Canon offers Aussies new entry-level DSLR

According to Canon Australia, 43 percent of people intending to buy a digital camera are considering a digital SLR instead of a compact model. The new Canon EOS 1000D--successor to the EOS 400D, which the company brags "set the benchmark in entry-level digital SLRs"--promises to make the step up even easier for former point-and-shooters, with a Live View mode that lets them preview images on the camera's 2.5-inch LCD and compact SD memory-card slot for transferring pictures from a compact cam.

The 10.1-megapixel ES1000D offers basic and manual shooting modes and picture style modes, with an Auto Lighting Optimizer to help with brightness and contrast and a continuous mode capable of capturing 3 frames per second or up to 514 JPEG images in one burst. It uses Canon's DIGIC III image processor with 12-bit color and has the same EOS Integrated Cleaning System as its siblings.

Canon's lightest DSLR--its body weighs 450g (1 pound)--will go on sale Down Under in late July. No word on its price or likely migration to other countries yet.