Canon ups the ante with 18MP consumer category multimedia DSLR
If you lusted after the Canon EOS-7D when it was announced at the beginning of September last year, but you were brought firmly back down to earth by the £1700 guide price, today's Canon EOS-550D DALR news may rekindle your excitement. The 550D borrows much from the 7D, but at getting on for half the price.
The headline features of the 550D are:
- 18 Megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor - a near identical specification to the 7D and hopefully the same sort of performonce that belies the crowded sensor.
- DIGIC 4 processor with ISO 100-6400 (Expansion to 12800) - no compromises here for the 550D.
- Continuous shooting at 3.7fps - ah, perhaps the biggest differentiator betwneen the 550D and the more than double shot-to-shot speed advantage of the 7D.
- Full HD movie recording with manual control and selectable frame rates - full 1080HD recording at 24, 25, or 30p frame rates, plus the option of 720HD at 50 or 60p.
- 7.7cm (3.0”) 3:2 Clear View LCD with 1,040k dots - sound very similar to the 7D's screen.
- iFCL metering System with 63-zone Dual-layer Metering Sensor - first introduced with the 7D.
- Quick Control screen to change shooting settings.
- Exposure compensation +/-5 stops.
Select maximum value for Auto ISO.
- External Microphone socket - hurrah!
- Movie crop function.
- Eye-Fi connected functions compatibility - this prevents an EyeFi wifi memory card from being powered-down prematurely when the camera is switched off.
We will reserve full judgment until we get to try one, but the 550D looks like a real trump card from Canon in the high end of the consumer range. Unfortunately, Canon's policy is not to provide advanced access to new DSLRs to journals like us. This is particularly frustrating as practically everyone else helps us to do our work in a timely manner by allowing hands-on evaluation of new DSLRs, under embargo, until the press release goes live.
Pricing and Availability
The EOS 550D body only is available from 24th February 2010 priced at £799.99.00 / €899.00 RRP inc. VAT.
The EOS 550D, EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens kit is available from 24th February 2010 priced at £899.99.00 / €999.00 RRP inc. VAT.
The EOS 550D, EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens kit is available from 24th February 2010 priced at £1,099.99.00 / €1,249.00 RRP inc. VAT.
The EOS 550D, EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS & EF-S 55-250 f/4-5.6 IS double lens kit is available from 24th February 2010 priced at £1,199.99.00 / €1,349.00 RRP inc. VAT.
The BG-E8 battery grip for the EOS 550D is available from 24th February 2010 priced at £159.99.00 / €179.00 RRP inc. VAT.
The LP-E8 battery pack for the the EOS 550D is available from 24th February 2010 priced at £49.99.00 / €49.99 RRP inc. VAT.
The RC-06 remote price is TBA
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