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Canon U.S.A. this week introduced its Digital Rebel XT Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera and its SELPHY CP600 compact photo printer. All of these new announcements are timed to coincide with the PMA 2005 show that kicks off in Orlando, Florida next week. Canon's Web site hadn't been updated with info on the new camera and printer as MacCentral posted this article.

The Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT is an 8-megapixel digital camera that is compatible with all of Canon's EF and EF-S lenses. Starting at $899 for the body-only model or $999 for a kit that includes the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom lens, the new XT has higher resolution than the original 6.3-megapixel Digital Rebel, which was introduced last year.

Canon plans to continue to offer the original Digital Rebel at a reduced price of $799 for the zoom lens kit. The new XT model will be available in both silver patina and matte-black finishes when it reaches store shelves in March.

New and Improved

The EOS Digital Rebel XT can shoot up to 14 consecutive large JPEG images at Fine quality, five RAW files, or four RAW + Large/Fine JPEGs at up to 3 frames per second--more and faster than the original Digital Rebel, which could only do bursts of four JPEG or RAW frames at 2.5 frames per second.

Users can shoot images in lossless 8.0-megapixel RAW format and a range of sizes and quality JPEG settings. And while the original Digital Rebel required users to extract JPEGs from the RAW files, the new XT model stores them both as separate files on the CompactFlash card.

New features on the EOS Digital Rebel XT include user-selectable metering and auto-focus models, flash exposure compensation control, better evaluative flash metering, and custom function control borrowed from Canon's upscale EOS 20D digital SLR model. A monochrome mode lets the camera shoot in black and white as well. Other improvements include faster startup time, faster autofocus speed, and PictBridge direct printer output support. The Digital Rebel XT is about 35 percent more energy-efficient than its predecessor, too.

Canon's new SELPHY CP600 is a compact and portable dye-sub photo printer that works off an AC current or using a supplied rechargeable battery. Weighing less than two pounds, the CP6000 can output a borderless 4x6-inch photo print in about 63 seconds, according to Canon. The USB-equipped printer sports 300 x 300 dots per inch output and faster print speed and better image processing than its predecessor.

It supports four print sizes and works with PictBridge-compatible cameras for direct output without using a computer, and can also print out images from cameraphones wirelessly using infrared (IrDA) connections. Look for it in April for $249.