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Canon Digital Rebel T2i (EOS 550D) Review

Type

Digital, single-lens reflex, AF/AE camera

Recording Media

SD memory card, SDHC memory card, SDXC Memory Card

Image Sensor Size

22.3mm x 14.9mm (APS-C size)

Compatible Lenses

Canon EF lenses including EF-S lenses (35mm-equivalent focal length is approx. 1.6x the lens focal length)

Lens Mount

Canon EF mount

Image Sensor

Type

High-sensitivity, high-resolution, large single-plate CMOS sensor

Pixels

Effective pixels: Approx. 18.00 Megapixels

Aspect Ratio

3:2 (Horizontal: Vertical)

Color Filter System

RGB primary color filters

Low-pass Filter

Fixed position in front of the CMOS sensor

Dust Deletion feature

(1) Self-Cleaning Sensor Unit
(2) Dust Delete Data appended to the captured image
(3) Manual cleaning of sensor

Recording System

Recording Format

Design rule for Camera File System 2.0 and Exif 2.21

Image Type

Still: JPEG, RAW (14-bit, Canon original), RAW+JPEG
Video: MOV (Image data: H.264, Audio: Linear PCM)

File Size

(1) Large/Fine: Approx. 6.4MB (5184 x 3456 pixels)
(2) Large/Normal: Approx. 3.2MB (5184 x 3456 pixels)
(3) Medium/Fine: Approx. 3.4MB (3456 x 2304 pixels)
(4) Medium/Normal: Approx. 1.7MB (3456 x 2304 pixels)
(5) Small/Fine: Approx. 2.2MB (2592 x 1728 pixels)
(6) Small/Normal: Approx. 1.1MB (2592 x 1728 pixels)
(7) RAW: Approx. 24.5MB (5184 x 3456 pixels)
Exact file sizes depend on the subject, ISO speed, Picture Style, etc.

File Numbering

Continuous numbering, auto reset, manual reset

Color Space

sRGB, Adobe RGB selectable

Picture Style

Standard, Portrait, Landscape, Neutral, Faithful, Monochrome, User Defined 1-3

Image Processing

Type

Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten Light, White Fluorescent Light, Flash, Custom

Color Temperature Compensation

White balance correction: ±9 stops in full-stop increments
White balance bracketing: ±3 stops in full-stop increments
Blue/amber direction or magenta/green direction possible

Color Temperature Information Transmission

Provided

Viewfinder

Type

Eye-level SLR (with pentamirror)

Coverage

Vertical/Horizontal approx. 95%

Magnification

Approx. 0.87x (with 50mm lens at infinity, -1 m^-1 (dpt))

Eyepoint

Approx. 19mm (from eyepiece lens center)

Built-in Dioptric Adjustment

-3.0 to +1.0m^-1 (diopter)

Focusing Screen

Fixed, Precision Matte

Mirror

Quick-return half mirror (transmission: reflection ratio of 40:60, no mirror cut-off with EF600mm f/4L IS USM or shorter lenses)

Viewfinder Information

AF information

Autofocus

Type

TTL-CT-SIR AF-dedicated CMOS sensor

AF Points

9 AF points (center AF point is cross-type)

Focusing Modes

Auto, One-Shot AF, Predictive AI Servo AF, AI Focus AF, Manual Focusing (MF)

AF Point Selection

Automatic selection, manual selection

Selected AF Point Display

Superimposed in viewfinder and indicated on LCD monitor

AF-assist Beam

Intermittent firing of built-in flash
Effective range: Approx. 4.0m/13.1 ft. at center, approx. 3.5m/11.5 ft. at periphery. When EOS-dedicated Speedlite attached, the Speedlite's AF-assist beam is emitted instead.

