9. Digital Rebel XT

Yea, I have an eight megapixel Digital Rebel XT. It goes with me just about everywhere my 5D goes and also to places where the 5D would be too heavy. I often outfit the XT’s lightweight body with a full-on 35mm Canon zoom lens. The camera becomes a bit front-end, lens-heavy, but it’s still lighter than if I were using my 5D. I have one or two non 35mm sensor size, designed-for-small-sensor Canon lenses, which I use when I want to travel really light. The XT comes in silver and black.

Digital Rebel XTi

I have thought about a 10 megapixel XTi and its two megapixel advantage over the XT, but it’s really hard to justify. I’ve got 12 megapixels with the 5D and 8 with the XT. Maybe some day I’ll trade up. Of course by then the XTz will sport a 90 megapixel sensor. Like the XT, the XTi comes in silver and black.

1D Mark III

I have used a 1D Mark II and really appreciated its eight megapixel nearer to full size sensor (1.3x angle of view magnifier). The images I got were fantastic. The 1D Mark IIn brought a few new features, but the Mark III, due out soon, promises a 10 megapixel 1.3x angle of view sensor and very high capacity SDHC memory cards. This is Canon’s DSLR for the photographer who needs high-speed, multi-image capture.

1Ds Mark II

Until the 5D hit the streets, the earlier 1Ds and 1Ds Mark II were the dream cameras of every actual and would-be professional photographer. With its 16 megapixel sensor and built-like-a-tank construction, similar to the 1D Mark II and III, this box had DSLR enthusiasts’ mouths watering from the get-go, the $7,000 street price tag being the major barrier to buying one for most of us.