Canon EOS Rebel XS / 1000D Digital SLR Announcement

June 10th, 2008 by

Photo-John

Today, Canon announced a new 10.1-megapixel entry-level digital SLR in Europe and Asia, the Canon EOS 1000D. So far I haven’t been able to find out if it will be introduced in the North America. The press release has not appeared on either Canon USA or the Canadian Canon Web site. However, other photography Web sites are also listing it as the “Canon EOS Rebel XS”, a Canon USA naming standard, implying that it will be available in the US, too.

The Canon EOS Rebel XS / 1000D Main Features:

10.1-megapixel CMOS sensor
3 frames-per-second frame rate
7-point auto focus with f/5.6 cross-type center point
EOS Integrated Cleaning System
2.5-inch LCD with Live View mode
DIGIC III processor
Digital Photo Professional RAW processing software
SD/SDHC card slot
Picture Styles processing
Compact and lightweight
Compatible with Canon EF/EF-S lenses and EX Speedlites

I’ve used both the Canon EOS Rebel XTi / 400D and EOS XSi / 450D extensively in the studio and in the field for sports and landscape photography. I think they’re both an awful lot of camera for supposed “entry-level” cameras. So it makes sense that Canon would introduce another digital SLR with a lower spec and lower price point. Canon also claims the new EOS Rebel XS / 1000D is the smallest, lightest EOS DSLR camera body yet. As an outdoor photographer that values small size and light weight, that makes it very appealing to me. Other cameras may offer more resolution, but I believe that for most photographers and most purposes, 10 megapixels is more than enough.

Announcements say the new Canon EOS 1000D / Rebel XS digital SLR kit with EF-S 18-55mm IS lens should be available in Europe and the UK in July for £579.99 / €749.99. The body only price is £499.99 / €649.99. Extrapolating from the announced price for the currently available Canon EOS XSi, if the EOS Rebel XS is available in the USA, it should cost about $699 for the kit and $550 for the just the camera body.

Canon EOS 1000D / XS front view