I have been using this camera since 2019 and I love it to bits. Here’s why the Canon T3i or 600D is still worth buying in this year.
Year Introduced | 2011 | |
Megapixels | 18.0 | |
Total Pixels | 18.7 | |
Sensor Size | 22.3 x 14.9mm | |
Pixel Dimensions | 5184 x 3456 | |
Pixel Size | 4.30µm | |
Diffraction-Limited Aperture | f/6.9 | |
Sensor Stabilization | N | |
Lens Mount | EF, EF-S, TS-E, MP-E | |
FOVCF | 1.6x | |
Image Processor | DIGIC 4 | |
Autofocus | ||
Type | TTL-CT-SIR with a CMOS sensor | |
Points | 9 AF points (f/5.6 cross type at centre, extra sensitivity at f/2.8) | |
Working Range | EV -0.5 – 18 (at 23°C & ISO100) | |
Modes | One Shot AI Focus AI Servo |
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Point Selection | Automatic selection, Manual selection | |
Microadjustment | No | |
Exposure Control | ||
Metering Modes | TTL full aperture metering with 63-zone SPC (1) Evaluative metering (linked to all AF points) (2) Partial metering at center (approx. 9% of viewfinder) (3) Spot metering (approx. 4% of viewfinder at center) (4) Center weighted average metering |
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Metering Range | EV 1 – 20 (at 23°C with 50mm f/1.4 lens ISO100) | |
Exposure Comp | +/-5 EV in 1/3 or 1/2 stop increments (can be combined with AEB) | |
AEB | 3 shots +/- 2 EV, 1/2 or 1/3-stop increments | |
ISO Sensitivity | Auto (100-6400), 100-6400 Expandable to H (approx 12800) in 1-stop increments | |
Shutter Speed | 30 – 1/4000 sec (1/2 or 1/3 stop increments), Bulb (Total shutter speed range. Available range varies by shooting mode) | |
WB Settings | AWB, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten, White Fluorescent light, Flash, Custom. White balance compensation: 1. Blue/Amber +/-9 2. Magenta/Green +/-9 |
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Custom WB | Yes, 1 setting can be registered | |
Viewfinder | ||
Type | Pentamirror | |
Coverage | Approx. 95% | |
Magnification | Approx. 0.85x | |
Eyepoint | Approx. 19mm | |
Information | AF information: AF points, focus confirmation light Exposure information: Shutter speed, aperture value, ISO speed (always displayed), AE lock, exposure level/compensation, spot metering circle, exposure warning, AEB Flash information: Flash ready, high-speed sync, FE lock, flash exposure compensation, red-eye reduction light Image information: Highlight tone priority (D+), monochrome shooting, maximum burst (1 digit display), White balance correction, SD card information |
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DOF Preview | Yes, with Depth of Field preview button | |
Eyepiece Shutter | On strap | |
LCD | ||
Type | Vari angle 3.0″ (7.7cm) 3:2 Clear View TFT, approx. 1040K dots | |
Coating | Dual Anti-reflection, anti smudge | |
Brightness Adj | Adjustable to one of seven levels | |
Display Options | (1) Quick Control Screen (2) Camera settings |
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Flash | ||
Built-in GN | 13 (ISO 100, meters) | |
Built-in Coverage | Up to 17mm focal length (35mm equivalent: 27mm) | |
Built-in Recycle Time | Approx. 3 seconds | |
Modes | Auto, Manual flash, Integrated Speedlite Transmitter | |
X-Sync | 1/200sec | |
Exposure Compensation | +/- 2EV in 1/2 or 1/3 increments | |
Hot Shoe/PC Terminal | Yes / No | |
External Flash Comp | E-TTL II with EX series Speedlites, wireless multi-flash support | |
External Flash Control | Via camera menu | |
Shooting | ||
Shooting Modes | Scene Intelligent Auto, No Flash, Creative Auto, Portrait, Landscape, Close-up, Sports, Night Portrait, Movie, Program AE , Shutter priority AE, Aperture priority AE, Manual, A-DEP | |
