550D Review

Welcome to me review of Canon EOS 550D SLR. If you wanted to purchase the camera without reading the review, click here.

If you would rather read SLR cameras reviews first before purchasing one, then this is the right article for you. As you are undoubtedly well aware, there are LOTS of SLR cameras on the market, but one of the latest in the mid price range is the Canon EOS 550D SLR. One of the first questions we asked in looking at the 550D was what sets this camera apart from the rest of the pack? What can readers expect from this camera? Read on to find out.

For starters, let’s get possible model confusion out of the way right now – the 550D and the T2i kits are very nearly identical cameras, marketed in Europe and America, so the information here should apply equally well to both model names. It is similar to the higher-priced Canon EOS 7D, but lacks some of the bells and whistles of this professional-level camera. The Canon EOS 550D SLR is the very height of the Canon Rebel line, which is intended for entry-level photographers. Even so, user reviews indicate that the 550D is a very high quality digital SLR, suitable for limited professional use, and quite a step ahead of its predecessor, the Canon EOS 500D.

Rather than run through a huge number of features and comparisons, which you can easily find just about anywhere, we thought it would be useful to share the key features that really make a difference – for the good and the bad, to help you make a decision.

What I really liked:

Video improvements are really where the 550D shines. A lot of improvements have been made to video over the 500D.
The buttons have been reconfigured to create a stand-alone button for video. The end result here is that you can’t accidentally leave the camera in the wrong mode, and end up taking stills when you want video and vice versa.
You can now use an external stereo microphone when shooting video, which not only means you can get crisper sound on the go, but can tie into sound systems at events for crystal clear sound from anywhere in the room.
Full-on manual video focus and full HD recording. Good stuff!
A video crop feature – something that entry-level video editing software struggles to deliver reliably – is included on-board, which is immensely helpful for those without access to high-end editing software.
It has a 63 zone iFCL metering system and the same evaluative metering vcapabilities of the Canon EOS 7D, which does a much better job than the Canon EOS 500D of taking color information into account, almost completely eliminating the need for manual metering adjustments.
18 Mega Pixels is a big improvement over the 500D’s 15 Mega Pixels, resulting in shrper, more detailed images than ever.

What I didn’t like:

While the LCD screen has been improved a bit over the 500D, from 920,000 dots on the Canon EOS 500D to 1,040,000 on the Canon 550D SLR, it’s only a slight upgrade, and doesn’t do enough to aid viewing in high-light environments, like full sun. An articulated screen like that offered on some other high-end cameras would be a welcome addition.

My verdict: the Canon EOS 550D SLR is a good camera and is worth its price. It demonstrates some clear improvements over the Canon EOS 500D, and shares an impressive number of high-end features with the Canon EOS 7D. Aspiring pros can feel comfortable that this camera will grow into their careers with them, and that they won’t need to upgrade too soon. Avid amateurs interested in catching every moment of a trip, event, or opportunity, in high quality stills and excellent video will be very pleased with this camera, as well. An excellent and flexible choice for most general photography needs.

Order your 550D today at Amazon.com

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