The Canon EOS Rebel T2i

On Friday morning, B&H Photo in New York received a shipment of 50 Canon EOS Rebel T2i bodies. I thought, okay, that's cool, I'll post a little item about it at 6:30 Saturday (Central Time) when B&H returns from its weekly Shabbat break.

Too late. All gone.

This camera is likely to be the hottest seller in all of cameradom for the foreseeable near future. If it isn't yet, it's a matter of supply. We can debate all we want to about the advisability and desirability of putting a mega-mega 7D sensor in a Rebel body, but the combination of Canon's best APS-sized sensor and the responsive, small, well-made and not-too-expensive entry-level body—from the still-leading camera maker—seems to be hitting camera buyers smack in the pleasure center of the brain.

I've never used a Canon Rebel. In fact I haven't used any Canon in recent years except for the 5D Mark II. I really should try a Canon some time. This is the one that tempts me the most. I regret that it doesn't have a way to stabilize the kind of lenses I use, but other than that, seems like catnip.

Maybe I'll try a Sony A500 with the new 30mm Macro instead. (The A500 has body-integral stabilization, and that lens seems like my kind of thing.)

One of the essayists I follow regularly, James Surowiecki, who writes the "Financial Page" in The New Yorker, wrote this week about how consumer goods are soft in the middle but strong on either end—that is, bargain goods and luxury goods are both doing well, but mid-market products aren't. He makes his case with the iPad and automobiles, but it made me wonder how that trend might be playing in the camera market. It would seem to predict strong sales for T2i's and 1D Mark IV's, and weakening sales for the 7D (which is, you'll notice, being offered with several rebates, so maybe he's right). The key is that I don't really know what "the lower end" of the camera market really is in the mind of the market itself—$800 for a Rebel body still seems kinda mid-market to me, with "the lower end" being point-and-shoots, up to tasty morsels like the S90. But who knows? Maybe that's just the view from here.

I'll try to give you a more timely heads-up when the next batch of T2i's hits New York. My bad.

Mike

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Original contents copyright 2010 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved.

Featured Comment by Sandro Siragusa: "I wish the Rebel and Canon well, but the 2-year-old Nikon D90 sells for $25 less (Amazon prices) and bested the new Rebel in a recent head-to-head in focus acquisition speed, mirror black out time, shutter lag, kit lens quality, high ISO noise and resolution (impressive since it's 12MP and the Rebel is 18MP), ergonomics, pentaprism vs. darker pentamirror, metering, flash control, dynamic range optimization, and menu customization. So I think sales of the Canon, well-deserved as they may be, are going to those who equate newer with better and more megapixels with better, and are not looking at all the available choices."

Mike replies: ...And don't forget the DxOMark Sensor ratings, where the D90 is still the highest-rated APS-C camera. That camera really is a "hit."

Featured Comment by Zaan: "Comparing this to a two-year-old Nikon is all fine and well, until you mention that the Canon does full HD video. You can use all the nice glass that you already own or will one day and create short and long movies that a similarly priced camcorder couldn't even come close to. So whereas $25 more might cost you a (slight?) reduction in image quality, it will give your creativity an entirely new realm to explore."

Comments

[TBannor]

I have a 5DII and a Rebel XSi both with vertical grips. Which one do I grab the most? The XSi of course. It's a lot less of a load when you're just out taking casual photos. The thought of essentially the same body producing bigger than 50 megabyte 8 bit files does hit my pleasure center.

[John]

"So I think sales of the Canon, well-deserved as they may be, are going to those who equate newer with better and more megapixels with better, and are not looking at all the available choices."

I don't think that's fair. If somebody has a sizable investment in Canon glass, whether or not the D90 outperforms the new Rebel on some tests, that person would be comparing his or her current camera with this new Rebel. Switching lens mounts is still a big commitment.

[James Bullard]

I just sprung for the 7D. I was thinking of waiting for the release of the 60D but got tired of waiting. I had (still have but plan to sell) an XTi which is a decent camera but its handling leaves much to be desired. Too many buttons on the back which are too easily hit, inadvertently changing setting you don't mean to. Functions you use a lot like setting +/- exposure are inconveniently located making it more of a chore than it should be. Once you've been spoiled by the thumb wheel control on the XXD series going to the buttons on the Rebel series is a major inconvenience.