Picture Styles | Auto, Standard, Portrait, Landscape, Neutral, Faithful, Monochrome, User Defined (x3) | |
Image Processing | Highlight Tone Priority Auto Lighting Optimizer (4 settings) Long exposure noise reduction High ISO speed noise reduction (4 settings) Auto Correction of Lens Peripheral illumination Basic+ (Shoot by ambience selection, Shoot by lighting or scene type) Creative filters (Grainy B/W, Soft focus, Toy camera, Miniature effect, Fish-eye) – during image Playback only |
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Drive Modes | Single, Continuous, Self timer (2s, 10s+remote, 10s + continuous shots 2-10) | |
Continuous Shooting | Max. Approx. 3.7fps for approx. 34 JPEG images, 6 images RAW | |
Shutter Lag | 90ms | |
Viewfinder Blackout | 130ms | |
Live View | ||
FrameRate | 30 fps | |
Focusing | Manual Focus (Magnify the image 5x or 10x at any point on screen) Autofocus: Quick mode, Live mode |
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Metering | Real-time evaluative metering with image sensor Active metering time can be changed |
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Display Options | Grid overlay, Histogram | |
File Information | ||
Still ImageType | JPEG: Fine, Normal (Exif 2.30 compliant) / Design rule for Camera File system (2.0), RAW: RAW (14bit, Canon original RAW 2nd edition), Digital Print Order Format [DPOF] Version 1.1 compliant |
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Image Size | JPEG 3:2: (L) 5184×3456, (M) 3456×2304, (S1) 2592×1728, (S2) 1920×1280, (S3) 720×480 JPEG 4:3: (L) 4608×3456, (M) 3072×2304, (S1) 2304×1728, (S2) 1696×1280, (S3) 640×480 JPEG 16:9: (L) 5184×2912, (M) 3456×1944, (S1) 2592×1456 (S2) 1920×1080, (S3) 720×408 |
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Movie Type | MOV (Video: H.264, Sound: Linear PCM) | |
Movie Size | 1920 x 1080 (29.97, 25, 23.976 fps) 1280 x 720 (59.94, 50 fps) 640 x 480 (30, 25 fps) |
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Movie Length | Max duration 29min 59sec, Max file size 4GB | |
Other Information | ||
Wireless Features | ||
GPS | ||
Custom Functions | 11 Custom Functions with 34 settings | |
LCD Panel / Illumination | No / No | |
Water & Dust Resistance | ||
Sound Memo | No | |
Interface | ||
Computer Interface | Hi-Speed USB | |
Other Interface | Video output (PAL/ NTSC) (integrated with USB terminal), HDMI mini output (HDMI-CEC compatible), External microphone (3.5mm Stereo mini jack) | |
Memory | ||
Memory Type | SD card, SDHC card or SDXC card | |
Batteries & Power | ||
Battery | Rechargeable Li-ion Battery LP-E8 | |
Battery Life | Approx. 440 (at 23°C, AE 50%, FE 50%) 400 (at 0°C, AE 50%, FE 50%) |
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Power Supply Battery Chargers | AC Adapter Kit ACK-E8, Battery charger LC-E8, LC-E8E | |
Physical Specs | ||
Body Materials | Stainless Steel and polycarbonate resin with conductive fiber | |
Shutter Durability Rating | N/A | |
Operating Environment | 0 – 40 °C, 85% or less humidity | |
Dimensions Inches | 5.2 x 3.9 x 3.1″ (133.1 x 99.5 x 79.7mm) | |
CIPA Weight | 20.1 oz (570g) | |
Accessories | ||
Viewfinder | Eyecup Ef, E-series Dioptric Adjustment Lens with Rubber Frame Ef, Eyepiece Extender EP-EX15II, Angle Finder C | |
Wireless File Transmitter | Compatible with Eye-Fi cards | |
Compatible Lenses | All EF, EF-S, TS-E and MP-E lenses | |
Battery Grip | BG-E8 Buy ► | |
Remote | Remote Switch RS-60E3, Remote Controller RC-6 | |
Other | Hand Strap E2 |
The canon 600D or T3i, release in February 2011 at a launch price of GHc 3500 ($599) has seen better days. The camera is decently built, although with plastic, this is hard plastic so it wouldn’t crack that easily. It weighs 570g/1.26lb.
