Canon EOS Rebel XTi (400D)

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Small for large hands, too light with big lenses

I got the body to serve as a lightweight carry-along tool when backpacking, cycling etc, when I don't want the extra bulk of 5D (which I also own). I was surprised by the good image quality, and the weight is certainly a plus when bicycling (I usually have a Sigma 18-125mm lens attached, which is light as well), I most certainly notice the difference compared with 5D / 28-135 IS which is my preferred combo when I can afford the weight.
Body is also small, and my hands aren't... no room for all my fingers, but I can live with that, after all I wanted a small cam!
A pleasant surprise was that my 100-1400 IS lens, with Canon 1.4 TC, is able to autofocus (albeit slow - hunts and takes seconds...)! 5D won't AF at all, so I think this combo will also be useful when shooting birds and other nature stuff... and yes, I'm using the tape trick with the TC.

Way too small for my hands

I purchased the Digital Rebel XTi/400D as a replacement for the original Digital Rebel 300D. I was drawn to this camera by features and price. The self cleaning sensor, extra megapixels (10.1) and amount of shots one can take in a burst (10 RAW, 27 Jpeg at 3 per second).

I preordered mine without handling an XT first, which was foolish as they're nearly the same size. I was just too hot to trot, I suppose. Fortunately, I spent the extra money on the BG-E3 battery grip when I picked my XTi up.

Without the battery grip, my lower two fingers have nowhere to rest. With it on, it's just enough to grab on to, but it's still a bit small for my liking. I'm also not thrilled with the design of the BG-E3 and it's removable magazine as compared to the BG-E1's flip down door, but that's best saved for another review.

Build quality seems very good, it dosen't feel cheap despite being plastic.

Some folks are upset about the way the display shows the settings and is "always on". It's easy enough to press the display button to turn it off after settings have been adjusted. I also hadn't noticed this causing an ususual drain in battery power.

Overall, I'd say this is a great digital SLR for a prosumer or casual user. I'd steer photographers interested in this camera toward the 30D instead.