Canon's current range of DSLRs is split into three distinct categories, aimed at beginners, enthusiasts and professionals.The range stretches as far back as September 2009, with the advent of the ground-breaking Canon EOS 7D. This camera...
Canon's current range of DSLRs is split into three distinct categories, aimed at beginners, enthusiasts and professionals.The range stretches as far back as September 2009, with the advent of the ground-breaking Canon EOS 7D. This camera still reigns supreme in the upper echelons of cameras based on APS-C (Advanced Photo System - Classic) format image sensors. Meanwhile, the fiercely contested beginners sector sees the introduction of Canon's two newest models, the Canon EOS 100D and Canon EOS 700D. Even so, old stalwarts in this category are still in production, namely the Canon EOS 1100D and Canon EOS 600D.Competing with the Canon EOS 7D in the enthusiast sector, the Canon EOS 60D continues to tempt advanced photographers who want to stick with the APS-C format; there's something to be said for doing this, especially if you have a large collection of Canon EF-S or independently manufactured 'short focus' lenses from the likes of Sigma and Tamron, which can't be used with Canon full-frame DSLRs.Older cameras, such as the Canon 1100D and Canon 600D, can offer significant savings over their newly launched counterparts - the new entry-level Canon 100D is currently almost as expensive as the nearly three-year-old enthusiast Canon 60D, for example - so it's interesting to see just how much better the latest models really are, and what they offer in extra features. However the prices of new cameras generally drop quite a bit after they've been on sale for a few months, making them more attractive.One of the biggest decisions is whether to upgrade to a full-frame camera. With their physically larger sensors, equal in size to a frame of 35mm film, you can get a tighter depth of field for blurring the background, and you can use Canon's superior L-series (luxury) lenses as they were intended, without having to take the crop factor (or focal length multiplier) of APS-C based cameras into account. The Canon EOS 5D Mk III is the class leader here, with the newer Canon EOS 6D being a more budget-conscious full-frame body. For this feature we haven't stretched to the massively expensive Canon EOS 1DX and Canon EOS 1D C, as their enormous price tags put them into a completely different league. The most expensive camera here currently sells for around £2,335/US$3,300/AU$3,300, which is less than half the price of the 1DX and less than a third of the 1D C's price. All the market prices quoted here are for a body only, and are correct at the time of publishing.Read on to choose the perfect Canon SLR for you.Canon EOS 1100D/Rebel T3 - £270/US$340/AU$370Launched in early 2011 as a successor to the 1000D, the 1100D raised the game for entry-level Canon DSLRs, ushering in video shooting, a higher resolution image sensor, a later generation Digic 4 image processor capable of producing 14-bit colour depth raw files, and a larger LCD. The 1100D even boasts iFCL (intelligent Focus Colour Luminance) metering, first introduced on the 7D.However, the camera has been on sale for a long time, and the features and specifications that made the 1100D look so impressive for a beginner's DSLR back then now seem rather pedestrian. Sure, you get video shooting, but it's only 720p, whereas all other current Canon DSLRs deliver Full HD 1080p video. Similarly, with all the other EOS DSLRs offering at least 18MP image sensors, its 12.2MP sensor is lacking in resolution. And while the LCD is bigger than that on the 1000D, it's only a 2.7-inch screen with a low resolution.Another improvement over the 1000D is that, as on the 100D and 600D, there's a nine-point autofocus system, with one cross-type point at the centre - this resolves detail in both the horizontal and vertical planes, enabling greater accuracy, especially with targets that are tricky to lock on to. However, the centre AF points on the 100D and 600D enable greater sensitivity when used with lenses that have an aperture of f/2.8 or wider, whereas the 1100D is limited to f/5.6; in practical terms, it strugg