[Dennis]

Don't expect a lot from the A500. A capable camera with a decent sensor, but if you like the 7D/A700 and wish for a smaller camera, the A500/550 aren't it. They feel different. Lousy. They feel like little cameras (more so than littler cameras I've used) with controls in lousy places (so much so that it's been suggested that Sony intentionally made certain controls hard to reach so that newbies wouldn't hit them by accident).

I haven't seen or tried a 30/2.8, but I have heard it called, but someone whose opinions I respect, the best lens he's ever used on an APS-C camera.

You've already got a GF1 & 20/1.7 ... maybe try a G2 ? Or add an EP1 for IS ? Maybe later this year, once the Samsung NX10 (and maybe even the rumored NX5) is in stores, and Sony gets its EVIL stuff out there, I'll take a day trip down to NYC. My A700 is nice & all, but half the time I want to use it, I really wish I had a much smaller camera in hand.

[Greg Smith]

I had a Rebel (300D), then an XTi(400D) and now a 7D. I love everything the 7D does and the ease and compentancy it does it with, but I miss the size and ease of the Rebel line. The XSi (450D) fixed everything wrong with the XTi...mainly the easily-hit ISO button.
There have been a lot of really dynamite photos taken with Rebel bodies and L-series glass. It is a wonder-filled time to be a photographer.

[Mikko Kalavainen]

Well I don't get it.
We've had these on sale for a few weeks now, and it has generated zero interest. Zero. Not one customer has come through the door and asked for the 550D/T2i. The 5DMkII yes, the Nikons (D5000 and D90), and the Olympus PENs are leaving th store, but the 550D... Nope.
It's not like it's a bad camera, no. But something is not right.

[Mani Sitaraman]

Well I don't get it.
We've had these on sale for a few weeks now, and it has generated zero interest.

Its the name. T2i. Terminator 2 eye. Serious gear for photo warrior executioner robots.

The name screams out to the potential customers subconscious;"not for amateurs, not for amateurs!"

[D.B. Walker]

I picked up the T2I just before leaving on a trip to Holland. After 4 years of a 400D in hand it is .... a revelation.

I had been planning a 5DmrkII purchase for the trip, but after the T2i came out I had a hard time justifying the price/performance difference. And, it seems to me that the 5D will be updated sooner rather than later. (60fps, perhaps RAW video to compete with RED)

Sure, there is noise at high iso, but it's a nice random grain/noise, the 400D had heavy pattern noise. But, I can now get the shot in candle light where I had no chance before.

Yes, its a crop sensor, but with fast lenses I can get the DOF I need. Yes the IQ is bested by others, but the IQ you get is amazing for the price.

I'm happy with it ... but ... full frame is still calling me .... I will answer someday.

[Adam Maas]

A note on the Sony A500, it's essentially identical in performance to the much smaller and much cheaper Pentax K-x, except the Pentax gets a nicer finder, even better high ISO performance (Currently it's the best APS-C camera for high ISO work) and a movie mode. The K-x gives up 0.3fps and the flip-up LCD.

I tried hard to find a way to justify getting the A500 over the K-x. Didn't find one, bought the K-x.

Note also the K-x outperforms the T2i in most regards, the T2i gets better AF, a marginally better finder and a better movie mode, otherwise the K-x is comparable or superior.

The T2i is very much an exercise in ompromises, mostly involving stuffing that not quite ready 18MP sensor in (It's an improvement over the 15MP sensors of the 50D and T1i, but not over the best of the 12MP and 14MP APS-C Sony sensors).

[Tom]

Mike replies: ...And don't forget the DxOMark Sensor ratings, where the D90 is still the highest-rated APS-C camera. That camera really is a "hit."

Mike:

You might also note that the DxO scores for the Pentax K-x are nearly idenical to those for the D90 - at half the list price

[Jim Allen]

Today, the new Rebel looks down its nose at the 50D, like a brash teenager at the old folks home...

I wish for a Rebel with the sensor from the original 5D, smaller size yet still great image quality. I have a 50D and I think 18mp is too much for APS-C. I sold two Canon 40D's to help fund my 5D MKII purchase, and now my 50D sits around, lonely and forlorn, unless I need mega telephoto capability.

I often wish I had kept one of the 40D's, I think they have better sensors. The 5D MKII has spoiled me quite badly - "Hmmm, it's kinda dark...ISO 1600. Shazaam! Great photo"

I started with the 300D long ago, then worked my way along the update road, Canon's ideal customer. Finally, with my 5D MKII, image quality has taken a back seat to composition, a good lesson I should have learned years ago. They say wisdom takes time to acquire, and I hope some day to feel as though I've acquired some. My experience is that wisdom costs a lot of money, too.

