| Page (1) of 2 - 07/05/04 |
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After many years using a very reliable Olympus C2020 2.1 megapixel digital camera, I decided to upgrade to the Canon Digital Rebel based on its 6.3 megapixel imaging capability and backward compatibility with Canon EF lenses. As a Canon EOS Rebel owner, the capability to use my existing set of lenses and flashes that I have come accustomed to over the last decade was also a factor in my decision. At $999, the Digital Rebel is expensive, no doubt about it. But I have shot many images with the camera and absolutely love the image quality that the Digital Rebel outputs.
Here at DMN, we needed an in-house digital camera to use for various projects that we do here. The requirements for the camera were fairly simple. It had to output good quality images, it had to support large megapixel imaging, and it had to be well built. We considered the Canon Digital Rebel, the PowerShot Pro1, and a Nikon model. We ruled out the Nikon model right off the bat and weighed the pros and cons of the Digital Rebel and the Pro1. After looking at the various features of both models, we decided to go with the Pro1, largely because of its 8 megapixel imaging capability, its compactness, the 28mm -200mm equivalent lens,and the fact that it is made in Japan. In the scope of this first look, we are going to compare some of the basic functions of both cameras as well as the image quality they output throughout each camera's range. We'll post some images in all their megapixel glory for you to see for yourself. First we'll get the specs out of the way.
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| The Powershot Pro1 |
The Specs
The PowerShot Pro1 is built around a high-resolution 2/3-inch eight megapixel CCD sensor that outputs up to 3264 x 2448 pixel images. It uses a 14 element L-series lens that offers a 28-200mm 35mm equivalent, f/2.4-3.5, 7x optical zoom and 3.2x digital zoom. It also sports one Fluorite crystal that Canon says improves sharpness and color fidelity, which improves image quality while enabling the lens to be more compact than conventional zoom lenses. Macro capabilities built into the lens enable you to focus up to 3.9 inches at the full 8 megapixel resolution and 1.2 inches in super macro mode, though the resolution at this mode is reduced to five megapixels. It features an on-board flash and is compatible with most EX-series Canon Speedlites.
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| Canon Digital Rebel |
The Digital Rebel is built around a 6.3 Megapixel CMOS Sensor that outputs up to 3072 x 2048 pixel images. This unit came in a kit that included a Canon EFX 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom lens that covers a 28-90mm 35mm equivalent zoom range. It accepts 58mm filters. The camera also features an on-board flash and can accept most Canon EX-series speedlites.
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| Pro1 image at medium resolution. Click to view. Warning: This image is big. |
