Canon EOS 550D Review

4.5
March 31, 2010 | Zoltan Arva-Toth |
  1. Ease
    of Use
  2. Image
    Quality
  3. Sample
    Images
  4. Product
    Images
  5. Product
    Specs
  6. Rating &
    Conclusion
  7. Main
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  8. Review
    Roundup
  9. Product
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  10. Comments
    (46)
Canon EOS 550D Review Image Canon EOS 550D Review Image

Buy a EOS 550D Black SLR Digital Camera - Body Only (18 Megapixel - SD/SDHC/SDXC Card Slot - 7.6 cm 3" Active Matrix TFT Colour LCD)

Lowest Price: £430.00

Buy a EOS Rebel T2i Black SLR Digital Camera Body Only (18 MP, SD/SDHC/SDXC Card Slot)

Lowest Price: $419.00

Specifications

IMAGE SENSOR

Type

 22.3 x 14.9mm CMOS

Effective Pixels

 Approx. 18.0 megapixels

Total Pixels

 Approx. 18.7 megapixels

Aspect Ratio

 3:2

Low-Pass Filter

 Built-in/Fixed with Self Cleaning Sensor Unit

Sensor Cleaning

 EOS integrated cleaning system

Colour Filter Type

 Primary Colour

IMAGE PROCESSOR

Type

 DIGIC 4

LENS

Lens Mount

 EF/EF-S

Focal Length

 Equivalent to 1.6x the focal length of the lens

FOCUSING

Type

 TTL-CT-SIR AF-dedicated with a CMOS sensor

AF System/ Points

 9 AF points (f/5.6 cross type at centre, extra sensitivity at f/2.8)

AF Working Range

 EV -0.5 -18 (at 23°C & ISO100)

AF Modes

 AI Focus
One Shot
AI Servo

AF Point Selection

 Automatic selection, Manual selection

Selected AF Point Display

 Superimposed in viewfinder and indicated on LCD monitor

Predictive AF

 Yes, up to 10m ¹

AF Lock

 Locked when shutter button is pressed half way in One Shot AF mode.

AF Assist Beam

 Intermittent firing of built-in flash or emitted by optional dedicated Speedlite

Manual Focus

 Selected on lens

EXPOSURE CONTROL

Metering Modes

 TTL full aperture metering with 63-zone SPC
(1) Evaluative metering (linked to all AF points)
(2) Partial metering at center (approx. 9% of viewfinder)
(3) Spot metering (approx. 4% of viewfinder at center)
(4) Center weighted average metering

Metering Range

 EV 1-20 (at 23°C with 50mm f/1.4 lens ISO100)

AE Lock

 Auto: In 1-shot AF mode with evaluative metering exposure is locked when focus is achieved.
Manual: By AE lock button in creative zone modes.

Exposure Compensation

 +/-5 EV in 1/3 or 1/2 stop increments (can be combined with AEB).

AEB

 3 shots +/- 2 EV, 1/2 or 1/3-stop increments

ISO Sensitivity*

 AUTO(100-6400), 100-6400 Expandable to H (approx 12800) in 1-stop increments

SHUTTER

Type

 Electronically-controlled focal-plane shutter

Speed

 30-1/4000 sec (1/2 or 1/3 stop increments), Bulb (Total shutter speed range. Available range varies by shooting mode)

WHITE BALANCE

Type

 Auto white balance with the imaging sensor

Settings

 AWB, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten, White
Fluorescent light, Flash, Custom.
White balance compensation:
1. Blue/Amber +/-9
2. Magenta/ Green +/-9.

Custom White Balance

 Yes, 1 setting can be registered

WB Bracketing

 +/-3 levels in single level increments
3 bracketed images per shutter release.
Selectable Blue/Amber bias or Magenta/ Green bias.

VIEWFINDER

Type

 Pentamirror

Coverage (Vertical/Horizontal)

 Approx. 95%

Magnification

 Approx. 0.87x

Eyepoint

 Approx. 19mm (from eyepiece lens centre)

Dioptre Correction

 -3 to +1 (1/m) (dioptre)

Focusing Screen

 Fixed

Mirror

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

Viewfinder Information

 AF information: AF points, focus confirmation light
Exposure information: Shutter speed, aperture value, ISO speed (always displayed), AE lock, exposure level/compensation, spot metering circle, exposure warning, AEB
Flash information: Flash ready, high-speed sync, FE lock, flash exposure compensation, red-eye reduction light
Image information: White balance correction, SD card information, monochrome shooting, maximum burst (1 digit display), Highlight tone priority (D+)

Depth of Field Preview

 Yes, with Depth of Field preview button.

