Should you buy a Canon Rebel XT or 20D?

What’s $500 worth these days? There are many measures of the worth of a dollar, of course. To use a currency standard that is generally accepted here in San Francisco, $500 will get you roughly 83 burritos. For the digital photographer, $500 is the difference between a Canon Digital Rebel XT and a Canon EOS 20D. (For those of you in Europe, the same camera is known as the 350D, and unfortunately, you can’t get a decent burrito there to save your life.)

If you’ve been looking for a digital SLR with interchangeable lenses, excellent image quality and pro level performance, which should you buy? What do you get for the extra $500? What does Canon believe is $500 worth of features?

The good news is that, whichever camera you end up purchasing, you’ll get the same excellent image quality, same resolution, and same extraordinarily low noise response. The Rebel XT and the EOS 20D represent two different approaches to camera control, and which one is right for you depends upon your experience.

Size and Build

Both cameras are extremely well-made, and it’s hard not to be immediately struck by the Rebel XT’s size. Much smaller than the 20D (as well as noticeably smaller than the previous Rebel), the XT is currently the lightest SLR on the market. (If it’s smaller than the Pentax *ist, it’s hard to tell, but it weighs in slightly lighter.)

Canon has compressed the XT’s design in several dimensions. It’s shorter than the 20D, and has less space between the hand grip and the lens mount. The main space savings, though, comes on the left side of the camera, which extends barely past the lens release button.

Camera size and weight is a delicate balance. A camera becomes easier to drop if it is either too heavy or too light. Similarly, picking up and carrying the camera can be easier or harder depending on the balance of weight, and shape of grippable surfaces. All of these factors must be considered while trying to maintain a size and weight that feels stable when shooting. If a camera is too big and heavy, holding it up to your eye with a steady hand will be difficult. Similarly, if a camera is too light, you won’t have gravity providing you with much of a stabilizing influence.

Though lighter than the 20D, the Rebel XT is not too light. With some slightly larger lenses the camera can feel a tiny bit more front-heavy than does the 20D, but if I didn’t have both cameras sitting side-by-side for testing, I’m not sure I’d notice. The weight loss of the Rebel is very welcome, and doesn’t negatively impact shooting. (As someone with RSIs, the lighter weight is especially welcome.) Bear in mind, though, that even though it’s lighter, the Rebel is still plenty heavy when compared to a point-and-shoot camera. If you’re upgrading from a mid to large-sized point-and-shoot, the Rebel is still going to feel heavier than what you’re used to, especially once you add a beefy lens.

The differences in size and shape between the Rebel and the 20D, however, are not as favorable.

First off, there’s the hand grip. The narrower space between the hand grip and the lens barrel on the Rebel XT creates a couple of handling issues. With the 20D, you can easily and comfortably pick up the camera by wedging your fingers between the grip and the body, and hooking them onto the slight (too slight) molded forefinger grip.

With the Rebel, because the space between the grip and the lens barrel is compressed, there’s much less space for your fingertips, meaning it’s a little more difficult (and outright impossible if you’re wearing gloves) to get as sure a grip. Overall, because my fingers feel more confined on the Rebel, I’m less certain of my grip while picking up and carrying the camera. When actually shooting, the smaller grip space is not an issue. (Obviously, hand and finger size make a big difference on these considerations.)

The squished grip also creates some troubles for the camera’s red-eye reduction/self timer lamp. With the smaller body, the lamp is positioned much lower on the Rebel than it is on the 20D, meaning it’s much more likely to be blocked by the fingers of your right hand, especially if you’re gloved.

The truncated left side of the camera only becomes an issue when shooting. Like all SLRs, you can hold the Rebel by cradling the camera’s lens in your left hand, so as to access the focus control, while holding the camera grip with your right hand. Because of the width of the 20D, the left side of the camera can rest on the base of your thumb, providing some extra stability. Because the Rebel is now so much narrower, it’s very difficult to support the left side of the camera, without craning your wrist at an angle.

These may sound like maniacally nitpicky issues, but being able to hold the camera securely and steadily is an important concern. You should definitely not choose either camera until you have had a chance to handle them in person.

