Today, January 24th, Canon announced the new entry level of its DSLR lineup: 450D / Digital Rebel XSi as an evolution of 400D / XTi.
Points of evolutions/changes are the following (not all the changes are listed):
- 12.2 Megapixel CMOS sensor (versus 10) - the pixel race continues...
- 3.5 frames per second (versus 3 fps)
- 3.0? LCD with Live View shooting (versus 2.5" and no Live View) but keeping the same pixel count (230K)
- f/2.8 cross-type focus centre point
- DIGIC III image processor (versus DIGIC II) that promises more speed
- ISO speed is (finally) shown on display
- 14 bit RAW (versus 12 bit) - I doubt it delivers visible improvements but... we'll see
- highlight priority, taken from superior cameras, allows to a smoother curve around highlights reducing blown out, especially useful for wedding shots. This feature is available from ISO 200 on (probably the response curve in highlights is stopped down as sensitivity)
- SD / SDHC card (versus Compact Flash card), first time for Canon entry-level
- dedicated ISO button close to shoot button (that is fine!)