The Canon Rebel T2i is the newest Canon interchangeable lens camera I currently own but not the newest I've shot. Prior to 2019 I was mainly a Canon shooter and used a Canon 80D which was a much more advanced camera.
Since then I jumped ship to Nikon as my primary system so the Canon DSLRs I own are now just cameras I shoot for fun. As far as Pro/Prosumer cameras with all the bells and whistles I've become a bigger fan of how Nikon does things.
Simplicity is why I really like these cameras. The Canon Rebel series reminds me of a simpler time when I was just learning about photography, and they are absolutely great cameras to learn Photography on.
The Canon Rebel/XXXD series are lightweight, no nonsense cameras and just a lot of fun to shoot when I just want to get outside and not over-think about photography. That's a big reason I collect and still shoot with them: they are cheap but solid and can still do 95% of the things a higher end DSLR or MICL camera can do, just perhaps requiring you to slow down and enjoy shooting a little, which is not a bad thing.
This camera in particular was a Birthday present this year from a long time friend, who I thank for helping with me in my addiction to get more cameras for the collection. The T2i I own is a little beat up and a little picky but its not the only camera I have like this. A collection camera doesn't have to be in the more "perfect" shape my workhorse/reliable cameras are in afterall.
The Canon T2i came out in 2010 and was the cheapest version of this new 18mp sensor Canon had put out (550D/60D/7D mk I). This was the camera that really solidified the Rebel/XXXD camera as it sold like hotcakes getting many new photographers into the hobby.
It has an 18mp 1.6x APS-C sensor that goes up to ISO 6400 (but is only useable up to 1600 or 3200 in some cases) and has all the expected features from this line one would expect. When compared to the Rebel T1i (which I also own and will review another time) the differences are very minor; yet this would be the sensor that Canon would choose to carry the entry level DSLR camera for the next Decade where the 15mp sensor on the T1i would quickly fade into a one and done design.
Canon made so many of these 18mp APS-C sensors that they're still available on new cameras over a decade later. You can still to this day buy a new unopened camera that is more or less a re-badged Canon Rebel T2i/550D. It's known as the Canon Rebel T100 or 4000D and is often found bundled with a lens at Walmart and other budget retailers for around $300 USD. It shows how much Canon really loved the design of this camera when you can find one that's a very close match brand new 13 years later. It's one of Canon's last still produced DSLRs along with the 90D and latest 1DX.
In late 2010 Digital Camera sensors were starting to reach a plateau, as in each new model would just build on more features instead of building a brand new camera with a brand new sensor every time. I have no reason to go out and buy a Rebel T3i-T5i, T5-T6, SL1 or T100 as they are almost the exact same camera as this one.
Last week I reviewed the 6mp Canon Digital Rebel that started it all, and this week was the Rebel that carried it forward. So let's see what improved 7 years later: In short a lot has changed, and you will see some of these incremental upgrades when I review the other classic Canon Rebels I own in later reviews.
First off, let's talk startup time. The Canon Rebel T2i does have one but its a quarter to half a second as opposed to 3-4 seconds with the Original Digital Rebel. Which is HUGE. Unless I have the camera up to my eye when I turn it on I don't see the brief "Wait" that is displayed in viewfinder. The time it takes for me to raise the camera to eye level from chest or hip level it's all ready to shoot.
The second really noticeable difference off the bat is buffer and write speed. I shot my Digital Rebel on JPEG mode because it would take a good amount of time (5-10 seconds) between a string of photos if I shot it in RAW. So long as I'm not using this camera heavily in Burst Mode (something I don't use all that often) I can snap away to my hearts content on single shot in RAW and the files in the buffer are written to the card by the time I am ready to take my next photo.
Resolution is also a noticeable difference too of course, but I don't base my reviews off of how many Megapixels a camera has. I have plenty of cameras I really enjoy shooting that are 6-12 Megapixels. But for prints the 18mp becomes the start of the sweet spot for printing anything larger then 8x10.
And then of course the elephant in the room: low light performance/ ISO noise and dynamic range. Modern sensors will still blow the socks off this camera, but this sensor was still a huge improvement over anything from the late 2000's. The Canon Rebel T2i was a strong start to a new decade of Digital Photography.
I shot the T2i in a variety of conditions: Indoor with good lighting, indoor with less then ideal lighting and outdoors in bright direct sunlight. It did pretty well in all three of these conditions. Here are a few samples from what I shot during this week of weather flux in early Spring of 2023:
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