I keep hoping for a camera with a full frame sensor in a Rebel sized body. I'm willing to sacrifice a few features to get it, but the image quality of a full frame sensor is difficult to let go of once you've had it for a while. I'd be happy with a 10mp APS-C sensor with the image quality of the 5D MKII. I'll bet many others would as well. How about it Canon? Less data, more quality and DR, compact, with superb high ISO capability. All the tech is already developed, why do I have to carry a brick to get good IQ...?

[Zaan]

Comparing this to a two year-old Nikon is all fine and well, until you mention that the Canon does full HD video. You can use all the nice glass that you already own or will one day and create short and long movies that a similarly priced camcorder couldn't even come close to.

So whereas $25 more might cost you a (slight?) reduction in image quality, it will give your creativity an entirely new realm to explore.

[Jay]

Gotta agree with Zaan. Video is the trump card for 550D. No doubt Nikon and Sony will soon put out something better or at least comparable but for now, 550D remains the tool of choice if you want to explore the world of creative film making. It does full HD, gives you manual controls, and has an external sound input. I do wish they had stayed with a 12MP sensor with better pixels and even better low light performance. Oh, and a swivel LCD on the next Rebel, please!

[Robert Burnham]

If we're kicking around features, let me ask a random question: just how many people actually care about taking video with a DSLR? I don't mean as a hypothetical, but as something you're actively yearning for?

Maybe I'm just a still-photo fanatic, but the whole live-view, takes-HD-video business strikes me as marketing departments pushing features that will hardly ever be used.

If I want to shoot video, I'm much more likely to by a Flip camera or whatever's best at the moment when I decide I gotta go take video.

What am I missing here?

[Tom]

Oh, I forgot to mention that not only is the K-x sensor on par with the D90, but also has in-body IS

[Lynn_B]

I use a 400D to shoot my daughter's soccer matches. I would love to shoot video as well, but I'd need to clone myself to do it with the 400D and a separate camcorder.

The 550D looks like the soccer dad's and mum's dream camera if you already own Canon glass. If the 550D allows me to shoot video and simultaneously capture peak action stills then it's a worthwhile upgrade. The higher clean ISO capability allows faster shutter speeds for sports, and the higher Mp count gives more freedom to crop.

I also own a 5D but usually prefer to carry the smaller, lighter 400D and accept the compromises. Same reason people buy M43.

The 550D will sell like hot cakes. It's a one-box solution.

[Adam Maas]

@Zaab: The D90 does Video as well, although not quite as well as the T2i. And it supports a ton of old glass and has a finder much better suited to focusing it than the T2i's.

@Robert Burnham: I didn't think I'd ever use the video on my K-x, but it turns out that it's a great feature when shooting friedns and family.

[john]

Please tell me that TOP is not going to change from talking about photographers and photographs and become yet another this camera is better than that camera site.

[Mike Johnston]

John,
TOP is not going to change from talking about photographers and photographs and become yet another this camera is better than that camera site.

Mike

[ctein]

Dear Robert Burnham,

Much like Zaan, what you're missing here is that not everyone uses the same features in a camera. Both of you seem to be assuming that you're representative of the overwhelming majority of users. A dangerous assumption.

I have a vague recollection that Mike did a readership poll a while back asking how many photographers cared about good video in an SLR, and that it was a minority, but a not-insignificant one.

pax / Ctein

[Anurag Agnihotri]

Mike,
I will buy this camera.
I have been shooting with a Panny LX3 for about two years now. Of which, last 6 months have been spent thinking about what to buy next...i pondered over everything available, fell in love with EP2, got caught in endless discussions on web-forums and despite knowing very well that a small camera is better suited to my style, i am going for a Rebel.
Reason: (all said and done) 18 megapixels

[sell photos online]

Great Blog, Dude! Admitedly I’m a digital camera nut and am constantly on the lookout for new and interesting sites and posts about interesting ways to use the cameras I have and make me a better photographer… which is what led me here. At any rate I just wanted to check in as I certainly plan on visiting again! Cheers!

[john]

Thanks Mike.

Hurrah!

[Jimmy Jay]

If you are a video person, what's thrilling is something simple -- the addition of the external microphone jack, which costs maybe $30 and yet is not available on any point-and-shoot. I do news video and stills for the Web, so the T2i would be a great all-in-one camera without the jack; but with it, I'm not limited by my ability to get the camera microphone close to the audio source. And as videographers know, good audio is what really sweetens video.