Canon Rebel T2i shoots faster, has more control

Canon this morning launched a slew of camera updates headlined by the Rebel T2i. The successor to Canon's entry DSLR shoots at the same 18 megapixels as the EOS 7D and also inherits its video recording features: it now shoots at a full 30 frames per second at 1080p (versus 20 for the T1i) and has manual exposure control, autofocusing and selectable frame rates. It can shoot as high as 60 frames per second at 720p and has a unique pseudo-telephoto mode that zooms in 7X when recording standard definition video.

Expansion has been given help through an external microphone input for stereo audio as well as an HDMI output that now supports HDMI-CEC; a TV remote can now be used to steer the camera's playback when joined to a compatible TV. Storage, too, has been upgraded and now supports SDXC cards, which today carry 64GB of storage and can ramp up to 2TB in the future.

For still photos, the new sensor has the same ISO 12,800 maximum sensitivity as the T1i but has a widened regular shooting range of between ISO 100 and 6,400. Canon notes that it's using the same sensor technology as the 7D and shouldn't suffer from extra noise despite the higher resolution. Continuous shooting is also better and peaks at 3.7 frames per second, metering points have jumped from 35 points to 63, and exposure compensation now ranges to +/- 5EV.

The 3-inch LCD is also new and promises just over a megapixel as well as a wide aspect ratio that displays video without having to crop the shot.

Canon plans to ship the T2i comparatively quickly and will ship it in early March. A body-only version will cost $800, while a version with Canon's standard 18-55 f3.5-5.6 kit lens will cost $900.

By Electronista Staff