Buying a new Canon Rebel digital Slr camera just got a bit more complicated. The query now is, " Canon Rebel T3i vs T2i?"
There has been a lot of argument about either the T3i was worthy of issue because it is not much of an upgrade. Make sure you stick with this argument all the way through, because you will discover that there are some subtle changes here that may sway your buying decision.
The first and most safe bet comparison is with the basic features. The sensor and image processor are the exact same in both cameras. That means that there will be no benefit for either when it comes to image quality.
To go along with that, some of the other benchmarks for camera comparison are also identical. Iso has not changed and neither has the video capture quality. The potential to capture 3.7 still frames per second is the same, too.
The biggest dissimilarity in the hardware is the Lcd screen. With the latest Rebel, you have a swivel panel that can be positioned so that you can take photos from awkward positions, either above or below where you would not be able to position a Canon Rebel T2i and still be able to see the Lcd screen.
So a vari-angle Lcd screen is a big benefit for the Canon Rebel T3i.
A second benefit for the new model is the potential to fire manifold flashes remotely when taking a photo. This sounds more like a pro feature, but it is certainly something that is not available on the T2i.
Third on the list of added features is in the video category. You can now use the "movie digital zoom" to zoom in to the town of the image by a factor of 3x to 10x without any degradation of the video quality. Plus there is now total by hand control of focus while shooting.
But most buyers of the Canon Rebels are not going to be buying manifold flash units, so that feature benefit is roughly a mute point.
The real benefit of the Canon Rebel T3i vs T2i comes in some of the creative features available now on the new model.
First, there is a new video component that allows you to take short video clips and have them stitched together inside the camera. You take 2, 4, or 8 second clips, as many as you want, and the camera does the rest.
Another creative feature is something called Basic+. When you set your camera in this Basic+ mode, there are two choices for your creative output. The first is choosing an milieu setting and the second is shooting by lighting or scene type.
With the milieu setting, you set a kind of mood for your photo as the camera adjusts the sharpness, contrast, color and saturation for effect.
With lighting or scene type, the camera employs some Creative Filters for 5 separate effects. These are Fish-eye, Miniature, Soft focus, Grainy Black and White, and Toy Camera.
Finally, maybe the most useful feature for those new to digital Slr cameras, there is now a feature Guide that appears in the Lcd panel. This guide gives a short narrative of the excellent mode or feature so that you don't have to go hunting for the by hand or do an Internet hunt to find out what the feature is.