Over and above its integral automatic settings and P mode, the EOS 300D has an impressive range of settings. Portrait, landscape, sports, and many other programs are available with a simple click of the thumb. You may prefer giving priority to aperture or speed, or even the manual mode. An additional mode, entitled the A-DEP, will store settings for a particular shot in order to adapt the ideal depth of field to it. This guarantees perfect sharpness for all the elements in the shot. It is not all that easy to use, but it's useful.

People who are used to choosing the amount of light based on traditional "multizone, central, and spot" settings will be surprised. Canon has purely and simply abolished this choice. In fact, the manufacturer has adjusted the measure of light on the basis of the modes chosen, which are multizone for all modes except manual, "quasi-spot" for all modes for which the AE button is depressed, and central solely in the M mode. Nor is there a choice in the autofocus mode either. The camera makes the decision: steady autofocus in sports mode, simple autofocus in the Result program, intelligent autofocus (Ai) for the other modes. Here again, Canon is assuming that the EOS 300D is directed to the amateur market. So that's something you need to know.

The white balance can be adjusted manually or automatically. It offers six pre-settings adapted to current situations, including the useful "Shade," which is more accurate than "Cloudy." It is known that areas of shade have a tendency to be bluer (the same problem occurs in film cameras), but this tendency is greater in the shade than under a cloudy sky. So these two positions are not just gimmicks, they actually try and deal with given problematic situations, trying to provide an effective solution.

As regards sensitivity, the user has a range of 100 to 1600 ISO to choose from. This is an exceptionally wide range, which again increases the versatility of the camera. Our only regret is that there are no intermediate settings between 100 and 200, then 400, 800 and 1600 ISO. More intermediate, adjusted settings could have been made available.

Finally, there is the flash, which can be used in slow synchronization in the Night Results program. If the camera thinks it's necessary to light a portrait with flash, it will activate the flash. That may well be logical, since the Results program expects the user to "trust the camera." But note that Canon has thought of everything by adding a "No flash" mode, that is accessible via the menu wheel, and corresponds to an entirely automatic mode with the flash off. The camera then compensates for the lack of brightness by opening the shutter wider and closing it more slowly. That way, everyone's happy.

If you like using "fill-in" flash, you just have to hit the right button to make it work. If there is no external synchroflash socket available, you can fit an additional flashgun to the hot shoe provided. To complete our review of the flash options, be aware that no brightness compensation is available.