Exposure Control

Metering Modes

63-zone TTL full-aperture metering

Evaluative metering (linkable to any AF point)
Partial metering (approx. 9% of viewfinder at center)
Spot metering (approx. 4% of viewfinder at center)
Center-weighted average metering

Metering Range

EV 1-20 (at 73°F/23°C with EF 50mm f/1.4 USM lens, ISO 100)

Exposure Control

(1) Program AE (shiftable)
(2) Shutter-priority AE
(3) Aperture-priority AE
(4) Depth-of-field AE (A-DEP, non-shiftable)
(5) Full Auto (Program AE, non-shiftable)
(6) Programmed Image Control modes (6 modes)
* Flash OFF, Portrait, Landscape, Close-up, Sports, Night Portrait
(7) Manual exposure (including bulb)
(8) E-TTL II autoflash program AE
*Evaluative metering, Averaged metering

ISO Speed (Recommended Exposure Index)

ISO 100~6400 (in 1-stop increments), H: 12800
Basic Zone modes: ISO 100~3200 set automatically

Exposure Compensation

Manual: ±5 stops in 1/3- or 1/2-stop increments (can be combined with AEB)

AE Lock

(1) Auto AE lock
* In the One-Shot AF mode with evaluative metering, AE lock takes effect when focus is achieved.

(2) Manual AE lock
* With AE lock button. (AE lock is updated each time you press the button. Enabled in all metering modes.

Shutter

Type

Vertical-travel, mechanical, focal-plane shutter with all speeds electronically controlled

Shutter Speeds

1/4000 sec. to 1/60 sec., X-sync at 1/200 sec. 1/4000 sec. to 30 sec., bulb (Total shutter speed range. Available range varies by shooting mode)

Shutter Release

Soft-touch electromagnetic release

Self-timer

10-sec. or 2-sec. delay or 10-sec. delay plus continuous shooting

Remote Control

Remote Switch RS-60E3
Remote Controller RC-1/RC-5/RC-6

Built-in Flash

Type

Retractable, auto pop-up flash

Flash Metering

E-TTL II autoflash

Guide Number

13/43 (ISO 100, in meters/feet)

Recycling Time

Approx. 3 sec.

Flash-ready Indicator

Flash-ready icon lights in viewfinder

Flash Coverage

Up to 17mm lens focal length (equivalent to 27mm in 135 format)

FE Lock

Provided

Flash Exposure Compensation

±2 stops in 1/3- or 1/2-stop increments
Flash exposure compensation for built-in flash and Speedlite can be set with the camera.

Drive System

Drive Modes

Single, continuous, self-timer (10 sec. or 2 sec. delay)/remote control

Continuous Shooting Speed

Max. 3.7 shots/sec. (with One-Shot AF or AI Servo AF)

Maximum Burst

JPEG (Large/Fine): Approx. 34, RAW: Approx. 6
Based on Canon's testing standards with a 2GB SD memory card, ISO 100 and Standard Picture Style
Varies depending on the subject, SD memory card brand, image-recording quality, etc.

Live View Functions

Shooting Modes

Still photo shooting and video shooting

Focusing

Autofocus (One-Shot AF): Live mode, Face Detection Live mode, Quick mode; Manual focus (5x or 10x manually)

Metering Modes

Real-time evaluative metering with image sensor

Metering Range

EV 0-20 (at 73°F/23°C with EF 50mm f/1.4 USM lens, ISO 100)

Grid Display

Provided (Two grid displays)

Exposure Simulation

Provided

Silent Shooting

Not provided

Video Shooting

File Format

MOV (image data: H.264; audio: Linear PCM (with internal mic: monaural, with external mic: stereo))

File Size

Recording Size: 1920 x 1080 (Full HD): 30p (29.97) / 24p (23.976) / 25p, 1280 x 720: 60p (59.94) / 50p, 640 x 480 (SD): 60p (59.94) / 50p), Movie Crop recording in 640 x 480

Continuous Shooting Time

Approx. 12 min. (1920 x 1080), 18 min. (1280 x 720), 24 min. (640 x 480)
Based on Canon's testing standards using a 4GB card

Focusing

Autofocus: Quick mode, Live mode, Face Detection Live mode; manual

Exposure Control

(1) Program AE for movie shooting
* For shooting modes other than manual exposure.
* Shutter speed (1/30 - 1/4000 sec., signal accumulation time), aperture, and ISO speed automatically set.
(2) Manual exposure
* For manual exposure.
* Shutter speed (signal accumulation time), aperture, and ISO speed (auto/ manual) manually set. The shutter speed (signal accumulation time) is limited to 1/4000 sec. at the maximum and to 1/30 sec. at the minimum for 24/25/30 fps or 1/60 sec. or higher for 50/60 fps.

Exposure Compensation

Up to ±3 stops in 1/3- or 1/2-stop increments
* Possible only with autoexposure.

