Photo answers review

Photo answers rating

Who is it aimed at?
While the recently released EOS 450D seemed fairly basic and a great choice for a first D-SLR, many potential buyers are still hesitant about investing. Canon tells us that it sees the EOS 450D as a 'photographer’s' camera, it has been designed to act as an entry point for those who are likely to have photography as a serious hobby. The EOS 1000D has been designed as a camera for those buyers who just want to take better photos without having to work too hard. It’s worth pointing out that at the time of going to press we only have the recommended retail price and it’s to be expected that the retailers will drop the price by around £150 once the camera hits the shelves in a few weeks but even then the prices of the two cameras are going to be close which is very likely to create some uncertainty in the minds of potential buyers.

What’s new?
To keep costs down, Canon has left out a few features from the EOS 450D so there’s no eye sensor to turn the monitor off when you bring the camera up to your eye and the LCD screen stays the same as on the 400D at 2.5in rather than trying to squeeze the 3in screen from the 450D onto such as small body. However, unlike the 400D, the 1000D now features live view technology with autofocus, so this is now standard in nearly all of Canon’s D-SLR line-up. The autofocus system has dropped down from nine-point on the 400/450D to seven-point. While that may sound like a negative thing, you need to remember that most entry-level D-SLRs only have three AF points so Canon is still ahead of the game in this area. The menu system has had a bit of a revamp as well, utilising many of the adjustments made to the EOS-1D series, including the class leading DIGIC III processor.  New design has also been included in the most unlikely places. It’s not often that we see much innovation in the field of viewfinders but Canon has changed the coating on the mirror from aluminium to silver, which increases the brightness of the viewfinder image.

Canon’s lightest D-SLR
At just 450g, the EOS 1000D is 60g lighter than the EOS 400D and 74g lighter than the 450D. That’s fairly impressive but it’s still got some way to go until it can take on the tiny Olympus E-420, which weighs in at 380g and boasts a similar resolution and many of the same features. The EOS 1000D is Canon’s smallest D-SLR but not by much. We compared it against the recently released EOS 450D and the height and depth of the two cameras are identical. The 1000D is 126.1mm wide while the 450D is 128.8mm. That’s 2.7mm smaller. Technically the 1000D is smaller but it’s unlikely that many users will be able to notice the 3mm difference in any meaningful way in the field. The 1000D uses the same battery as the 450D and even shares the same vertical grip/battery pack so that should give you an idea of just how close these two products are in size and shape.

The EOS 1000D will come as a kit with the new EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens with an RRP of £579 or £499 (body only) and will be available late July to early August.