Canon 550D (Rebel T2i, Kiss X4)

[rtphokie]

Canon annouced the EOS Rebel T2i today, suggested retail is $800 body only or $900 with a kit lens.

• 18-megapixel sensor,
• a Digic 4 processor
• full HD video (1920 x 1080 pixels) at 30fps
• 640 x 480 video at 60fps
• 18MP stills at 3.7fps

Read More http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/02/canon-hd-cameras/#ixzz0eyy5GBdh

Daddy, likey.




http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/02/canon-hd-cameras/

 

[RadioNate]

well this makes me throw my T1i plans out the window.....I can wait another 6 weeks.

 

[AbbysFamily]

Sweet looking toy... In one way, I'm envious, in another I recently payed $850 for my T1i with 2 lenses and a bag.

This will probably be the end of the "xs/xt" series rebels now... the t1i & t2i will be the current set.

Sounds like the video will be the biggest improvement over the t1i... but the 6400 iso could be good

 

[ukcatfan]

Sweet looking toy... In one way, I'm envious, in another I recently payed $850 for my T1i with 2 lenses and a bag.

This will probably be the end of the "xs/xt" series rebels now... the t1i & t2i will be the current set.

Sounds like the video will be the biggest improvement over the t1i... but the 6400 iso could be good

I thought the T1i had all the way to ISO 12800???


Actually this announcement really surprises me. Other than the extra wheel, faster FPS, and the prism I do not see much difference with the 7D. Sure, the 7D is a better build and all, but I see this cannibalizing sales of it. I think you can also write off the xxD series b/c it does not have any place left to improve without being a 7D. Those interested "might" want to wait for reviews of this one before buying b/c they might intentionally make output not as good as the 7D, especially with high ISO.

On another side note, I thought the MP race was over! What consumer level person is going to see the difference in 12MP vs. 15MP vs. 18MP? I can see the need for a pro, but I think it is only going to mean more MBs filled on the hard drive than anything else. And this is not some jealous thing b/c I don't use Canon. It seems all manufacturers will follow suit to keep up. I am glad I just bought a new camera b/c I am perfectly happy with my 12MP (I was still even happy with my 6MP).

 

[VVFF]

I thought the T1i had all the way to ISO 12800???


Actually this announcement really surprises me. Other than the extra wheel, faster FPS, and the prism I do not see much difference with the 7D. Sure, the 7D is a better build and all, but I see this cannibalizing sales of it. I think you can also write off the xxD series b/c it does not have any place left to improve without being a 7D. Those interested "might" want to wait for reviews of this one before buying b/c they might intentionally make output not as good as the 7D, especially with high ISO.

On another side note, I thought the MP race was over! What consumer level person is going to see the difference in 12MP vs. 15MP vs. 18MP? I can see the need for a pro, but I think it is only going to mean more MBs filled on the hard drive than anything else. And this is not some jealous thing b/c I don't use Canon. It seems all manufacturers will follow suit to keep up. I am glad I just bought a new camera b/c I am perfectly happy with my 12MP (I was still even happy with my 6MP).

Use one of the lower resolution modes if you don't need 18MP.

The T1i only has "native" iso to ISO 1600, the rest is accomplished by software similar to what you could do out of the camera. In addition to this, ISO 6400 and 12800 are "expanded" modes. In other words, they're not advised to be used in normal situations. ISO 6400 on the 7D is usable in good light.

 

[AbbysFamily]

The Xsi was 1600 iso max, the t1i is 3200 iso max (unless you go to the 'expanded'.

I'm not sure I'd need the extra MP either, but the 2nd gen of the 'video' features may be nice.. (the built in zoom using the sensor, the faster frame rates and the EXTERNAL Mic plug!!!)

The Mic plug was a simple miss on the T1i IMO. I wish there was a way (even via a funky plug or something) to add that onto my T1i.

 

[KramBerries]

I thought the T1i had all the way to ISO 12800???


Actually this announcement really surprises me. Other than the extra wheel, faster FPS, and the prism I do not see much difference with the 7D. Sure, the 7D is a better build and all, but I see this cannibalizing sales of it. I think you can also write off the xxD series b/c it does not have any place left to improve without being a 7D. Those interested "might" want to wait for reviews of this one before buying b/c they might intentionally make output not as good as the 7D, especially with high ISO.

