EOS 450D first impressions

After eagerly anticipating the release of Canon's new 'entry level plus' DSLR, I finally got my hands on one this afternoon, and I was decidedly underwhelmed. It was the briefest of hands-on, and it's possible that with more time I'll really grow to love it, but the first impression was that Canon still haven't managed to build a starter DSLR that feels good in the hands. I can't help comparing it with the Nikon D40 that I've been using for the last month (and the new D60), which manages to be affordable and still feel substantial. I prefer Canon's control layout, and the newly-added ISO button and superb display are very welcome, but as a long time user of metal-bodied compacts (my lovely Ixus 700 is still going strong) and of bricks like the T90, I really can't get excited about paying over £600 for something that feels so flimsy (I'm sure it's perfectly sturdy in reality, but perception is everything here). I'm much more likely to step up to the EOS 40D. Maybe that's the intention, but I think it's a misstep on Canon's part that will hand a chunk of the first-time market to Nikon, and quite possibly Sony.

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