For photographers who were around during the advent of DSLRs, few cameras are as influential or recognizable as the early Canon EOS Digital Rebel models. Gordon Laing from Cameralabs has turned back the clock to look at the first Rebel DSLR in its latest retro review.

Announced in the summer of 2003, the Canon EOS Digital Rebel, also known as the EOS 300D and EOS Kiss Digital in other markets, was “Canon’s first truly affordable consumer DSLR,” Laing writes. The camera launched at $999 along with a basic zoom lens, about $1,700 in today’s dollars. That might sound pretty steep for an entry-level model these days, but at the time it was among the most affordable DSLR cameras and made digital photography more accessible. Primarily for this reason, the EOS Digital Rebel was the most important digital camera Canon ever released.

As Laing describes, the EOS Digital Rebel was far from Canon’s first DSLR. It wasn’t even the company’s first “relatively” affordable model—that honor goes to the $1,500 EOS 10D released in February 2003. While the EOS 10D was cheaper than most DSLRs, its $1,500 asking price was still exorbitant. expensive for many photographers.

“So imagine our surprise and delight when, about six months later, Canon announced the EOS 300D, a new low-cost DSLR that delivered 10D quality but in a streamlined body for a price tag of $900 or £900, or just $999 with its new kit for zooming in,” explains Laing.

For this record-breaking cost under $1,000, photographers were treated to the versatility and flexibility of an interchangeable-lens camera and the quality of a relatively large image sensor. The sensor was a 6.3 megapixel APS-C (22.7 x 15.1 mm) CMOS image sensor.

For many photographers, including Laing, the EOS Digital Rebel was their first foray into DSLR photography. And with that, their photographic journey changed forever. 6.3 megapixels has never looked so good to many.

And looking at Laing’s beautiful sample photos Cameralabs, the image quality of the EOS Digital Rebel is surprisingly good. Of course, Canon had to cut corners a bit with body design and build quality to achieve its aggressive price target, but image quality wasn’t compromised.

Couple that relatively good image sensor, which put the bridge cameras of the day to shame, with the extremely versatile EF mount, and early 21st century photographers got an exceptional photographic experience.

The Canon EOS Digital Rebel (300D) wasn’t the perfect camera in terms of features or overall quality, but for countless photographers it was the perfect camera for them.

Laing includes many more photos, details and hands-on impressions in his comprehensive review of the Canon EOS 300D Rebel Retro. More of his Retro Review videos are available on his YouTube channel, Dino Bytes by Gordon Laing.

Image authors: Gordon Laing / Cameralabs