It’s not surprising to be very confused about Canon T2i’s real identity. It positions itself as an entry-level camera, but it’s packed with features that are often found in semi-pro and pro cameras, especially those of Canon. It’s definitely cheaper than other Canon cameras in the market—you can get it starting from $700 plus from Amazon—but compared to other entry-level cameras, the Canon T2i price is hefty.
If there’s one thing for sure, though, it’s designed for every budding photographer: someone who is still learning the ropes of photography, wants a good transition from point-and-shoot to manual, and likes to get his hands on good cameras such as Canon.
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It’s Small and Light
If you have handled pro cameras, then you can instantly notice the physical difference between Canon T2i and them. The former is considerably lightweight, with its body made from lighter materials. It’s much smaller too that it fits your hands perfectly. The camera is fitted with rubber for better and more comfortable grip, especially when you’re shooting in tough terrains. Of course, it’s not the most robust, but the body is strong enough to last for a very long time.
Canon T2i’s LCD monitor measures 3 inches, which makes it bigger than its relative Rebel XS’s screen, which is only 2.5 inches. It also boasts of a very high resolution with its 1.04 million dots/VGA. With the pixels so dense, the images can never be so clearer. The aspect ratio, on the other hand, is pegged at 3:2, which is ideal for a convenient live viewing of pictures. Since the screen is an integral part of the camera, the surface is designed to repel water. It also greatly reduces reflection, which may get in the way with the exposure and quality of your photos or videos.
The buttons are also well-thought-out and strategically positioned, mainly to improve speed and efficiency. A button is dedicated to the Quick Control screen, where you can manage settings such as Flash, Exposure, and ISO. With the Live View/Movie button, meanwhile, you can seamlessly transition from still to movie mode.
If there’s one thing you hope you can find in T2i, it will be an articulating screen, which could have allowed you to take a self-portrait while getting a preview shot simultaneously. Though this feature isn’t normally found in digital cameras, some Canon models have one, such as 60D.
Surprisingly Great Image Quality
Society has taught you that anything entry level should have pretty basic components and functions. Well, not this one. It has an amazing 18MP APS-C CMOS sensor, which is comparable to that of Canon 7D. It produces simply amazing photos that may look like they’re shot by pros, as well as tonal range. It also has the ability to get rid of dust by creating high-frequency vibrations and comes with gapless microlens to trap as much as light as it can when you’re taking stills, thereby improving pixel efficiency. The sensor also works alongside the DIGIC 4 Image processor, which is best described as intuitive.
Canon T2i also does very well when you’re shooting in low light. For any photographer, getting fantastic and finely detailed shots in the darkness or minimal light is just as essential as shooting in broad daylight. This Rebel edition allows you to take comfortable photos even without Flash, thanks to its very high ISO range pegged at 100 to 6400. You can further expand the ISO up to 12800, so you can take photographs in almost any situation. The increase in no way creates a lot of noise in the photos.
The camera also assures very accurate pictures through its 63-zone dual-layer sensor. To put it in layman’s term, it means that this device measures a variety of factors that usually play a huge role to image quality, such as luminosity, color of the subject and its surrounding area, and amount of light. This metering system greatly reduces photo errors such as in exposures and focus, especially when there are changes to the amount of light. This way, the quality of the image hardly ever changes whether there’s enough sun or the sky is cloudy.
Meanwhile, this metering system works in conjunction with the 9-point AF system, which allows you to manually or automatically—but precisely—focus the camera on the subject depending on the amount of light available.
Rebel T2i is actually a very fast camera, which can shoot up to 3.7 fps (frames per second). There’s no wasted moment in here, and you can even capture still images as they are unfolding. In a short amount of time, you can come up with over 30 JPEG files as well as 6 RAW.
As an added bonus, you can play around with the other camera modes such as Sports and Night Portrait.
Buy Canon T2i With 18-55mm Lens
The Polarizing Video Feature
Like almost all types of DSLRs, Canon T2i has a video feature. In terms of video quality, that of the model is very outstanding. The videos are in full HD, which means that the colors simply pop out of your small screen. You can store up to 4GB worth of clip, and the camera can video at around 29.97 frames per second. This means you will hardly notice gaps among sequences. You can save the video clips in MOV, a format that is widely acceptable in a lot of media devices. If you want to save some space, you can shift from HD to SD with a screen resolution of 640 by 480 and a frame-per-second rate of 59.94. It possesses a built-in microphone, but it may never be enough if you want to get quality sound. The good thing is Canon T2i has a mic input jack (external microphones don’t cost a lot these days).
However, the video feature can also dishearten you. As one Canon T2i review says, you’ll have a significant issue with its auto focus, as it seems lacking in here. This simply means that shooting without a tripod can be a pain, worse if you already have shaky hands. You can actually use the auto focus for capturing still images, but it creates noise that can be picked up by the microphone.
Buy Canon T2i With 18-135mm Lens
Looking Forward to More Storage
Canon T2i is one of the very few cameras that are compatible with SDXC cards, which can dramatically increase your storage up to 2TB. Majority of the cameras nowadays can only accommodate SHDC cards in their memory slot. The camera also works well with Eye-Fi SD cards, which come with an internal antenna and WIFI transmitter so you can transfer images wirelessly. (Note, however, that Canon doesn’t offer technical support to Eye-Fi cards functions.)
What’s in the Box?
- EOS Rebel T2i/Canon 550D body
- IS Lens (EF-S 18–55mm f/3.5–5.6)
- EW-100DBIII wide strap
- AVC-DC400ST AV cable
- IFC-130U USB interface cable
- LP-E8 battery pack
- LC-E8 battery charger
- Eyecup Ef
- Booklets (Great Photography Is Easy, Do More with Macro)
- Instruction manuals
- EOS Digital Solution Disk
What Consumers Love about Canon T2i
1. It has a light body that’s comfortable to carry.
2. For an entry-level camera, it is fitted with a lot of useful and great features.
3. It provides 2 options for video quality: HD and SD.
4. IT has a 63-zone dual-layer feature and 9-point AF system.
5. You can expand the storage capacity up to 2TB in the future, courtesy of its compatibility with SDXC cards.
What They Complain About
1. There’s lack of auto focus on video mode.
2. There’s no articulating screen.
Where to Read More Canon T2i Reviews
If you want to read another Canon T2i review, you can visit Amazon.com.
