Canon 450D - Winner, Or Just Another DSLR Camera? (Canon EOS 450D)

Member Name: FlexiPack

Product:	Canon EOS 450D
Date:	03/08/09 (74 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap, light, excellent quality images, live view, good high iso performance

Disadvantages: plastic outershell, max iso is 1600, max fps is 3.4 per sec, viewfinder not as bright as it could be

I have been using the Canon 450D for a year now. Being a photography enthusiast, image quality is very important to me and the 450D does not disappoint. The Canon 450D sits above the 1000D and below the new 500D in Canon's DSLR line up.

One thing often criticised about the Canon xxxD range of cameras is
that their body is made from plastic, unlike higher end models in the xxD range (50D etc) and above, whose bodies are made from a magnesium alloy shell. However in using the 450D it does not feel at all cheap or flimsy. Thanks to the high grade material used it has a sturdy and quality feel to it. The outer casing is complimented by a rubberised hand grip, with a small rubberised section where your thumb rests under normal use.

The size and weight of the camera is a pro to some and a con to others. Due to it's size, some feel the hand grip isn't quite big enough. I have average sized hands for a man and I don't find the size of the grip to be a problem at all. On each subsequent xxD release, Canon has managed to squeeze a little bit more height out of the grip without unduly expanding a noticeable size increase in the camera. With the 450D I feel Canon has struck a very good balance. My hand sits comfortably on the grip, unlike on the 400D (my previous camera), where my little finger had a tendency to slip off the bottom in use. The weight for a DSLR is very light, especially coupled with the kit lens (though the lightest DSLR accolade goes to the Olympus 620, E-P1 & Panasonic GH1). For most this is bonus, the only downside for some is when the camera is coupled with a much larger and heavier lens like the 100-400mm for example. With such a small body it can be rather front heavy but this in no way obstructs the use of the camera, it is merely a nitpicking observation.

The button layout on the camera is well thought out and intuitive. You'll rarely find a need to go into the cameras menu when shooting, other than to change the more advanced and less frequently used settings. ISO, White balance, Metering, Drive mode, exposure compensation are all within easy access of your thumb.

Prior to the 450D, users upgrading to a Canon entry level DSLR from a point and shoot camera had to sacrifice the ability to use the LCD to compose and take shots. This was very off putting to some. With the 450D came Liveview, a system of being able to use the LCD to compose and take photos. It's not quite as streamlined as your average P&S shoot, simply because of how a DSLR works. In order for the image to reach the camera's sensor (and therefore appear on the LCD, the mirror (which is there to let the user compose their shot through the viewfinder) must flip up and out of the way. You then have two focusing options. 'Quick mode' uses the traditional DSLR method of focusing which is called phase detect. The advantage is that it's more accurate than, the disadvantage is that in order to use this, the mirror must flip down again (thus blanking the LCD temporarily), it will then focus and flip the mirror back up again, restoring the LCD liveview, complete with a focused image ready for shooting. The second method 'Live Mode', uses contrast detection (which incidentally is what all compact cameras use). It's a slower method, *sometimes* less accurate but it doesn't black out the LCD view at all. I've used both methods and find there's little between the two in the way of pros and cons. The mirror flipping method is known as 'quick' mode because it uses the traditional phase detection focusing. However when you factor in the time taken to flip the mirror down, focus and then flip it up again you will find very little difference in speed between the two methods.

I think most users will seldom use Liveview because holding a DLSR with your arms outstretched (even a lightweight one like this) is a lot harder than with a compact camera. Where Liveview really thrives is when shooting macro and focus is critical. The ability to zoom to 5x & 10x magnification and tweek the focus manually can be crucial.
New and experienced users alike will feel at home on the 450D, with the camera housing both manual and point and shoot modes. It has the usual scene modes: portrait, landscape, macro, sports, night portrait and flash 'off, plus a full auto mode. The downside of the auto modes (referred to as creative modes by Canon) is that you're very restricted about what options you can change (not able to shoot in RAW for example. For a beginner, this may be welcomed as there is already enough to be getting used to. As you progress you will find this limiting and that's where the P,Av,Tv & M (Program, Aperture priority, Shutter Priority, Manual) modes come in. These allow full control over your cameras exposure settings and in turn unlock all the feature rich goodies this camera has to offer.

Other features of note

The 450D will shoot at 3.4 FPS (Frames per second) in it's continuous shooting mode. Whilst this may be not be enough for a professional sports shooter, it's more than enough for an amateur who would like to shoot their sons football games for example. High ISO performance has always been a plus point of Canon DSLR's and the 450D is no exception. Unlike a compact camera, you'll find even ISO 1600 extremely good quality in all but the larger prints. Switch on the high ISO noise reduction and it improves it further by reducing the chroma noise (unsightly colour noise). As you'd expect, autofocus is quick. There are 9 autofocus points, not an exceptional amount but enough with the centre point being the most accurate (as with all DSLR's). The shutter lag (the time between pressing the shutter and the camera taking the picture) is in the milliseconds and very fast. A welcome addition to the 450D over it's older brother the 400D is a 'spot metering' mode (which meters 3% of the scene in the centre of viewfinder) , whereas the 400D only had 'partial centre' metering which measured 9% of the centre point. Doesn't sound much but it was very welcomed and is now one of the features that sets it apart from the 1000D which only has partial centre metering. One of my favourite and most used features of the 450D is the 'My Menu'. This allows you select up 6 of your most commonly used menu options and place them on the My Menu page (which has it's own tab on the menu). I've found this has saved a lot of unnecessary menu usage.
The 450D also has what is now considered standard DSLR feature of built in sensor cleaning using Canon's own proprietary low-pass filter with self cleaning unit (Sounds snappy doesn't it!). It may be standard but it's worth mentioning as it does work. In the year I've had the 450D I've yet to encounter a problem with sensor dust, despite changing lenses regularly (and carefully!)

I think that about covers it for the 450D. I'll finish by saying if you buy this camera, I very much doubt you'll be disappointed.

Summary: You want above entry level camera but don't want to splash the cash on the 500D -the 450D is the one

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