Comments on: Canon T2i (EOS 550D): Pushing What’s Neccessary?

By: Rich Meade

Rich Meade — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 06:40:10 +0000

I’ve been shooting a Rebel professionally since the XTi’s release.

I don’t care about MP’s…15 vs 18 is negligible.

I’m going to get this camera because of the Video upgrades, not the still upgrades.

an old instructor of mine used to say…
“if you can win the race in a Pinto… why buy the Ferrari?”

By: Robert Rock

Robert Rock — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:37:09 +0000

I agree that for an entry level camera, 18MP may be overkill. The only time I’ve had an image printed at 24″x36″ was a movie poster for a friends’ Indie feature. That wasn’t a single image though. It was a multilayer composition made from several smaller images.

as for anything larger, I had a computer generated logo printed out, but that’s a different thing all together. The largest print I can personally see using is an 8X10, with the possibility of a 15×20. But for most consumers, there is no need for such high resolution.

Besides, like someone said earlier. The sensor can only resolve what the lens is capable of (paraphrased of course), and though the kit lenses aren’t bad, they are a far cry from the L-Series lenses that Canon sells.

For professional journalism and art, yes. For Mom & Pop vacations? No. Unless you get a shot of that UFO that’s been buzzing around. Then you might need the extra resolution to crop.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:37:02 +0000

If this 550D is like the 7D I suspect we’ll see that they’ll get their cake and get to eat it too when it comes to high ISO handling–more pixels, and state-of-the-art noise handling. I suspect that while theoretically lower pixel density could be a road to improved performance, the R&D is being focused on squeezing more out of high-density sensors instead. This may not be a bad approach in the big picture for chip & camera makers because they can use these advances in their smaller sensors as well–rather than focusing only on improving lower density sensors that don’t have nearly as many applications/units sold.

I think my reaction to this T2i/550D has been mostly ho-hum…another incremental improvement over the model that preceded it. Some people are going to wish they waited for some reason or other. If a K-7 Super is announced within the next couple of months I’m probably going to feel some pangs of regret too, knowing that I’m stuck with something that I’m only 90% thrilled about instead of 95%, wondering if I should have waited.

You make some good points though…I actually think 14mp (K20D/K-7) is a lot to deal with. It did make a difference in that the 2GB SD cards I’ve been so happy with on *ist DS2 (6mp) and K10D (10mp) have started to feel a little cramped…and most certainly will as I start to try video. And we continue to pay for it when downloading images and storing them on the PC. Cameras struggle to handle the additional throughput for continuous shooting as well as for increasing amounts of other onboard processing for things like distortion correction and dynamic range optimizations.

By: Peter Zack

Peter Zack — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:06:59 +0000

Andrew, of course there’s always going to be advances that overlap when a new model comes out. That will always happen to some degree. It’s up to the manufacturer to choose carefully how many upgrades they put in a lower end model that is released into the line and might impact the upper model(s).

What I’ve seen on various forums today is that I think some (probably a vocal minority) bought more camera then they really needed in a 7D and now are thinking they could have used the extra $1000 to buy other gear. Certainly any serious shooter would still take the 7D over this model for a number of reasons.

Another point not brought up in the article is Lenses. If the first time buyer is probably thinking the kit lens is just fine when most likely it does not have the sharpness to resolve what the sensor can produce. So they loose the benefit of the 18MP. There’s a new expense they didn’t consider. Buying L glass for starter camera.

But again I want to be clear, I’m not picking on Canon. They make great gear and I applaud any brand that continues to advance the category. They just happen to be the first to break the $1000 price with a DSLR over 15MP.
My 2 main points are:
1) is the first time shooter prepared for the possible expenses that may come with file sizes from a sensor this size?
2) Is a low priced , high MP body really advancing the the line in a logical way? Could that R&D been better invested in better ISO handling in a lower MP sensor or some other wanted features to the first time shooter or advanced amateur?

By: Andrew

Andrew — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:24:54 +0000

Not so different than Pentax K-x; there’s a bit of outrage when it outperforms (in one aspect) the flagship K-7 that many loyal Pentaxians had just a few months prior dropped twice as many clams on. I’m sure more than a few Nikonians raised their eyebrows at just how much D300 and D90 DNA filtered down into D5000.

What is there about this camera that would make someone sell their 7D? Or are they thinking about selling their 7D, buying a 550D and still having a little cash left in their pocket?

By: Peter Zack

Peter Zack — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:02:56 +0000

All valid points everyone. I’ve been reading the forums this morning and there’s a wild diversity of opinion. One thing seems clear though. A number of 7D owners are not pleased. They like the upgrade differences between the 2 bodies but reading between the lines, I think many wonder why the 7D is at the price it’s at. Is a higher frame rate, features and the body design worth that much more? It’s surprising how many have said they are going to sell their 7D cameras. I suspect many of those buyers got a 7D for it’s video and the body is a lot more than they really needed.

It reminds me of the lens mount switch from FD. They have really confused the market for the customer base. They can’t drop the price on the 7D much either or there would be a revolt. I hope Nikon, Sony and Pentax do not get drawn into this trap and watch the sales numbers carefully in a complete sense. IE. what will happen to the other models in the line. Will they continue decent sales figures or drop off the map because this body has everyone’s interest. It will sell well, but maybe at the expense of models like the 500 and the 7D. Both might feel like either overpriced or orphans now.

I really want to see what this can do at 3200 and 6400.

By: Aaron Seet

Aaron Seet — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:45:19 +0000

on some reviews the 500D with higher pixel density that 450D was already showing _worse_ noise. I fear the 550D is gonna “outdo” the 500D on this one, and make even more useless pictures at high ISO.

By: Somanna

Somanna — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:10:59 +0000

Well said, and all points raised really should be considered by people buying into larger MP cameras… esp. the file size and hardware space and what the end result will really be (4″x6″, interwebs, etc.)

By: Miserere

Miserere — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:09:16 +0000

I’m sure the reason for using this sensor is twofold: On the one hand they save on R&D and manufacturing costs by using the same sensor across all APS-C cameras, on the other, they can attract buyers at the low end by tempting them with a sensor also included at the upper end of their line.

Nikon will be announcing new cameras soon, and they may very well have a 15-18MP entry-level cam up their sleeve, so let’s wait on those comparisons

By: Stephen

Stephen — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:37:18 +0000

I agree on all points.

What really needs to happen is for them to go back down to 12MP and have amazing low noise performance. The average user is shooting indoors and complaining about motion blur – they are not complaining their files are too small for a 20×30.

Maybe they are just recycling an already built sensor but at the moment, Nikon appears to be doing a better job realizing pixel quality is more important then pixel quantity.