» $1,099 with 18-55mm kit lens with stabiliser » Available at camera stores
THE decision to upgrade from a compact digital camera to a single-lens reflex (SLR) device used to be a difficult one.
First, there was a big price jump and second, there was complexity to deal with.
In all, moving up to the SLR range meant leaving point-and-shoot simplicity behind.
SLRs were, of course, also much bigger and heavier than compacts.
However, the gap in the areas of price, ease of use and weight have narrowed significantly in recent years.
Canon led the trend in 2003 with the EOS300D - the first sub-US$1,000 (S$1,409) digital SLR.
Advances have led to lower prices and better features in entry-level digital SLRs, not just from Canon but from a slew of other brands too.
Last month, Canon tried to go one up again - with the EOS 1000D.
The 10.1-megapixel device weighs 450g without a lens - that's light for an SLR.
It has all the usual features of an SLR too, including full manual control and compatibility with more than 60 Canon lenses.
The shooter can take JPEG and Raw images simultaneously. It also features a seven-point, wide-area focus, while metering can be set to three different modes.
Of special note is the 'live view', which allows you to shoot while viewing the scene on the rear LCD panel - just as you do with compact cameras.
There is also a sensor cleaning system which Canon has been putting into its newer models.
The camera can be set to adjust its sensor automatically to varying light conditions - from between ISO 100 and ISO 800.
Plus, it comes with an optically stabilised 18-55mm kit lens.
The lens, together with the auto-ISO, should make it very hard for the user to produce an image that is under or over-exposed, or which is blur because of hand-shake.
In other words, you can use the 1000D just like a point-and-shoot. It has the usual idiot-proof features such as an auto mode - and a few more like the auto-ISO and stabilised lens - to ensure a good picture.
Experimenting, by moving away from the 'automatic' mode, is also easy with the 1000D.
The space on the top and back of the camera has been put to good use, with buttons to give direct access to settings such as ISO, shooting mode, exposure and other features.
These settings are shown clearly on the LCD panel.
It can be a fully automatic point-and-shoot device one moment and a semi-automatic or a fully manual one, the next.
The camera is not the fastest - 3 frames per second - but it does give images that are indistinguishable from those taken with more expensive SLRs.
This is not surprising, given that it has the same sensor and image processor as the higher-end Canon models.
Final say
Canon is trying to lure compact camera users into upgrading to SLRs. With the 1000D, it has a model that's as easy to use as a compact, but more powerful.
This story was first published in The Straits Times Digital Life on 27 August 2008.
