To compare real-life performance we shot the same scene with the Canon EOS 400D / Rebel XTi and Canon EOS 350D / Rebel XT within a few moments of each other using their best quality JPEG settings. Both cameras were fitted with the EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 kit lens, set to f8 in Aperture Priority mode. The crops are taken from far left, center and far right portions of the originals and presented here at 100%.

The image left was taken with the Canon EOS 400D / Rebel XTi at 100 ISO using the EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 lens at 25mm f8 (40mm equivalent); the original JPEG measured 4.45MB.

As the crops below illustrate, there’s not a great deal of difference between 8 and 10 Megapixel images in practice. The EOS 400D / Rebel XTi’s extra pixels may allow prints to be made around one inch wider than the EOS 350D / Rebel XT at 300dpi, but in terms of actual resolvable real-life detail, the results are almost identical. To really measure any discernable difference you’ll need technical charts as seen on the next page.

This result is in line with other 10 Megapixel cameras we’ve tested; you’ll really need around 12 Megapixels to notice a significant jump from an 8 Megapixel DSLR. Check the outdoor results from our Sony Alpha A100 review to compare the similar levels of detail between it and the EOS 400D / Rebel XTi here.

NEW: To see which Canon lens makes the best-general-purpose upgrade for the 400D, see our EOS 400D / Rebel XTi lens group test.

Canon EOS 400D with EF-S 18-55mm		Canon EOS 350D with EF-S 18-55mm
1/250, f8, 100 ISO		1/250, f8, 100 ISO
1/250, f8, 100 ISO		1/250, f8, 100 ISO
1/250, f8, 100 ISO		1/250, f8, 100 ISO