On another side note, I thought the MP race was over! What consumer level person is going to see the difference in 12MP vs. 15MP vs. 18MP? I can see the need for a pro, but I think it is only going to mean more MBs filled on the hard drive than anything else. And this is not some jealous thing b/c I don't use Canon. It seems all manufacturers will follow suit to keep up. I am glad I just bought a new camera b/c I am perfectly happy with my 12MP (I was still even happy with my 6MP).

As someone interested in a 7D, I'm also curious to see what the true differences are. One major one is that the 7D has a much higher frame rate and a significantly larger buffer. It's not clear that they use the same AF either.

It is likely that Canon will release another camera soon (based on hacked information from a recent firmware update). A lot of people have been speculating that it will be the 60D. I agree that it seems hard to fit one in between the 550D and the 7D. Perhaps the unreleased one is just the heavily anticipated 1DM4S.

As for the MP race, I don't think that it is over yet. First, most non-savvy photographers use MP as their primary way of differentiating between cameras. There is also a significant practical benefit. Having the extra megapixels is great for cropping. I can use my 21mp FF as an 8mp APS-C camera with a little cropping. Reduced resolution modes allow you to have the benefits of lower resolution when you want them.

 

[VVFF]

The Xsi was 1600 iso max, the t1i is 3200 iso max (unless you go to the 'expanded'.

I'm not sure I'd need the extra MP either, but the 2nd gen of the 'video' features may be nice.. (the built in zoom using the sensor, the faster frame rates and the EXTERNAL Mic plug!!!)

The Mic plug was a simple miss on the T1i IMO. I wish there was a way (even via a funky plug or something) to add that onto my T1i.

ISO 3200 on the T1i is not a true hardware "stop". Rather it is done in software by underexposing the then digitally increasing the exposure by one stop.

 

[VVFF]

As someone interested in a 7D, I'm also curious to see what the true differences are. One major one is that the 7D has a much higher frame rate and a significantly larger buffer. It's not clear that they use the same AF either.

It is likely that Canon will release another camera soon (based on hacked information from a recent firmware update). A lot of people have been speculating that it will be the 60D. I agree that it seems hard to fit one in between the 550D and the 7D. Perhaps the unreleased one is just the heavily anticipated 1DM4S.

As for the MP race, I don't think that it is over yet. First, most non-savvy photographers use MP as their primary way of differentiating between cameras. There is also a significant practical benefit. Having the extra megapixels is great for cropping. I can use my 21mp FF as an 8mp APS-C camera with a little cropping. Reduced resolution modes allow you to have the benefits of lower resolution when you want them.

The AF from the specs is the same as the other Rebels. This puts it lower than the 50D and 7D in the AF department with one extra sensitive center point at F2.8 and that's it. The rest are "normal" points.

 

[sdshutterbug]

Overall, this camera seems to me like a huge improvement in the video over the T1i and only a minimal improvement in IQ over it. I would enjoy all these new features in my T1i, but since I'm really only interested in the still photo I don't think I'll be upgrading.

 

[Peanut Giggleface]

Interesting. I purchased the T1i a few months ago and in all I would have to say the difference in MPs and te video improvements are not enough for me to upgrade either.

 

[Iwant2BAprincess]

i upgraded in sept-I am not going anywhere for quite a while.

But I have a question-what is "expanded ISO"

 

[jfinke]

i upgraded in sept-I am not going anywhere for quite a while.

But I have a question-what is "expanded ISO"

From what I understand it is simply a software setting that bumps up the exposure 1 stop. I think you can get the exact same results by using DPP or other software tools and increasing the exposure.

 

[VVFF]

From what I understand it is simply a software setting that bumps up the exposure 1 stop. I think you can get the exact same results by using DPP or other software tools and increasing the exposure.

Not quite. While this is almost always true its not the entire "definition". Expanded ISO is also ISO settings that aren't recommended to be normally used by the manufacturer. For example, as I previously mentioned, on the 500D(T1i) the ISO 3200 setting and above is software. However, only ISO 6400 and ISO 12800 is "expanded".

 

[boBQuincy]

Sure, 18 MP is nice but even nicer would be fewer pixels the same size as a full frame sensor to get the dynamic range, color depth, and yumminess of the bigger sensor in a smaller package. Also, Canon still limits HDR with an archaic +/- 2 stop, 3 exposure bracketing system.
I was hoping Canon had learned something from the reduced pixel count G11, but maybe what they learned is that pixels are what sells.

I bet even mirror lockup doesn't get an easy selection while sending a picture directly to a printer gets it's own dedicated button! A disappointing new release overall.

