Canon Rebel T2i Beginners Review

As you may remember, J and I purchased the new Canon Rebel T2i (550D). We really wanted a camera that included video capabilities (this narrowed the decision down to the T1i and the T2i). I also was happy with the higher megapixel on these cameras. Really our decision just came down to availability but I do believe there are some features on the T2i that made it a good buy over the T1i.

• 18 megapixles instead of the 15.1 on the T1i.
• Slightly better LCD screen
• Better high def video options
• Optional external microphone input
• 3.7 fps in continuous mode over the 3.4 on the T1i
• Compatibility with the new SDXC cards

With the camera package that I got, I also got an 8GB SD card, a camera bag, and an extra lens.

The T2i Body:

Image Source

The T2i Kit Lens (28-35mm f/3.5-5.6)

Image Source

The extra telephoto zoom lens (75-300mm f/4-5.6)

Image Source

The 8GB SD Card

Image Source

The big black camera bag

Image Source

I got all this for $899 on a Black Friday deal. Normally the camera and kit lens alone would have been $799. I figured for an extra $100 it was worth it to get the bag (normally $75), the zoom lens (normally $250), and the extra SD card.

My review so far

I really like this camera! I read through the first three chapters of the manual and a couple of online sites and I feel like I’ve gotten the hang of the beginner stuff. It really helps to just take the same picture multiple times with different settings. The playback will show you what the settings where in case you forget.

The kit lens isn’t bad. I am happy with the shots I have taken with it so far. Our house has some good light but I would like a lower aperture lens (50mm f/1.8 maybe) for portrait/low light stuff.

The telephoto lens has a good zoom on it. It is really large and heavy though. I’m not quite sure yet where I will use this lens. I am actually already thinking about selling it so I can purchase the other lens that I think I would use more frequently.

The bag is very large and heavy. It will do a great job storing about 4 lens, the manual, and the camera. I just can’t see myself actually lugging this around somewhere though. I will probably keep it as a storage bag and get a smaller bag to take with me when I leave the house.

As I spend more time learning about this camera I will be sure to keep posting. If I get comfortable enough, I may post a few tutorials so I remember what I did and maybe to help out others! Stay tuned!

Thanksgiving Weekend 2010 and Black Friday Shopping

J and I had a wonderful thanksgiving dinner with at his sister’s house.  His parents were also there along with 4 out of the 7 nieces and nephews.  It was a gorgeous day so the kids and adults were able to spend lots of time outside playing horse shoes after eating dinner.  While we were over there, J’s sister and I started talking about her dSLR camera and some of the options available now.  I mentioned that it was a purchase I had been thinking about for a while.

We made it home by 4 pm and were able to relax and eat a light dinner.  J and I discussed the camera options and did some more research on what was available.  I knew I wanted to go with Canon because that is what J’s sisters use and we could share lenses.  I was willing to go with an older model because I am new to the photography thing and am not planning on using the camera for anything more than personal purposes.  However, as I did more research that evening, I found the new Canon T series introduced High Def video to the cameras.  Adding the video camera feature was something I was very interested in.  I felt like we could really use this feature down the road when children are around.  That narrowed my choices to the T1i and the T2i.  Ideally I would have been happy with the T1i, but the T2i was on sale with a package deal for Black Friday.  The same store that had the T2i on sale, also had the PlayStation 3 with the new Move package available.  J had been waiting for a PS3 for a while now and this seemed as good as time as any to pick one up.

Still undecided, we had agreed to run to Toys R Us that evening to pick up some great deals for friends and family.  The #1 big item on our list was a $300 Little Tykes play house on sale 50%.  When we showed up at 9 pm (an hour before the store opened), there were over 400 people in line in front of us.   We were notified that the store was only going to allow 50 people in every 2 minutes (to allow them to disperse into the store) until they reached capacity of 400.  Of course, we were right over 400 so we had to wait a few extra minutes for a small group of people to exit the store before they would allow us in.  When we got inside it was a mad dash to find the play house tickets.  Luckily there were plenty left.  J got in line and I spent some time gathering the other items on our list.

We wrapped up at TRU by 11:30, went home to drop of our stuff, and then went out to meet up with some friends at a local bar.  It was great to go out and see some friends on Thanksgiving and it kept us awake before we had to be back in line for the store opening at 4 am!  We wanted to make sure we got these big ticket items so as soon as the bar closed, we went back and got in line (roughly 2:30 am).  This time we had our chairs and snacks and drinks to keep us awake!

By 4:30 am we had the camera bundle and the PS3 system in hand and were headed home for bed!  It was quite a Thanksgiving Day for us!  Here is what our couch looked like the next morning!

I am also happy because we had plenty of time later in the weekend to put up Christmas lights!