Audio recording method

Linear PCM
(1) Internal monaural microphone
(2) External stereo microphone jack
* Recording level automatically adjusted.
* Sampling frequency: 48 KHz, Bits: 16 bit x 2 ch
* Compatible with a commercially-available external microphone with 3.5mm dia. stereo mini-jack

Video Playback

Playback, slow motion (variable speed possible), jump to first frame, previous frame, next frame, jump to last frame, cut out first or last, frame, and audio volume (6 levels, including mute).
* The audio level when the camera is connected to a TV set is adjusted with the TV set.

LCD Monitor

Type

TFT color, liquid-crystal monitor

Monitor Size

3.0 in.

Dots

Approx. 1,040,000 dots (VGA)

Coverage

Approx. 100%
Viewing angle: 160°

Brightness Adjustment

7 levels provided

Interface Languages

English, German, French, Dutch, Danish, Portuguese, Finnish, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, Spanish, Greek, Russian, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Romanian, Ukraine, Turkish, Arabic, Thai, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean and Japanese

Image Playback

Display Format

(1) Single image display
- Two types of single-image full display and two types of shooting information display.
(2) Index display
- 4-image index and 9-index image.
(3) Jump display
- 10/100 images, shooting date, movies, stills

Highlight Warning

Provided (Overexposed highlights blink)

Image Protection and Erase

Protect

Erase protect (or cancel) each image individually

Erase

Single image, selected images or all images in the SD card can be erased (except protected images)

Direct Printing

Compatible Printers

PictBridge-compatible printers

Printable Images

JPEG images compliant to Design rule for Camera File System (DPOF printing possible) and RAW images captured with the EOS Rebel T2i

Easy Print feature

Provided

DPOF: Digital Print Order Format

DPOF

Version 1.1 compatible

Direct Image Transfer

Compatible Images

JPEG and RAW images
Only JPEG images can be transferred as wallpaper on the personal computer screen

Customization

Custom Functions Customization

Total 12

My Menu Registration

Up to 6 menus, Custom functions and other top-tier options can be registered

Interface

USB Terminal

For personal computer communication and direct printing (USB 2.0 Hi-Speed)

Video Out Terminal

(1) Video OUT terminal: NTSC/PAL selectable
(2) mini-HDMI OUT terminal

Power Source

Battery

One Battery Pack LP-E8
AC power can be supplied via AC Adapter Kit ACK-E8
With Battery Grip BG-E8, AA-size batteries can be used

Number of Shots

Number of shots (approx.)

Temperature	Shooting Conditions
Temperature	AE 100%	AE 50%, FA 50%
At 73°F/23°C	550	470
At 32°F/0°C	440	400
Live View shooting at 73°F/23°C	200	170
Live View shooting at 32°F/0°C	180	150
Movie Shooting Time	1 hr. 40 min.	1 hr. 20 min.

The above figures apply with a fully-charged Battery Pack LP-E8.
The figures above are based on CIPA (Camera & Imaging Products Association) testing standards.

Battery Check

Auto

Power Saving

Provided. Power turns off after 30 sec., 1, 2, 4, 8, 15 min.

Date/Time Battery

Built-in secondary battery

Start-up Time

Approx. 0.1 sec.

Dimensions and Weight

Dimensions (WxHxD)

Approx. 5.1 x 3.8 x 3.0 in./128.8 x 97.5 x 75.3mm

Weight

Approx. 18.7 oz./530g (CIPA standard, includes battery and memory card.)

Operating Environment

Working Temperature Range

32-104°F/0-40°C

Working Humidity Range

85% or less

Note: All data are based on Canon's Standard Test Method. Subject to change without notice.

If a problem occurs with a non-Canon lens attached to the camera, consult the lens maker.

Canon, DIGIC and EOS Rebel are registered trademarks of Canon Inc. in the United States and may also be registered trademarks or trademarks in other countries. Microsoft, Windows and Windows Vista are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Mac is a trademark of Apple, Inc., registered in the United States and other countries. HDMI, the HDMI logo and High-Definition Multimedia Interface are registered trademarks or trademarks of HDMI Licensing, LLC in the United States and/or other countries. All other products and brand names are registered trademarks, trademarks or service marks of their respective owners in the United States and/or other countries.

Where to Buy

Check out Amazon.com. That's what I usually do when I'm shopping for a camera or lens and I've been very happy with their service. Their prices are usually as low as any of the reputable camera stores and they offer free shipping on most items.

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