. There is no way to check the focus in Manual mode, but the live view does allow you to zoom in either 5x or 10x to check focus; a useful tool as it's often difficult to tell focus on the screen otherwise.


ISO (7.0)
The XSi offers a decent ISO range of 100 to 1600, as well as the auto setting. That's a pretty typical range, but it would be nice to have a few more points on the way; you only get five choices (100, 200, 400, 800, and 1600), while other cameras offer points in between. But the XSi offers a decent ISO range that should satisfy most users.


White Balance (6.75)
White balance is again fairly standard; you get the choice of auto, five presets (Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten, White Fluorescent, and Flash), and a custom mode. That covers most of the bases, but some cameras offer more presets; the Nikon D60, for instance, offers five different fluoresecent presets. To use the custom option, you have to take a photo of a white object, then go into the menu and select Custom WB setting. That's a bit of a cumbersome process; other cameras allow you to evaluate white balance directly.


Exposure (8.50)
Four manual exposure modes are on offer on the XSi: Manual, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, and Aperture Depth of Field. The latter mode sets the aperture to try and get as many of the focus points in focus as possible; a useful mode if you are trying to get objects in both the foreground and distance in focus.

The XSi only has one control wheel, which means you can only control one setting at a time. This is fine for Aperture and Shutter Prioirty mode; the control dial alters the relevant setting and the camera calculates the other one. But it's a bit of a pain in the full Manual mode: by default, the control dial changes the shutter speed, and you have to hold down the exposure compensation button on the back of the camera to change the aperture. Some other cameras offer two control wheels, which make changing aperture and shutter speed quicker. This is a minor but annoying limitation that may prove to be an issue for fans of manual control.
 
Metering (7.5)
The XSi has four Metering modes: Evaluative, Partial, Spot, and Center-Weighted Average. This is a definite improvement fom the XSi, which lacked Spot metering. And the addition of a partial mode is also interesting; this is like Spot, but with a bigger spot that covers about a third of the frame. This could be useful if you are doing close-up portraits in a darkened room; having a slightly larger area to meter is more likely to produce accurate results.


Shutter Speed (9.00)
The XSi has an excellent shutter speed range, from 1/4000 up to 30 seconds. There is also a bulb setting that holds the shutter open for as long as the shutter button is depressed, which is likely to please astronomical photographers and others who hang around in dark places. For the built-in flash, the default sync speed is the standard 1/60, but this can be set to 1/200 through a custom function in Aperture Priority mode. This would be useful if you're trying to capture fast-moving subjects with the flash.

Aperture
Aperture can be set in 1/3- or 1/2-stop steps, depending what the connected lens supports. There is also a depth of field preview button just below the lens that provides a preview of the focus range of the set aperture; a useful tool if you are trying to work out what will and won't be in focus.