Canon's EOS 400D has been our favourite digital SLR since we first reviewed it in Shopper 228, and there is still nothing to beat it for all-round quality and value.
On paper there's little to distinguish it from the other digital SLRs at this price. The 10-megapixel sensor, 3x zoom kit lens and 2½in LCD screen are typical, and 2.8fps continuous shooting for
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32 shots in our test is respectable but nothing special. The nine-point auto-focus is a bonus, and there's a generous smattering of dedicated buttons for photographic controls, but just a single command dial for adjusting values. Photographic options are comprehensive, and you can use custom presets for sharpness, contrast, saturation and colour tone. However, we don't like the way Auto ISO is unavailable in program and priority modes, while flash suppress and continuous shooting aren't available in the fully automatic mode.
The 400D's trump card is its image quality, which is the joint-best with Nikon's D80. Both kept noise at bay while maintaining sharp detail at ISO 1600, and had a wider dynamic range than the other cameras. The D80 produced more pleasing automatic exposures but the 400D captured slightly sharper detail, making it hard to pick an outright winner for image quality. However, for £265 less the EOS 400D easily wins for value.