 

[VVFF]

Sure, 18 MP is nice but even nicer would be fewer pixels the same size as a full frame sensor to get the dynamic range, color depth, and yumminess of the bigger sensor in a smaller package. Also, Canon still limits HDR with an archaic +/- 2 stop, 3 exposure bracketing system.
I was hoping Canon had learned something from the reduced pixel count G11, but maybe what they learned is that pixels are what sells.

I bet even mirror lockup doesn't get an easy selection while sending a picture directly to a printer gets it's own dedicated button! A disappointing new release overall.

Don't know how its a disappointing release. The camera is essentially a 7D -build quality/speed and focusing. It even has the new 7D metering system. It has one of the best movie modes around and it will probably inherit the excellent high ISO ability of the 7D which is equivalent to a D300s. Impressive if you ask me.

BTW the Range of the AEB is +/- 5 stops on this camera...still 3 exposures unfortunately though.

 

[Groucho]

This should like a very strong competitor in its segment. High ISO performance, assuming it is the same as the 7D (as I'm sure it would be), should be easily better than the one it replaces - of course, I'm still not convinced how much of that is actual sensor improvement versus how much is software-based noise reduction (plenty of DSLRs still do NR on the RAWs even with it turned all the way down...) 18mp is of course overkill but suggesting to use less than that seems awfully glib; if you have it, use it!

The 3:2 LCD sounds like a good idea - but then again, I like having the settings shown at in a black bar at the bottom, not overlaying the photo itself, on the 4:3 LCD.

It is interesting, looking at the competition sometimes. In the DPReview preview, I read:
"New for EOS is the ability to set the top limit for automatic ISO, allowing users to control the maximum amount of noise in their images."
It's shocking that they haven't had that before! I just take it for granted that all DSLRs have that since it's such an important setting (it's one of the ones that I change the most at Disney depending on the environment - I just about never "hard-code" the ISO.)

 

[VVFF]

This should like a very strong competitor in its segment. High ISO performance, assuming it is the same as the 7D (as I'm sure it would be), should be easily better than the one it replaces - of course, I'm still not convinced how much of that is actual sensor improvement versus how much is software-based noise reduction (plenty of DSLRs still do NR on the RAWs even with it turned all the way down...) 18mp is of course overkill but suggesting to use less than that seems awfully glib; if you have it, use it!

The 3:2 LCD sounds like a good idea - but then again, I like having the settings shown at in a black bar at the bottom, not overlaying the photo itself, on the 4:3 LCD.

It is interesting, looking at the competition sometimes. In the DPReview preview, I read:
"New for EOS is the ability to set the top limit for automatic ISO, allowing users to control the maximum amount of noise in their images."
It's shocking that they haven't had that before! I just take it for granted that all DSLRs have that since it's such an important setting (it's one of the ones that I change the most at Disney depending on the environment - I just about never "hard-code" the ISO.)

It's usually pretty easy to tell when manufacturer's use noise reduction in their files. Take a look at this review of the Sony A380. That sudden steep decline is NR kicking in. The other cameras all display the "typical" rise in noise as the iso increases. I suppose they could be slowly rolling in noise reduction in smaller steps than Sony, so I can't comment that far.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sonydslra380/page14.asp

I can't say I've seen much proof that Canon or Nikon or anyone else does noise reduction in their RAW files. Considering the noise reduction setting has no effect on the RAW images exported from my 50D I'm inclined to say there is little if any NR going on in RAW.

 

[ukcatfan]

18mp is of course overkill but suggesting to use less than that seems awfully glib; if you have it, use it!

You also cannot reduce the MP setting in RAW. It looks like the sRAW is not included on this one.

It is interesting, looking at the competition sometimes. In the DPReview preview, I read:
"New for EOS is the ability to set the top limit for automatic ISO, allowing users to control the maximum amount of noise in their images."
It's shocking that they haven't had that before! I just take it for granted that all DSLRs have that since it's such an important setting (it's one of the ones that I change the most at Disney depending on the environment - I just about never "hard-code" the ISO.)

Until reading the preview, I had no idea that this feature was not standard on all DSLRs. I use that all the time! I would feel very frustrated without it.

 

[scoot241]

Until reading the preview, I had no idea that this feature was not standard on all DSLRs. I use that all the time! I would feel very frustrated without it.

Nope, I can't do it on the XSi. I always have my ISO set manually.