Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi Digital Camera Review

Auto Mode (8.0)
The Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi's fully automatic mode is really, truly fully automatic. It sets aperture, shutter speed, ISO, white balance, meter pattern (evaluative), burst mode (single shot), and autofocus mode. It also activates the flash when needed. The advanced features of the shooting menu disappear, leaving the user with choices for file size (though shooting RAW is not available), red-eye reduction, whether the camera beeps, and finally, the choice of whether or not to shoot with a memory card.

Custom Image Presets (7.5)
The Rebel XTi has 6 custom image presets, which are automatic modes that set the camera about the same way an experienced photographer would. In addition to setting exposure and shooting modes, the XTi presets also invoke the camera's picture styles. The settings are similar to those on most compact cameras. The XTi only has 6 of them, probably on the logic that most DSLR users will switch to manual modes to shoot the more ambitious types of shots covered by compact camera scene modes, such as documents or starry skies. 

Custom Presets
Portrait	Limits depth of field, softens skin tones, uses flash when needed. Uses Portrait picture style.
Landscape	Increases depth of field, sharpness and blues and greens. Does not use flash. Uses Landscape picture style.
Close-up	In our shots, Close-up acted a bit like Portrait. Both chose higher ISO settings than Landscape mode did, and the same ambient exposure. Portrait activated the flash, though, and Close-up did not. Close-up mode will activate the flash in very dark conditions.
Sports	Uses a fast shutter speed to freeze action, set autofocus for moving subjects.
Night Portrait	Uses flash in combination with long exposure, so that the subject is well-lit and the background shows up as well.
No flash	Canon recommends this mode when flash is prohibited, or in candle light.

Drive / Burst Mode (5.75)
The Rebel XTi can be set to single shot, continuous or self-timer modes. In large, high-quality JPEG mode, it shoots 2.7 frames per second for 69 frames. About 3 frames per second is typical for entry-level DSLRs, although the Rebel XTi's number of shots in a burst is impressive. While 2.9 fps isn't ideal for sports or wildlife, it's a useful speed that should open up new options for users stepping up from compact cameras.

The Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi has a self-timer with a 10-second delay. In mirror-lockup mode, the self-timer has a 2-second delay.

Playback Mode (7.5)
The Rebel XTi's playback options include a 9-image index view, magnified views up to 10x, shooting data display options, and a slide show. The Jump button allows the user to skip through large numbers of images on the Compact Flash card. The 9-image index view is useful, but many cameras with 2.5-inch LCDs offer 20- or 25-image index views as well, which could speed up image search. The 10x magnification is substantial, but the Rebel XTi would need a bit more magnification to show the full resolution of its files.

The Jump button offers three options: jump 10 images, jump 100 images, or jump to a different shooting date. Users can jump either forward or back. Jumping “wraps,” so if users jump back from the oldest image on the card, they land 10 images away from the newest image on the card.

The Rebel XTi's slide show function displays all the images on the memory card, in order, for about 4 seconds each. Canon calls the function “Auto Play,” perhaps because it does not offer the options for choosing images, setting transitions and intervals, et cetera, that many cameras' slide show functions have. The images can be viewed on the LCD or on a television, via the analog video out jack.

Movie Mode (0.0)
The Rebel XTi does not offer a movie mode. No current DSLR does, though theoretically, the live-preview DSLRs from Olympus, Panasonic, and Leica could.