Both Canon bodies and the Sony A100 were fitted with their kit lenses, as these are the optics they’ll most commonly be used with. We’ve also included a result for the Nikon D200 with a prime lens though for reference, as its sensor shares the same resolution as the EOS 400D and Sony A100. We additionally tested the EOS 400D with a prime lens and have included these results in the analysis below.

With 2000 and 2100 lpph of horizontal and vertical resolution respectively, the EOS 400D / Rebel XTi delivers a measurably superior result to the EOS 350D / Rebel XT and EOS 30D when each is fitted with the EF-S 18-55mm kit lens. It is however slightly out-resolved by both the Sony Alpha A100 with its kit lens and the Nikon D200, although the latter was equipped with a prime lens.

Fit the EOS 400D / Rebel XTi with a better quality lens and you’ll unsurprisingly squeeze more from its sensor. Equipped with the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 lens at f8, the EOS 400D resolved 2100 and 2150 lpph of horizontal and vertical resolution respectively. This essentially matches the Sony Alpha A100 with its kit lens, although we look forward to retesting the Sony with better quality optics in the future.

The bottom line is the EOS 400D / Rebel XTi comfortably out-resolves the 350D / Rebel XT and 30D in this test, and when fitted with better optics, essentially matches what we’ve measured for the Sony Alpha A100 and comes very close to the Nikon D200. It’s important to also compare real-life images from the previous page though, as these reveal much closer results between 8 and 10 Megapixel cameras.

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