Canon EOS 450D review

Outdoing its semi-pro 10-megapixel Eos 40D as well as the Eos 400D, Canon's new mid-range Eos 450D features a higher resolution 12.2-megapixel Cmos sensor with automated dust removal, 14-bit colour capture, and a new, larger 3in LCD with Live View.

Also tempting, and tallying with our results with up to four stops compensation, is the newly developed EF-S 18-55mm image stabilised kit lens.

Viewed from the front and sides, the 450D resembles the entry-level 400D, though the improvement in viewfinder magnification, up from 0.8x to 0.87x, may be responsible for the larger looking head. Build quality is similar to the plastic-shelled 400D, it's good but not to the same standard of the magnesium-alloy case used for semi-pro 40D. The 450D shares the undersized handgrip of the entry level 400D, which even for small hands isn't comfortable, and it's troublesome when larger lenses are used.

Elsewhere, the layout of the controls is intuitive. A liberal spread of buttons provides access to most day-to-day features using the enormous looking 3in screen. Annoyingly, you can't use the forward control dial to make selections. Instead, choices have to be made from the four-way pad to the right of the screen. Like the 400D, a handy proximity sensor makes sure the screen is on and acting as a data panel when held away from the eye, but it's not as slick as it could have been.

What's more, the 450D lacks the rear command dial used by the maker's semi-pro and pro-level cameras. This makes selecting shutter speeds and aperture values trickier in manual exposure, as you have to hold down the EV compensation button to shift between the two. And, without the rear dial, you can't nudge EV compensation on the fly like you can with pricier models.

Like most DSLRs, the 450D adds Live View to the list of features. And like other makers' offerings, we feel the average buyer isn't likely to benefit greatly, at least on a day-to-day basis. While the Canon has both contrast detection AF using data from the main Cmos imaging sensor as well as the viewfinder-based phase-detection AF, it's no replacement for the quick focusing and ease of use of a compact.

There are benefits for more specialised uses though, such as high-magnification close-up and still-life work using a tripod. In the contrast-detection mode, you can focus precisely using the 10x magnification option, either using auto or manual focus from any point on the screen. It's slower in use than the Quick AF Live View mode, which requires the mirror to flip and use the usual AF system, but there's no blacking-out of the LCD screen and shutter-lag is minimal.

Looking through the viewfinder, a new 9-point AF system with an improved central cross-type sensor is better than most rival offerings at this level, though we still encountered some inaccuracies with the new kit lens. Nevertheless, the addition of a new 4% spot meter option is welcome, as is the display of the ISO in the viewfinder.

Like its rivals such as Sony's DRO function, the 450D has a new Auto Lighting Optimiser as well as a Highlight Tone priority option to reduce blown highlights and reveal shadow detail. In contrast to the Sony both these features work very subtly. However, we noticed the metering system has a tendency to overexpose slightly with overly bright scenes, making highlight recovery more difficult. While we found some speckles in the shadows at just ISO100, picture quality is still very high, and noise levels are well-controlled at high ISOs. A maximum sensitivity of just ISO1600 seems a little low by today's standard, but it's entirely useable for all but the most quality conscious.