Canon EOS Rebel XT

Front
As a single lens reflex camera, the front of the Rebel XT will look different depending on what lens is affixed. The lenses are applied to the EF-S lens mount, which is approximately centered in the frame. When viewing the camera from straight on, the right-hand grip protrudes from the left side of the frame. The bottom three-fourths of it is covered in a muted rubber grip. The top quarter is a light brushed silver color and slants toward the top. At the tip of the slanted portion is the circular shutter release button, with a jog dial sticking out of the camera body just above it to render quick alterations to exposure settings.

In the valley between the right-hand grip and the lens mount is an illuminator to reduce red-eye, placed level with the top of the rubber gripping surface. To the right of the lens is the large black lens release button. Below this button is a small panel with the Digital Rebel XT logo. Above the button is the EOS logo. Directly above the lens is a pop-up flash with the Canon logo visible when the flash is both open and closed. When the rectangular flash pops out of the body, it is supported by two legs, each attaching at opposite sides of the Canon logo and supported by several moving parts. Above and behind the Canon logo is the hot accessory shoe for optional flash attachments.

Back
The back of the camera body is a brushed silver color except for the black tint of the LCD screen and the black rubber eyepiece that surrounds the optical viewfinder. The viewfinder, which has a diopter adjustment on its top right corner, sits slightly to the left of the Rebel’s middle. Below it is a raised panel with several buttons on both sides of the LCD screen, which rests in the center of this panel. The black border of the LCD screen extends around the top of a separate metering display, which indicates shutter speed, aperture, white balance setting, and other shooting settings being utilized. Below the metering display is the LCD screen and further below is a white lettered Canon logo.

To the left of the LCD screen are five oval-shaped buttons that stick out of the ergonomically pleasing rounded and raised panel. From top to bottom, these buttons are the Menu, Info, Jump, Playback and Delete functions.

To the right of the LCD screen is a collection of mismatched buttons, which are all still unified by the raised panel. In the top right are two circular buttons; the exposure compensation is controlled with the top button and the bottom button enables the burst mode and self-timer. Below these buttons is an oval-shaped button with a graphic of a sun on it and a printing icon next to it. This button also has an LED light on it that lights up when files are being printed or transferred. Below this button and extending the panel toward the right is the four-way navigational dial, which is made up of five separate buttons. Each button on the outside of the circular shaped dial has an arrow on it and a graphic or letters next to it. The "Set" button is used to select menu options. The outer buttons can be used to scroll through menu options or select individual features. The top button can select ISO settings; the right button selects auto focus settings; the bottom button selects white balance options; the left button chooses the metering option. At the very bottom right of the LCD screen is a wide LED light that indicates when a CompactFlash card is in the Rebel XT. In the top right corner of the camera is a slightly slanted surface for easy thumb gripping. On this surface, there are two circular buttons next to each other. On the left is the auto focus lock button that also zooms out in playback mode, and also creates a thumbnail view. The button on the right zooms close in playback mode and is also used as an auto focus point selector.

Left Side
The left side has a black panel running up the center of the brushed silver body. On the rear side of the panel is a rubber port door to the A/V out and USB jacks. There is an indentation where a thumb can easily pry the door open. At the top of the black panel is a wide loop for the neck strap. Located just below the flash is the overriding flash pop-up button. Below the protrusion where the lens release button resides is a black circular depth of field preview button, visible on the left side.

Right Side
The right side of the Canon Rebel XT has a black rubber gripping surface on the front portion. The rear of the right side has a plastic door that opens to the CompactFlash card slot. At the top of the right side is a wide loop for a neck strap.

Top
On each side of the top, a neck strap loop is visible. Slightly to the left side is the pop-up flash, with the hot shoe for accessories in its center. Directly to the right of the flash is the mode dial, complete with icons and letters representing shooting modes. An LED light sits to the left to indicate which mode is currently in use. The power switch surrounds the right side of the dial and is clearly labeled with "On" at the top and "Off" at the bottom. Above the power switch, the right-hand grip extends up to a point, with the shutter release button at the tip. Below the button is a jog dial with notched edges for easy turning and a divot around it for easy pressing. These top two features are visible from both the front and the top.