12:42 PM
LIA HERLIANI
It seems that I was just a short time ago reviewing the 6th model in the wildly-popular Canon "Digital Rebel" DSLR line (the T1i/500D), but now we are already experiencing the 7th - the Canon EOS Rebel T2i / 550D (Kiss X4 in Japan). With the exception of the low-end Canon EOS Rebel XS/1000D, each new Rebel model introduced has been a better camera than any Rebel models before it - and often with some features better than models lines above it. And this again is the case with the Canon EOS Rebel T2i / 550D.
With this new Rebel model iteration, some key features don't change: small size, light weight, low price and excellent image quality - especially in low light. These features are frequently desired by those wishing to step up from point and shoot models and by those looking for top-of-the-line image quality but needing to keep the carry size of their DSLR small - such as for travel.
Along with fast phase-detection autofocus, amazing image quality is one of the big drivers for the popularity of Digital SLR cameras, so let's jump right into this review with a look at the Canon EOS Rebel T2i / 550D's image quality. One of the upgrades in the T2i over its predecessor, the Canon EOS Digital Rebel T1i / 500D, is the new, up from 15.1 MP and Canon EOS 7D-matching, 18 megapixel sensor. While sharing the same photosites, the T2i implementation has 4 readout channels instead of 8 as found in the 7D. The resolution difference from the T1i is not dramatic - I'll look at it in depth below, but first, a comparison chart.
The Canon EOS Rebel T2i / 550D's very slight additional resolution over the Rebel T1i can be seen using the mouseover feature in this Canon EOS Rebel T2i vs. Rebel T1i resolution comparison using an ISO 12233 Chart.
They have identical sensor densities and the T2i shows similar resolution in a Canon EOS Rebel T2i vs. EOS 7D comparison.
Eighteen megapixels of quality image is a very strong T2i feature - I'm sure this will be a helpful marketing feature. And looking good physically always helps with marketing.
Let's review image/high ISO noise next. Following are a pair of 100% crop comparisons between the Canon EOS Rebel T2i / 550D and the Canon EOS Rebel XS / 1000D, Canon EOS Rebel XSi / 450D, Canon EOS Digital Rebel T1i / 500D, Canon EOS 7D, Canon EOS 50D and Canon EOS 5D Mark II.
Comparing apples to apples. Identical camera setup, identical targets, identical lighting, identical framing and identical processing. These manually-exposed samples were shot from a Foba Gamma Studio Camera Stand-mounted Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0 L IS USM Lens set to 100mm and f/6.3. RAW images were captured with auto white balance, no noise reduction and the "Standard" Picture Style. Sharpness was set to "1" (very low).
I use Canon's Digital Photo Pro (DPP) image processing software (free/included) for my RAW file processing. DPP is easy to use and delivers image quality as high as or higher than anything else available (though more full-featured and easier/faster/nicer to use software is available - such as Adobe Lightroom). And DPP always supports the latest Canon camera models. RAW images were converted to 16 bit TIFF files and Photoshop CS4 "Save for Web" was used to create the 70% quality JPG crops shown below.
Lighting is from a hot 4000 watts of Photoflex Starlite tungsten lights in a pair of daylight-balanced Photoflex SilverDome softboxes.
With those details out of the way, let's review the comparison images. There are many MB of files required to be downloaded to make all of the mouseovers and mouseclicks on this page function properly - please be patient while they load.
Posted in: Computers
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