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With the market for entry level DSLR expanding rapidly, Canon has come up with the new Canon Eos 1100d – an upgrade from the previous Eos 1000d, a camera that was released almost 3 years ago.
As the other entry level digital SLRs are offering new features, the Canon EOS 1100d is jam packed with exciting new features. Available at an affordable price, this camera is sure to offer an very good option to the photography enthusiasts who want to upgrade themselves to the digital SLRs without spending too much.
Specifications of Canon EOS 1100d
Canon EOS 1100d, aka Rebel T3 has some interesting features.The camera has 22.2 x 14.7 mm CMOS sensor that offers superior quality images. The sensor contains 12.2 million effective pixels to offer vivid color. The sensor offers RGB color filter array with the aspect ratio of 3:2. It also offers anti static coating, and dust reduction software that keep the dust away from the sensor. The camera can shoot pictures in rAW, RAW+JPEG, and JPEG fine. The camera has both auto focus and manual focus features with the option to manually select AF points. Apart from complete manual, it also offers aperture priority mode, shutter priority mode and various other scene modes for easy and automatic shooting.
The ISO sensitivity of the camera ranges from 100 to 6400. The exposure is changed with the 0.3 EV steps. The maximum shutter speed of the camera is 1/4000 second while the minimum shutter speed is 30s. The additional bulb mode allows the users to offer more exposure. The camera offers various White Balance options along with offering the manual settings. The camera has a built-in E-TTL II flash for low light situations. The camera offers both Pentamirror viewfinder and electronic Live View. Rebel T3 comes up with 2.7″ TFT LCD with a resolution of 230,000 pixels. it has 7 brightness levels that enable watching in different light conditions. The screen also enables wide angle viewing.
Performance of EOS 1100d
The camera perform quite well in challenging conditions. As an entry level digital SLR camera, Canon EOS 1100d lives up to the expectation and set to offer tough competition to its rivals. However, there are certain drawbacks as well.
The camera uses 9 point auto focus system that is quick and accurate. The ability to choose the AF points manually is an added advantage.
With the ISO as high as 6400, the camera is set to perform well in low light. In fact, the camera captures sharp images up to ISO 1600. Beyond this, the images start to become softer and start losing the details. However, when you consider the camera’s performance to other similar cameras, the differences at the high ISO levels are quite similar. In the RAW shooting too, the camera retains details up to a high ISO level. The Noise Reduction feature of the camera too, perform well to reduce the digital noise in the pictures.
When it comes to continuous shooting mode, Canon 1100d does not have much to impress. In the JPEG mode, it captures 3 fps until the card is full. However, if you are shooting in RAW, the camera slows down to 2 fps for the first 6 frames. After that, it slows down further start shooting at 1.2 fps.
The camera performs very well in high contrast situations. it can keep the chromatic aberrations to the bare minimum even in the most challenging conditions. The camera captures images with high resolutions and it captures the details sharply in normal conditions. The minimum shutter speed of 30s with the bulb mode for additional exposure ensures that the camera is good for the night photography as well.
The Image Stabilization of the camera works really well. It can effectively negates the effects of the shakes that the amateurs can suffer from. Sometimes, even the relatively experienced and expert photographers suffer from camera shake in certain situations, especially while holding the camera in hands in long exposures. In such situations the IS technology of Canon comes in handy.
In recent times, the entry level DSLRs are offering excellent features to capture HD videos. In comparison to these cameras, Canon EOS 1100d seems to have fallen short. The camera only allows to capture the videos at the resolution of 720p. Another major problem with the camera is the unavailability of the manual controls during the video mode.
Design of Canon EOS 1100d
The design of Canon EOS 1100d is a bit disappointment. Certainly, the camera is not the smallest among the DSLRs. Nikon or Pentax have smaller DSLRs available at a similar price range. The plastic body of the camera does not boost confidence. In fact, though built upon a stainless steel chassis, the camera looks quite cheap. In terms of grip, the camera does not have anything new to offer. In fact, the lack of the rubberized grip is a disappointment as well.
There are several buttons cluttered at the back of the camera. This can be quite confusing to people, especially to those who are using a digital SLR camera for the first time. However, the good thing about the buttons are that they are clearly marked and big. Naturally, the users can easily find out the right button and use it conveniently.
The view finder of the camera is relatively small and it only captures 95% of the actual scene. The LCD screen at the back of the camera too, is not a big one. It is only 2.7″ and the screen resolution is 230,000. Definitely, users have seen bigger screen with higher resolution at less price as well.
Verdict
Having said all these, one must acknowledge that Canon EOS 1100d is a powerful camera that deliver quality images. The camera is affordable and the nice blend of automatic and manual features and settings makes it ideal for both the experts and the novices.
It may take some time to get accustomed with the buttons and grips, but the learning curve is otherwise easy. You can easily shift to the automatic modes if you want quick and sure results. The additional feature of video recording is always a good option to have in a digital SLR camera.
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