Did you know that the 400D has an improved hand grip? We are referring to the much maligned grip on the 350D which has always been the complaint of shooters with larger hands. The addition of the BG–E3 vertical battery grip somehow makes things bearable, but the standard grip used to be just a bit too small. On the Canon EOS 400D, the camera specification shows that the change has been minimal, equivalent only to 1mm. Yes, 1 millimeter.
Looking closely on the photos though, you would notice that despite the almost negligible adjustment in dimension, the grip appears larger than it was before. The rear part has been made thicker by extending the CF card cover, and the front part has a small bulge in the middle but tapers at the bottom. Our observations should be correct, as early reviewers have reported better handling with the new body, as reported on Imaging Resource as well as Tekgik’s insights. Will this help in making the camera appeal more to a larger audience? What do you think?
4 replies on “Improved grip on the 400D”
It seems likes it has been improved, but I do not think it has been improved enough to upgrade to, from a previous version of D.Rebel. If I were to upgrade, I would go up to a 30D, or 5D. This is however an ideal fist digital SLR.
Yeah Sam, the 400D is a very good started DSLR. But anyone shooting with the 350D or the 20D wouldn’t be benefitting much. It looks like a 20D to 400D upgrade is actually a downgrade, considering their similarities. Most of what the 400D has over the others are just features made for marketing, not the type that affects the quality of photos produced.
The 400D aka XTi has a 10.2MP sensor, which actually is larger than that on a 20D and 30D. More serious shooters will likely still prefer the 20 or 30D to 400D, but this camera is now in direct competition with Sony Alpha 100, and the new Nikons. Life is good, and competition is heating up. Hopefully, we as consumers will reap the benefits.
Good point Sam. After all, we all want the cheapest best thing! :)
I think Canon’s move from 8MP to 10MP was more motivated by marketing and not technology or anything else. They had a lot to lose to Sony and Nikon if they stayed at 8MP while first–time buyers bragged about their 10MP DSLRs fitted with cheap kit lenses. ;)