Brunswickyr

In the swiftly turning world of DSLRs, a year and a half can only mean one thing—turnover. When those 18 months are up, Canon engineers throw up their arms and hand in whatever monster they’ve egged into evolving. In most cases, we get the same old devil in a flashy new suit, but other times, such as in the case of the 450D, we get a beast of an improvement.

On the surface, the 450D — or Rebel XSi, or Kiss X2 as it’s known in other parts of the world — doesn’t look much different from its predecessor, the 400D. A larger, 3-inch LCD screen (still at 230k pixels) gives you the feeling that the model got smaller, and makes you wish for the time when the entire back of a DSLR will be one big touch screen. Otherwise, it’s hard to spot the differences,

Its in the details that the 450D announces its newness. Live View? Spot metering? 12.2 megapixels? Yes, yes, and oh baby, yes. In answer to image stabilization (IS) being built into competing entry-level DSLRs, the 450D now has an 8-55mm kit lens with IS—a sweet compromise. Canon has already invested a lot by putting IS into its best lenses, and for good reason, too. Many photographers believe that putting IS in the lens is more effective than stuffing it in a camera body.

Upgraders, or those looking for a second body to their 400Ds, might scratch their heads when they find out about the 450D’s different- shaped, but higher-capacity Li-ton battery, and its exclusive acceptance of SD cards. These changes however, are understandably done in the name of progress, hence easy to forgive — especially when you notice that you’ve already shot 500 photos and you’re only halfway through your battery meter or when you go out to buy a 4GB SD card for a mere 1,500 bucks.

Canon has simply made the best out of its best, and the 450D is another graceful step in Canon’s winning stride.