Canon EOS Rebel SL2

Canon EOS Rebel sl2: full review

Canon EOS Rebel sl2 can be defined as “entry level advanced”, meaning a camera designed for people approaching a reflex, with almost professional ambitions, for the first time.

Canon EOS Rebel sl2 is a good quality all-rounder: it offers good quality images, next-generation connections, better video performance than the competition and an affordable price for the quality offered (around 600 euros for the camera body).

From a strictly technical point of view, this Rebel camera is not excellent but is good at everything. This might seem a flaw, but it’s not when you don’t have any particular need and you want to try your first reflex, with results not far from professional cameras.

If I had to point out two strengths, I would definitely say the solidity of the camera body and the excellent performance of the LCD display.

Camera body and design

More compact than the cheaper T6, Canon sl2 is also slightly smaller than the rival Nikon D3400, which is lighter though. Its size is 122.4 x 92.6 x 69.8 mm, 453 gr weight.

Easy to handle and portable and yet quite solid to the touch, even if it’s not tropicalized, has a deep and comfortable grip with small but accessible buttons.

Its 7.5 cm LCD display is completely jointed, touchscreen and has 1040k dots resolution. Its live view Autofocus system is really surprising.

On the back of the Rebel sl2 the control ring is perfectly inserted in the top of the camera body – one of many signs that this camera was born to be always more similar to mirrorless, in terms of handling.

For this model, Canon has also made an effort in terms of aesthetics, introducing – beside the classic black one, the “Silver” and the “White” version. Personally, my favorite is the Silver one, with brown inserts that give it a definitely vintage look.

Technical features

Canon EOS Rebel sl2 has a 24.2 megapixels APS-C sensor, with ISO sensitivity between 100 and 25,600: high definition and good sensitivity. It’s the same sensor of higher range Canon cameras, such as EOS T7i and 77D. From the megapixels point of view, there is alignment with Nikon D3400, D5600 and D7200.

Rebl sl2 processor is Digic 7, the same of 5,000€ professional cameras. Thus, high-level qualitative performance and speed of image processing.

Autofocus offers a 9 AF points viewfinder with one cross-central point, probably the Achille’s heel for such an ambitious entry level camera. It is clear that Canon favored the use of the LCD display with an amazing autofocus, thanks to the DUAL PIXEL CMOS AF system.

Video: unluckily no 4k, but full HD video shoot at 60p, excellent quality though, with 30 minutes maximum length. In this case, Nikon is beaten.

Connectivity: wi-fi, NFC and bluetooth (energy-efficient)

Burst mode: up to 5 frames per second (wide buffering in jpeg format, only 28 shots in RAW)

Battery life: 650 viewfinder shots (better than other Canon models but always below the Nikon standard), 250 LCD display shots

9.8 meters internal flash

Taking picture with Canon EOS Rebel sl2

The experience with this camera is a natural passage from being a smartphone photographer to something more serious. Because this camera is slightly less easy to handle than a smartphone, but it offers so much more. The image quality, in the first place, and the shot control functions, that are prerogatives of digital reflex cameras (completely automatic, shutter priority, aperture priority and completely manual).

The automatic creative mode gives you the chance to modify some settings through the LCD display, acting as a tutorial to explain the basic element of photographic technique, such as aperture settings, exposure, shutters.

With the “Scene” mode, you tell the camera the kind of situation to photograph, with optimum parameters (preset by the camera). There is Portrait (also at night), Manual night shot, Food, Children, Candlelight, Macro, Group photo, Sport, HDR backlight control.

The creative filters are the best for social media lovers, especially Instagram: there are black-and-white, flou, fish-eye, tilt-shift, watercolor effect, miniature, and different HDR options (from the softest to the strongest).

Canon EOS rebel sl2 VS other models

Currently the price of the kit including the standard 18-55 lens goes from 500 euros for the model with not-stabilized lens to around 550€ for the one with the stabilizer.

EOS T6 costs approximately 35% less, and it is a decent entry level camera

EOS T7i is much better, but at the moment it is around 800 euros (always with the 18-55 kit)

EOS T7 costs less, with performance just a bii lower.

If you want something else, mirrorless Canon Eos M100 is absolutely competitive and costs a few euros less.

Is it hard to choose? Compared to T6 it has two evident plus: the jointed LCD display and a sensor with 6 megapixels more. Compared to T7i it has a more affordable price and more compact size.

You’d be wondering, which one is the best? No camera is perfect, nor it can read your mind. The choice is up to you, according to your needs.