Digital Home Thoughts: Canon EOS 550D: A Better Rebel?

"The Canon EOS 550D is a difficult product to categorize. Ostensibly designed to appeal to first-time DSLR buyers and enthusiasts, it offers a lot more technology, and at a higher price, than we might expect.... [T]he 'entry-level' DSLR... sector of the marketplace is pretty crowded. Canon, like all manufacturers, faces a stiff battle to make its products stand out amongst their numerous peers. ... To this end, Canon has pulled out all the stops with the EOS 550D and produced the most highly-specced Rebel we've ever seen."

The Canon EOS 550D is known as the "Rebel T2i" in the USA and Canada (and the "EOS Kiss Digital X4" in Japan!). The excellent write up that Digital Photography Review provides suggests that the "Rebel" designation may indeed be appropriate: while not inexpensive, it not only exceeds expectations for a mid range DSLR, but with an 18MP "gapless micro lens" sensor, full HD movie recording, and a metering system borrowed from the EOS 7D, it challenges higher end units in many ways. The principle caveat with the EOS 550D appears to be that the kit lens is not of high enough quality to take full advantage of the body! Still, this looks like a very attractive DSLR, and perhaps especially so for those who already have an investment in Canon EF lenses.