Eyepiece Shutter

 On strap

LCD MONITOR

Type

 7.7cm (3.0") 3:2 Clear View TFT, approx. 1040K dots

Coverage

 Approx. 100%

Viewing Angle (Horizontally/Vertically)

 Approx 160°

Coating

 Dual Anti-reflection, anti smudge

Brightness Adjustment

 Adjustable to one of seven levels

Display Options

 (1) Quick Control Screen
(2) Camera settings

FLASH

Built-in Flash GN (ISO 100, meters)

 13

Built-in Flash Coverage

 up to 17mm focal length (35mm equivalent: 27mm)

Built-in Flash Recycle Time

 Approx. 3 seconds

Modes

 Auto, Manual Flash On/off

Red-Eye Reduction

 Yes - with red eye reduction lamp

X-Sync

 1/200sec

Flash Exposure Compensation

 +/- 2EV in 1/2 or 1/3 increments

Flash Exposure Bracketing

 Yes, with compatible External Flash

Flash Exposure Lock

 Yes

Second Curtain Synchronisation

 Yes

HotShoe/ PC Terminal

 Yes/ -

External Flash Compatibility

 E-TTL II with EX series Speedlites, wireless multi-flash support

External Flash Control

 via camera menu screen

SHOOTING

Modes

 Auto, Portrait, Landscape, Close-up, Sports, Night Portrait, No Flash, Movie, Program AE , Shutter priority AE, Aperture priority AE, Manual, A-DEP

Picture Styles

 Standard, Portrait, Landscape, Neutral, Faithful, Monochrome, User Defined (x3)

Colour Space

 sRGB and Adobe RGB

Image Processing

 Highlight Tone Priority
Auto Lighting Optimizer (Basic and Creative modes)
Long exposure noise reduction
High ISO speed noise reduction
Peripheral illumination correction

Drive Modes

 Single, Continuous, Self timer (2s, 10s+remote, 10s + continuous shots 2-10)

Continuous Shooting

 Max. Approx. 3.7fps. (speed maintained for minimum of approx 34 images (JPEG)¹, 6 images (RAW)) ²

LIVE VIEW MODE

Type

 Electronic viewfinder with image sensor

Coverage

 Approx. 100% (horizontally and vertically)

Frame Rate

 30 fps

Focusing

 Manual Focus (Magnify the image 5x or 10x at any point on screen)
Autofocus: Quick mode, Live mode

Metering

 Real-time evaluative metering with image sensor
Active metering time can be changed

Display Options

 Grid overlay, Histogram

FILE TYPE

Still Image Type

 JPEG: Fine, Normal (Exif 2.21 [Exif Print] compliant) / Design rule for Camera File system (2.0),
RAW: RAW (14bit, Canon original RAW 2nd edition),
Digital Print Order Format [DPOF] Version 1.1 compliant

RAW+JPEG Simultaneous Recording

 Yes (RAW + Large JPEG only)

Image Size

 JPEG: (L) 5184x3456 (M) 3456x2304, (S) 2592x1728
RAW: (RAW) 5184x3456

Movie Type

 MOV (Video: H.264, Sound: Linear PCM)

Movie Size

 1920 x 1080 (29.97, 25, 23.976 fps)
1280 x 720 (59.94, 50 fps)
640 x 480 (59.94, 50 fps)

Movie Length

 Max duration 29m 59sec, Max file size 4GB

File Numbering

 (1) Consecutive numbering
(2) Auto reset
(3) Manual reset

OTHER FEATURES

Custom Functions

 12 Custom Functions with 36 settings

Metadata Tag

 User copyright information (can be set in camera)

LCD Panel / Illumination

 Yes

Playback Zoom

 1.5x - 10x enabled in 15steps

Display Formats

 (1) Single image with information (2 levels)
(2) Single image
(3) 4 image index
(4) 9 image index
(5) Jump Display

Slide Show

 Image selection: All images, by Date, by Folder, Movies, Stills
Playback time: 1/2/3/5 seconds
Repeat: On/Off

Histogram

 Brightness: Yes
RGB: Yes

Highlight Alert

 Yes (Shooting information display only)

Image Erase/Protection

 Erase: Single image, Checkmarked images, Unprotected images
Protection: Erase protection of one image at a time

Data Verification

 Original image verification data can be appended to the image (OSK-E3 required for verification)

Menu Categories

 (1) Shooting menu (x4)
(2) Playback menu (x2)
(3) Setup menu (x3)
(4) My Menu

Menu Languages

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

Firmware Update

 Update possible by the user.

INTERFACE

Computer

 Hi-Speed USB

Other

 Video output (PAL/ NTSC) (integrated with USB terminal), HDMI mini output (HDMI-CEC compatible), External microphone (3.5mm Stereo mini jack)

DIRECT PRINT

Canon Printers

 Canon Compact Photo Printers and PIXMA Printers supporting PictBridge

PictBridge

 Yes

STORAGE

Type

 SD card, SDHC card or SDXC card

SUPPORTED OPERATING SYSTEM

PC & Macintosh

 Windows XP (SP2/SP3) / Vista inc SP1 (excl. Starter Edition) / 7 (excl. Starter Edition)
OS X v10.4-10.6

SOFTWARE
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Lowest Price: £430.00
Lowest Price: $419.00
  1. Ease of Use
  2. Image Quality
  3. Sample Images
  1. Product Images
  2. Product Specs
  3. Rating & Conclusion
  1. Main Rivals
  2. Review Roundup
  3. Product Videos
  4. Comments (46)

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hd video, hd, 3 inch LCD, 1080p, 720p, DSLR, canon, digital SLR, 18 megapixel, eos 550d, Canon EOS 550D Review, t2i, digital rebel t2i, 550d

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