On my latest trip in Thailand I started to experiment with the Canon EOS 450D (also known as the Canon EOS Rebel XSi) to see if the quality would meet my standards for my Digital Nomad projects. I need to use the photo's for printed and electronic brochures, for usage on websites, and to sell to commercial markets.

The results are good. The Canon EOS 450D gives me the quality I need.

The first thing that strikes me about the 450D is how small and light it is. The camera body is plastic, but sturdy enough to travel with and weighs approximately 475g body-only.

The small body can be a bit of a problem for anyone with large hands, but with the extra batterypack/grip it holds very good. The grip is covered in textured rubber and feels very secure and balanced, and the positioning of the controls is very intuitive especially for anyone who has owned a previous Canon DSLR.

On the top and back of the camera the layout of the buttons is very similar to the 400D, although the larger screen has meant that some have been relocated, including making room on the down-arrow of the D-pad for the Picture Style button.

Picture Style is a new feature for the 450D, providing a quick and easy menu for customising the image processing, with seven pre-set and two user-defined settings for contrast, saturation, sharpness and colour tone, with a wide degree of control for each parameter. Most DSLRs have an image control feature of this type, but Canon's is particularly well designed and very easy to use.

The 450D features a 12.2-megapixel CMOS sensor, a 3-inch monitor with Live View mode, nine-point AF system and 3.5fps continuous shooting. Naturally the Canon 450D works seamlessly with the EF-S lenses. These were developed especially for the APS-C format of the image sensor, resulting in a cheaper and more compact lens.

The kit comes with a Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS. The kit lens will not be as good as the more expensive ones but for my purpose the lens is fine right now.

The Canon EOS 450D is great DSLR, affordable and ideal for a Digital Nomad who will use it for similar projects as me, or just for making holiday pictures.

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Amazon:

Canon Digital Rebel XSi 12.2 MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens (Black)

Lenses that I have tested with the 450D are:

Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras + Accessory Kit

The Sigma wide-angle is absolute fantastic! I used this lens more than any other lens.

Canon - Lens - 50 mm - f/1.8 II - Canon EF

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4.0-5.6 IS Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras

There is also a Canon EOS 450D kit which comes with 2 lenses, including the zoom lens:

Canon Digital Rebel XSi SLR "Black" 2 Lens Kit with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Image Stabilizer Lens & EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS Image Stabilizer Lens

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