CANON 700D REVIEW

Introduction

The Canon EOS 700D (called the Digital Rebel T5i in North America) is a new DSLR camera that sits above the 600D / T3i at the top of Canon’s entry-level EOS line-up. The Canon EOS 700D / Rebel T5i is an extremely modest upgrade of the EOS 650D / Rebel T4i, with the only real changes being the new EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM kit lens which keeps noise to a minimum whilst focusing (useful for video), a 360° rotating shooting mode dial, a more durable finish, and the ability to preview the effect of the “Creative Filters” in real time when working in Live View mode. In all other regards this new model is identical to the EOS 650D / Rebel T4i. The 18 megapixel 700D / T5i offers a dual AF system which ensures sharp stills as well as continuous autofocus tracking when shooting movies, a 1,040,000-dot vari-angle LCD screen complete with touch-screen operation, a 63-zone metering sensor, standard ISO settings of 100-12800 (expandable to 25600), and 5fps continuous shooting. The 700D’s video mode offers 1080p Full HD recording at 24/25/30fps and 720p HD capture at either 50 or 60fps, with full manual control over exposure and gain. The Canon EOS 700D / T5i is priced at Rs. 21,999 for the body only, Rs. 24,999 with the new EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens, and Rs.30,999 with the EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens (US only).

Ease of Use

Outwardly the Canon EOS 700D / Rebel T5i is virtually identical to its predecessor, the 650D / T4i. It is a fairly small camera with a largely plastic shell and a pretty narrow, mildly uncomfortable hand-grip. The emphasis is on the word "mildly", though - in actual use, the size and shape of the grip proved not to be too much of an annoyance. In terms of build quality, the Canon EOS 700D / T5i certainly feels solid enough for a consumer-grade DSLR, although not in the same league as the semi-professional EOS 60D and 7D models. Like all of Canon's APS-C digital SLR cameras, the EOS 700D / T5i is compatible with the manufacturer's entire line-up of lenses, including both EF and EF-S glass. When changing lenses, EF lenses need to be aligned with the red dot on the lens mount, whereas EF-S lenses must be aligned with the white mark.
Most of the controls are in the same place as on the 650D, with the changes being mostly cosmetic in nature. The Shooting Mode dial now rotates through 360°, there are less options available on the dial, and the camera body has a subtly different finish that Canon claims is more durable than the 650Ds. All of the buttons are clearly labelled but, being flush to the body, can be a little hard to press at times.
The 1,040,000-dot resolution of the rear LCD panel is identical in resolution to the older 650D's display. The screen has an aspect ratio of 3:2 - i.e. identical to that of the sensor - so the photos fill the screen completely, with no black stripes along the top and bottom. The 700D is the fourth EOS DSLR to feature an articulated screen. It's taken quite some time for Canon to realise that the full potential of Live View and video shooting can only be exploited if it's delivered on a hinged screen, but it makes perfect sense on the consumer-oriented 700D. In terms of flexibility, Canon's left-hinged, free-angle monitor is on a par with those offered by Olympus and Panasonic, and significantly more flexible with those found on Sony and Nikon DSLRs. The high-res, free-angle LCD screen is much more than just a novelty - it's a lot more versatile than the usual combination of optical viewfinder and fixed LCD, providing new angles of view and enhancing your overall creativity. Above all, it's a fun way of composing your images.

The 700D is the second EOS camera to feature a touch-screen. It supports a variety of multi-touch gestures, such as pinching and swiping, for choosing shooting modes, changing settings, tracking faces, selecting auto-focus points, and focusing and taking a picture in Live View mode. In playback you can swipe to move from image to image and pinch to zoom in and out, just like on an iPad or other tablet device. The ability to focus and take the shot with a single press of your finger on the screen makes it quick and easy to capture the moment, although holding the camera out in front of you and waiting for the sluggish Live View AF system does slow things down a little.
We tested the EOS 700D with the new EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens, which offers a standard focal range for a kit lens and crucially includes image stabilisation. This is important for Canon, as competitors like Sony, Olympus and Pentax all offer image stabilisation in their DSLRs. The difference between Canon (and Nikon) and the others is that Sony, Olympus and Pentax have opted for stabilisation via the camera body, rather than the lens, which therefore works with their entire range of lenses. Canon's system is obviously limited by which lenses you choose, but it does offer the slight advantage of showing the stabilising effect through the viewfinder. Canon and Nikon also claim that a lens-based anti-shake system is inherently better too, but the jury's out on that one.
The EOS 700D's top-mounted shooting mode dial has a multitude of letters and icons. The so-called Creative Zone features Programmed Auto (P), Shutter Priority (Tv), Aperture Priority (Av), and Manual (M) modes - the unique DEP mode from the 600D has been dropped. The fully-automatic Scene Intelligent Auto mode analyses the scene in front of you and automatically picking the best settings, much like the systems used by lot of digital compacts. Also reflecting its more consumer-friendly nature, the 700D offers a number of creative filters, as previously seen on Canon's range of compact cameras, which you can preview in real-time before taking the picture. Soft Focus dramatizes an image and smooths over any shiny reflections, Grainy Black and White creates that timeless look, Toy Camera adds vignetting and color shift, and Miniature Effect makes a scene appear like a small-scale model, simulating the look from a tilt-shift lens. All of these filters can be applied to both JPEG and RAW files either before or after taking the picture