As with its predecessor, the Rebel XT’s plastic body does not make for a fragile feel. The XT has excellent build quality, with no squeaking or creaking. Though it has a rubberized front grip, it lacks the rubberized panel that the 20D has on its backside, which means you’ll spend more time touching plastic on the Rebel than you will on the 20D. Both cameras provide an EF-S lens mount, giving you access to all three Canon lens types, EF, L, and EF-S.

In addition to the smaller body size, the Rebel XT has a much smaller viewfinder than the 20D. Though the Rebel’s viewfinder is bright and clear, and has the same excellent settings readout as the 20D, when comparing side-by-side it definitely feels more claustrophobic. However, it still yields the same excellent coverage of roughly 95-98%. If you’re used to a digital point-and-shoot, don’t worry, the XTs viewfinder is much better than what you’ve probably been using.

Neither camera is weatherproofed, so if that’s a big concern then you need to look elsewhere. Overall, build quality and durability probably won’t be factors when considering these cameras.

Image Quality and Features

I’d love to be able to say that one of these cameras takes better pictures than the other, as that would provide you with a simple metric by which to make a decision. Alas, just as the original Rebel was to the EOS 10D, so is the Rebel XT to the 20D. Resolution, image processing, noise response – the XT delivers all the same hardware and resulting image quality as the 20D.

With the original Rebel, Canon disabled some of the features that were included on the 10D, such as flash exposure compensation. For the update, Canon has generously kept feature parity between the XT and the 20D. All of those features that no one uses on the 20D, such as white balance bracketing and black and white tinting, are right there on the Rebel XT, ready to be ignored.

For the features that you do use, there are some important differences between the two cameras. First, the Rebel XT’s ISOs top out at 1600, while the 20D offers a 3200 setting. Granted, ISO 3200 is pretty grungy on the 20D, and is not something that I regularly use, but when you need it, it’s sure nice to have as an option. If you do lots of low-light shooting, it’s a point to consider.

More important is the difference in burst shooting performance (or Drive mode, as it’s called in the Canon vernacular). The Rebel XT can burst at 3 frames per second, as compared to the 20Ds 5 frames per second. Both cameras offer the same buffer size and speed, meaning you can shoot roughly 25 high-quality JPEGs in Drive mode before the camera has to slow down to dump things from the buffer. The Rebel can manage 5 raw files before it must slow down, as compared to the 20D’s 6.

The Rebel XT’s buffer size and write performance is much better than many of its competitors, and its great that Canon has not crippled these features. Whether the slower burst speed matters depends a lot on how and what you shoot. I find that a lot of less-experienced photographers assume that the only time you need burst shooting is if you’re shooting sports or wildlife, but a speedy drive mode can be valuable for many situations.

For portrait photography, a burst mode affords you a better chance of capturing a subtle change in expression that might make for a better picture. Auto-bracketing features also benefit greatly from a speedy burst mode. Set your camera to autobracket, throw it into drive mode, hit the shutter button, and in no time, you’ll have a complete set of bracketed pictures. When hand-holding, a speedier drive mode will mean less compositional variation between bracketed images.

Drive speed shouldn’t be a deal-breaker, (unless you’re a sports or nature photographer) but it’s certainly something that makes the 20D worth the extra $500.

Like the 20D, the Rebel XT powers up, and wakes from sleep, seemingly instantaneously, a tremendous improvement over the previous Rebel.

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Interface and Controls

It is in the basic interface control and layout that the Rebel XT and 20D differ significantly. Though the cameras have identical feature sets, the controls for accessing each feature are completely different. Canon has taken very different approaches with the interfaces of these two cameras. Which one you will prefer depends largely on your current camera experience.

The 20D has an LCD status display mounted on the top of the camera. This display shows remaining pictures and all relevant camera and exposure settings. On the back of the camera is the color LCD that is used for image review and for setting secondary shooting settings, such as bracketing and flash exposure compensation, as well as for performing basic functions such as card formatting.

The Rebel XT has an LCD status display mounted on the rear of the camera, just above its color LCD screen. Personally, I prefer the top-mounted LCD screen because it makes it easier to check on your camera’s settings while the camera hangs from your neck or sits in your lap, without having to handle or move the camera to look at the back. This is a very subtle difference though, and I could certainly get used to the rear-mounted LCD without losing too much sleep.

