Battery Performance

Our general method for battery testing is to reset the camera to its default settings and change the recording mode to the highest quality option (RAW). Then, we take 5 pictures without the flash and 2 pictures with the flash until the battery is dead. For more information on our battery test, please refer to our Testing Procedures page. For this test, we used the supplied rechargeable lithium-ion batteries for each camera. For the Canon 20D and 300D, this was a BP-511A 7.4V 1100 mAh. The Canon 350D uses an NB-2LH 7.4V 720 mAh. The batteries were fully drained before charging overnight for the test.

   Number of shots taken in one battery charge
Canon 20D 4,353
Canon 350D 3,818
Canon 300D 1,630

Despite having a smaller battery with a smaller capacity, the 350D performed extremely well in our battery test. We were able to take 3,818 frames with the 350D compared to 4,353 with the 20D. As the table above demonstrates, the 350D is more comparable to the 20D than it is to the 300D. We should also mention that the new BG-E3 battery grip is available for the 350D, which runs approximately $150. The grip can hold either 2 NB-2LH batteries or 6 AA's. We have heard of some people buying the BG-E3 grip in order to compensate for the smaller main grip. This is something to keep in mind if you think your hand might be uncomfortable with the main grip. The only way to find out is to actually hold a 350D in your hands to get a feel for how well the main grip will work for you. Even without the extra battery potential of the BG-E3, we are extremely impressed with the 350D's performance in our battery test. Keep in mind that the actual number of frames that you will get out of the 350D will vary based on a number of factors such as image stabilization, periods of inactivity, temperature, etc. Our battery test represents more of an ideal number of shots that you could achieve if you shot continuously until the battery was empty.

Playback Features The Timing Tests
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  • DVad3r - Tuesday, May 3, 2005 - link

    Hmm possibly, what page is the blurb on?
  • STaSh - Tuesday, May 3, 2005 - link

    That's probably the sensor that tracks if the camera is vertical or horizontal. It's used to determine how you want a vertical image to be displayed on the LCD.

    There should be a blurb in the manual about it.
  • DVad3r - Tuesday, May 3, 2005 - link

    I have a question to XT owners. I have noticed last night when holding my camera, that there seems to be something loose inside. I was just moving it up and down in my hands trying out different angles when I noticed what seems like something is moving around inside. The camera was brand new when I got it, and packed very nicely, and certainly has not been dropped or exposed to any shock at all. I was wondering if you guys have it too?
  • Rebel II - Thursday, August 25, 2005 - link

    I agree about the noise, there seems to be something loose in the camera. Mine is brand new and has not been subjected to any shock. I've been practicing using it and never noticed anything for the first six days. It is very quiet at times when I am practicing but I have never noticed a sound until the sixth night. I was using a "long exposer time" and after that I noticed a sound everytime I tilted the camera back and forth. I can even feel it as I move it. Everything seems to work the same. I can't figure out why I didn't notice it before. I was ready to return it but decided to check on the web to see what others have experienced. You are the second person to mention this so far as I have just began my search.
  • Possessed Freak - Tuesday, May 3, 2005 - link

    Hrmmm, I may actually have to try one of these out. I still use my Canon AE-1 program for all my picture taking. This DSLR really has me intrigued.
  • NFS4 - Tuesday, May 3, 2005 - link

    Stephen, I got my D70 Kit a few weeks ago from OneCall.com for $899.99 after a $100 Nikon rebate.

    Also don't forget the Nikon D50, which I hope you will be reviewing soon along with the Nikon D70S
  • Xtremist - Tuesday, May 3, 2005 - link

    Anyone want to buy the original Rebel? ;-) Man, I WANT one of these lol!
  • roibm - Tuesday, May 3, 2005 - link

    glad it's fixed... I freaked out seeing it didn't work with my default browser(opera) and then not even with firefox.
    I can confirm it works with both as well.
  • stephencaston - Tuesday, May 3, 2005 - link

    #6, the javascript problem has been fixed. It now works fine in Firefox, Opera, etc...

    #7, yes the Rebel XT shoots at 72 dpi
  • rootaxs - Tuesday, May 3, 2005 - link

    Thanks for the review, would you mind posting though if the processed photo's that come out of the XT are at 300dpi or 72dpi? (e.g. at max resolution, not resized to become a 300dpi image).

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