Canon EOS 400D Digital SLR Camera (incl. EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens Kit)

Similar Products:

SANDISK EXTREME III CF 2GB CARD

Canon EH 18-L Semi-hard Case For EOS 350D & 400D

SanDisk CompactFlash 4GB Extreme III Memory

Lowepro Rezo 160 Shoulder Bag For Digital SLR & 1-2 Lenses - Black

Canon NB-2LH Battery Pack

Product Features:

• Picture Style settings for a broad range of control over color, contrast and sharpening.
• * Strong, lightweight body with the EOS Integrated Cleaning System including a Self Cleaning Sensor Unit.
• Fast 3 frames-per-second shooting with 27-frame burst and a 0.2 second startup time.
• High performance digital SLR with 10.1 Megapixel Canon CMOS sensor and DIGIC II Image processor.

Customer Reviews:

• 
  2008-08-09
  By Sophie Melly, Luton, England
  The 400D was my first venture into digital SLR's (I've had several film ones over the years) and I must say I am very happy with it. It's been just over a year since I brought the 400D with kit lens (18-55m) and a 50-200mm with it. It's a nifty little camera, big enough to make the image conscious feel like the have a TRUE DLSR in their hands, but small enough for carrying around like a compact digital camera.
  
  Another great thing about the 400D is that is has the safety net of the automatic functions, such as scene modes, automatice white balance, ISO and focusing, but allows for learning with the ability to be fully manually controlled if the user so wishes.
  
  I would definately reccomend this as a perfect starter dlsr for anyone buying, I just wish the price was like this when I brought mine soon after the release of this model (Summer 2007 for about £600 (with the kit lens, 50-200mm, and a 1gb memory card))!
  
  
• 
  2008-08-17
  By Mr. J. Ward, Leeds, UK
  Only thirteen months after buying the camera, and it failed (Error 99).
  
  Look on the internet for Error 99. Choose Pentax instead.
  
  
• 
  2008-08-22
  By Andrew,
  I have just started getting into digital photography and I can say that this camera is perfect not only for a beginner like myself but for professionals also.
  
  
• 
  2008-08-24
  By Benjamin, UK
  Consistently topping the recommendation lists for entry level Digital SLR cameras the 400D is a fine piece of equipment. There are more than enough reviews here which to extol the cameras virtues and facilities; it is certainly an easy to use camera. However while is will work well enough on fully automatic mode, I have found that in order to get the very best out if it you have to do a little bit of work yourself. Different circumstances will warrant the camera operator selecting specific preferences, be it shutter speed or aperture, and perhaps allowing the camera automatic function to provide the rest, in order to produce the desired results.
  
  But perhaps the most important area where the user needs to be watchful is with the focusing. Especially with close-up work I now no longer use the cameras automatic focusing but rely on the eye and the viewfinder to ensure accurate focusing. The difference is considerable; in fact I was ready to up-grade the lens until I carried out a few experiments and proved what the standard 18-55mm lens could do, and it proved to be quite up to the job. Knowing what the standard lens can doo means I can now look much more specifically for additional lenses.
  
  It also is worth remembering that pressing the shutter release is only half the photographer's job. Back in the days of traditional film stock the rest (or even the most) was done in the dark-room. So some decent photo editing software is just as important; Adobe Photoshop is of course very good but my own preference is for Corel Photopaint.
  
  Excellent value for money, I am very happy with my 400D.
  
  
  
  
• 
  2008-09-03
  By Benji,
  I'll start by clarifying why I gave this only 3 stars, the lens is such a huge let down.
  
  The Canon 400D in itself is a fantastic camera. The picture quality is excellent and the 10.1mp is more than enough for the amateur photographer to create extremely decent photos that can be blown up to poster size and put on the wall.
  
  The speed of the camera is fairly decent, it shoots at 3 frames per second. Bear in mind this is an amateur camera it's very fast. The 2.5" screen is a good size to preview images and is very clear. I find the camera is very easy to use if you are new to the world of Digital SLR and yet still has enough complex features to be able to customize your photography. The 400D is compatible with Canon EF and EF-S lenses and EX-series flash. All in all, I would give this camera alone 5 stars.
  
  The lens on the other hand is appauling. The sharpness of image is very poor, especially when stopped down, and the Bokah (clarity of deliberatly out of focus parts of the shot) is extremely poor. The lens is very noisy (which never bothered me personally) and the manual focus is almost impossible to use. This is due to the fact the focus is done by turning the barrel of the lens which is so loose it hardly feels like its attached to anything. The end of the lens turns making a polarizing filter hard to use. The lens however is light weight due to it being a plastic build, in turn I cant see it withstanding much abuse.
  
  If you were to buy this camera I would suggest getting the body only (without the lens) and pay a little more to get the Canon EF-S 18-55mm 3.5-5.6 IS Lens. It costs a little over £100, doesnt have USM, but is worth it for the extra photo quality. If you have a little more than that, for around £250 look at the Canon EF 28-135mm 3.5-5.6 IS USM. This lens has a huge focal range and USM (Ultra Sonic Motion [ie. really quiet).
  
  In conclusion, buy this kit if you are really strapped for budget. If you can afford to upgrade the lens you will be very suprised by the vast improvement over the kit lens.
  
  n.b. on amazon this kit is now cheaper than the 400d body only package. So it might be worth buying this after all, but please please get another lens if you do!