For the design, we have the hotshoe mount somewhere right at the center, then ISO and DISPLAY button at the top, the mode dial and power switch all at one side for, one handed shooting. There isn’t any top screen for checking out your current settings, but I never use that feature so it doesn’t bother me, as much. It also features a fully articulating 3-inch screen which we’ll get into later in this video.
The left side has this nice textured cover which feels great in the hand. On the same side is a MIC input, an external trigger control port, A/V out and mini HDMI port.
The grip on the right is deep enough to fully sink my fingers in without any issues. And since I have smaller hands, this is ideal for me cos all my 4 fingers can relax comfortably on it. But if you have gigantic hands, then probably getting a battery grip or extension is the way to go.
The bottom is a ¼ inch mount and the battery compartment.
On that note, the camera uses Canon’s . An 1120mAh battery, rated to have about 440 shots per charge. I can’t really say this is true, cos I have 3 of these and when recording videos, I typically had to switch every 40 to 60mins or so, when recording in Full HD. For pictures, it usually lasts for about 2 to 3 hours before I have to change.
The single card slot is on the right, which I appreciate a lot. The camera also has support for SDHC cards. And with that, I’ll recommend you get at least 80 MB/s read and write speeds for the SD card. The reason for that is in another video I made a while back. More of that, in the video description
Note that this is a Digital Single Lens Reflex or DSLR for short, which means, it has a mirror within which flips out of the way when taking pictures or recording videos.
The camera features a 17.9MP APS-C sensor with a crop factor of 1.6x. which means a 24mm lens on a full frame sensor will look like a 38.4mm on this. Likewise, a 50mm on this crop sensor will look like an 80mm lens on full frame. You just multiple the focal length of the lens by 1.6.
Photos have a resolution of 3456 x 5184 px whiles video recording is maxed out at 1080p 30fps or 60fps at 720p. The 720p videos aren’t really usually. Quality drops drastically. All the village travels videos I made were shot on this camera at 720p, 60fps, so you can check that one out as well. It can shoot up to 3.7 shutter flaps/s and has a maximum shutter speed of 1/4000s.
Wondering how the video quality is, well, check this out
With a max ISO of 6400, it isn’t really the great camera for late night shots. For broad daylight pictures and videos, there are no issues. Actually, as long as you have enough light, you’re good to go. I typically never go above ISO 1600, cos it’s around those areas you start noticing noise on the images and videos. The Digic 4 image processor in this, is the same thing used in the Canon 5DMII, which is a bit too older now, but JPEG images look good enough.
Like I said, the screen is a fully articulatory, making it a lot easier to vlog with or shoot yourself whiles seeing how your framing looks without needing an external monitor. But it doesn’t come with Canon’s amazing Dual Pixel Autofocus technology so, vlogging may not be that ideal. And the screen doesn’t also support touch, so that’s a bummer.
Focusing in Live View mode is quite hectic and super slow. There isn’t any smooth experience. Whiles there is some detection, the contrast-based detection system isn’t very ideal. Here’s how the focus is in Realtime. So, for videos, I’ll recommend you just stick to manual focusing. On that note also, there’s no manual focus peeking to help you know when you nail focus. You just have to guess and believe in your eyes.
But for photos, well, you’re in luck. By using the optical viewfinder makes is a lot easier and faster to nail focus. Just put it over your eye, half press the shutter button and like that, you have you focus.
The viewfinder comes with 95% field of view, which basically means whatever you see in there, is about a slight magnification of what actually is. I had this happened to me, I align my perfect shot, only to realize, I got a bit of the unwanted borders in the shot as well.
It also has a popup flash which I wouldn’t recommend you ever use. I’ve done all the research I could on this button right here but I still do not know what it’s used for. If for some reason you do, please comment below. On the subject of the flash, there are some inexpensive ones like the Godox TT520 II, you can buy for this. More on that speedlight, in the description of the video.