The more important differences have to do with changing camera settings. On the 20D, three small buttons mounted near the status LCD let you quickly change autofocus mode, white balance, drive mode, ISO, metering mode, and flash exposure compensation. Push the relevant button and the top-mounted wheel changes one setting while the rear wheel changes the other, then half-press the shutter button (where your finger is probably already resting) to accept.

This is a tremendously speedy mechanism that allows you to change any primary setting with two button presses and a simple wheel movement. In addition, you can perform the entire process with one hand, and it’s very difficult to accidentally change any of these settings by bumping the camera’s controls. Because of the high contrast of the LCD status display, and the easy-to-access backlight, you have no concerns about seeing any of these operations in full daylight or dark rooms.

The back panel of the Rebel XT holds four buttons mounted in a circle. These provide access to autofocus, white balance, metering mode, and ISO settings. Press one of these buttons and you are immediately taken to the relevant spot in the camera’s menuing system, which is displayed on the LCD screen. You then use the four buttons, or the top-mounted wheel, to navigate through the menu to your desired setting. A half-press of the shutter button cancels the operation, so you have to press the OK button to actually make the change.

Though this is a fairly streamlined process, it’s not as speedy as the 20D’s approach. It requires one or two extra button presses but, more importantly, is prone to accidental changes. The camera is especially prone to accidental changes to Drive mode, due to the lack of any interlocking control. Without interlocking buttons, you must keep a vigilant eye on the camera’s settings. Further complicating matters is the fact that the color LCD screen can be a little difficult to read in bright sunlight.

For most situations, this minor difference in convenience won’t matter. But for times when you need to quickly change a camera’s setting to get a shot, the Rebel’s slightly more cumbersome interface can be an obstacle.

If you’re coming from a modern 35mm SLR, then you will feel far more at home with the 20D. Its more “direct” control of camera settings will feel like what you’re used to using.

If you’ve been shooting with a digital point-and-shoot camera, where most functions are accessed through the camera’s main menuing system, then you’ll feel right at home with the Rebel XT. Similarly, if you’re coming from an older 35mm SLR that didn’t provide the type of controls on a modern automatic camera, then the Rebel will seem simply magical.

Two critical shooting features are equally well-implemented on both cameras. Like the 20D, the Rebel XT has a control wheel mounted just behind the shutter button. After pressing the shutter button halfway to meter and lock focus, you can spin the control wheel to cycle through all reciprocal exposure settings for that meter reading. If you need to over or underexpose, then you can apply an exposure compensation. On the Rebel XT, your thumb can easily reach a button that changes the control wheel to an Exposure Compensation selector.

These two controls are often all of the manual control that you will need. With them, you can select an aperture or shutter speed that’s more appropriate to your artistic intent, while still being able to over or under expose for tonal control.

The 20D provides reciprocity control from its top-mounted wheel, and exposure compensation control with a rear wheel. No button press is required to access exposure compensation.

The Decision

Are the differences discussed here worth $500? Difficult to say. Faster burst speed is hard to pass up, and the interface of the 20D is certainly speedier and more intuitive. However, though the burst speed is a little pokey, the Rebel XT’s interface is not going to lead to missed shots very often, unless you need to work quickly in rapidly changing conditions.

If low weight is absolutely essential, then go with the Rebel. Similarly, if you’re heading into harsh, camera-damaging conditions, then it might be better to go with the lower-priced Rebel, simply to ease the pain of replacement cost should the worst happen.

Five hundred bucks will not only buy you almost 100 burritos, it’ll also buy you a nice lens. If you’re really short on cash, and you don’t already have a collection of Canon lenses, then it might be best to go with the Rebel, and put the rest of the money into improving your lens options, buying storage, or springing for a copy of Photoshop.

The good news is that there’s no bad choice in this situation. Whichever camera you buy, you’re going to get the same excellent image quality and, overall, a tremendous value for your money.

Related Links:
Canon EOS20D – Full Review
Do you need a full-frame digital SLR?
Canon 10-22 EF-S Lens

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