The crops are taken from the original images, saved as High Quality JPEGs in Photoshop CS2 and presented here at 100%. Each number represents 100 lines per picture height (lpph), so a figure of 20 means a resolution of 2000 lpph.

In terms of resolving power, the Canon EOS 1000D / XSi delivers 2100 lpph of horizontal and vertical resolution when equipped with the standard EF-S 18-55mm IS kit lens. This is a small increase over its predecessor which scored 2000 and 2100 lpph of horizontal and vertical resolution respectively when fitted with its kit lens. Since the sensors are identical, we can only assume the better score here is thanks to a slightly superior kit lens – or at least a better copy of it.

A score of 2100 lpph in both axes ranks the 1000D / XS similarly to other 10 Megapixel DSLRs with kit lenses. Some score fractionally more, but it’s still a fair result.

The two additional Megapixels of the EOS 450D / XSi can be measured in this environment, allowing it to score 2200 and 2225 lpph of horizontal and vertical resolution respectively, but it’s not a big difference – and as seen on our other results pages it makes little if any difference to real-life detail. So trading-up to the 450D / XSi is really about having its other features rather than the two additional Megapixels.

As for the 1000D / XS, you can achieve slightly higher resolution figures by shooting in RAW – you can see examples at the bottom of this page. Alternatively to see how it measures-up against the 450D / XSi in terms of noise, head straight over to our Canon 1000D / XS High ISO page.