Design & Performance
Like the T3, the Canon EOS T2i has a plastic body as opposed to a higher quality material like carbon fiber or magnesium alloy. If you invest your hard earned money into a camera like this, spend a little more on a good quality case and you should be okay, but don’t treat this like a professional model because it probably won’t hold up like a D series body will.
The T2i uses the same popular EF & EF-S (the S stands for ‘short back focus’) lens mounts as Canon’s other DSLR cameras, giving you access to hundreds of lens upgrade options from Canon as well as some decent aftermarket options.
T2i also uses the smaller SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards. Given the higher quality video and higher quality resolution compared to the T3, it would be wise to invest money in a quality storage media. You wouldn’t put 89 octane in a Porsche, don’t put a “Transcend” card in a Canon DSLR camera (spring for the more expensive Class 10 Sandisk Extreme card.)
The screen on the back is a 3-inch wide TFT LCD screen, featuring a much higher resolution picture than the less expensive T3. You get 1,040k dots vs 230k dots, making almost a 5x richer picture. Right on the back of the camera is a dedicated Live View/Movie shooting button.
This means you don’t have to navigate through a bunch of menus to access Live View mode, which means that switching between still images and movies is as simple as a button push.
The T2i can shoot 3.7fps, which is 20% faster than the T3. That puts it still slower than a more expensive camera, but a step closer to a high-end model. At that speed you can shoot approximately 6 RAW images (roughly 20MB per picture) or 34 full resolution JPEG images in a row. Shooting speeds peak at 1/4000 of a second. I’ve had no trouble catching a ball in the air, water balloons as they break, and other cool motion effects.
The Sensor & Processor
The T2i has the same kind of CMOS sensor, but it shoots an 18.0-megapixel picture, which is considered true high resolution. The 18.0-megapixel resolution allows you to capture around 50% more detail in your pictures when pitted against the 12.2-megapixel T3, and this is possibly one of the most compelling reasons to select the T2i over the T3 when shopping in this price range.
T2i also uses the Canon DIGIC 4 image processor. This processor uses some of the same technology as higher end professional models, but it’s not considered “full frame” compared to 35mm, as it produces a 1.6x field of view. This impacts the way your lens works slightly, but with nothing to compare it to you probably won’t notice the difference.
Another key differentiator is the video resolution. At 30FPS (okay, 29.97) you can shoot true HD with 1080p verses the 720p offered by the T3. As someone who shoots a lot of video, that combined with the higher resolution still images is what swayed me to purchase my own T2i just a few months ago. The picture quality looks stellar, when I compared it to a slightly older (not HD) 3CCD chip camcorder the T2i video quality blew it out of the water. It’s no wonder that DSLR is quickly becoming the format that many independent (and even studio) moviemakers are using to shoot with professionally (although they’re probably using a full frame camera like the 7D with a very expensive prime cinema lens).
Video LOOKS great, but one major drawback of this and most Canon DSLR cameras (which I mentioned in my T3 review and will mention in future review as well) is the Auto Gain Control (AGC). AGC muddies up your sound when there isn’t noise, to keep decibel levels about the same a really terrible humming noise pops in which is quite unwelcome. As I stated in my last review, Canon should address this with a firmware fix. There are third party firmware versions available, and some hackneyed methods for fixing the issue using an MP3 player with a 19 or 20kHz signal, but I think that this responsibility falls on the shoulders of the manufacturer, not with hacks from creative end users.
Auto Focus (AF), ISO and Metering Zones
The ISO of the T2i is rated at 100 – 6400 in 1-stop increments, but there is a way to shoot at H: 12,800. The T2i has a better ISO performance, with less noise, but even with this advantage shooting above about 1600 ISO is generally not a great idea if you can avoid it, anything over that setting will produce grain (noise) in your picture that can distort the image.
The T2i shares the same 9-point Auto Focus (AF) system as the EOS T3, utilizing an f/5.6 cross-type center point. The AF system uses a built in AF assist beam, which uses an intermittently fired laser to help the lens focus on the subject. There is also a selected AF point display built into the viewfinder to assist you as you use the Auto Focus mode. I found the AF mode to be good in all types of light from near darkness to bright sunlight. Many professionals like to manually focus their camera, but the ease and convenience of AF mean that unless I’m feeling artsy, AF does such a good job that I’ll gladly lean on the convenience of this technology.
Like the T3, the T2i features Canon’s newest Dual-layer sensor, which has a total of 63 zones. By measuring not only the amount of light, but also taking into account color and luminosity, the new sensor is more accurate with fewer exposure errors and fewer focus errors in a wide range of light. Just this week I did a photo shoot in near darkness and without a blinding strobe pre-flash I was able to get some great looking shots.
The Final Say
If you don’t have the cash for a 7D or 1Ds but you do want true high-resolution pictures and true high definition video, the Canon T2i is a good, inexpensive (relatively), alternative. This camera features many of the higher end options not offered on the less expensive T3, but still lacks some of the professional options such as more focal points, higher ISO and better building materials of the professional line (which is why you’ll find the word “prosumer” in the meta data of this article).
All in all, I think this camera is a fantastic value. As I mentioned earlier, I bought one, so what else can I really say?