Canon EOS 550D

Only good for outdoors - woeful for indoor photography – Had this camera for several years now, but rarely use it - but when I do have finally come to the realisation that the camera cannot perform indoors. It takes excellent outdoor photos with good depth and crispness to the image. I have been running it with a Tamron lens under the advice of a camera professional. Currently using it at an… Read more

international conference and it is completely incapable of indoor photography, no matter what the setting. Embarrassed to show the client, especially after they said the 'snaps' on my smartphone were better. Look elsewhere.

Great entry level cameta – Bought back in 2011 and had no issues. Very user friendly and good quality. There are option to beginers to professionals and support good range of lenses. worth every dollar we payed back then. If you are a camera lover and looking for something like entry level this is perfect.  Show details

Faultless – With a current shutter count of 21,000 photographs my EOS 550D has been faultless and been in the sandy Australian beaches and freezing wet British conditions. I use with a 18-135mm EOS lens with image stabiliser and get perfect shots at 1/30sec on a 50mm lens setting. highly recommended camera, good exposures  Show details

Great for Beginer and Enthusiast – I used my friend one, and it's feel greta! the image is stellar up to ISO 1600. the autofocus something is miss hit under dim light, but always good in bright light. the basic feature is very easy and great to use. but lack with 1/3 step ISO setting, ISO perfomance isn't too stellar on 3200 and above, hidden important menus on Costume Function,… Read more

makes it's very like EOS 1000D, but with cleared LCD and better sensor. but great decision from Canon to get people who didn't bother with advance setting.

The Viewfinder also not very bright, but is great for shooting under bright light. but better use live view when you shoot under dim light. but it's very great DSLR for people who love photography and this one is a perfect choice as your start line to enter photography world. Clean and beautiful image result, stellar JPEG result, RAW available, great AF accuracy, great for starter photographer Hi Iso perfomance isn't good from 3200 to 12800, hidden few important menu in Costume Function

5d review – Really great product. This was recommended to me by a friends. It's hard to get the hang of so many options but is truly enjoyable to use once dialed in. I'd recommend buying at least a couple of different lenses to start with as this gives you the option of playing with more if the settings. Lots of options Takes a lot of time

Amazing camera for the price – The 550D is a brilliant camera. Canon labels it as an 'entry level camera' but I've gotten professional quality images out of it. I bought mine as the body only and spent the money I saved from purchasing the kit lenses, that would otherwise come with the body, towards a high-end lense. You can shoot HD video, a feature that some of their… Read more

top-of-the-range lenses don't possess, and the quality is amazing! These cameras have recently dropped in price (compared to when I bought mine when they first came out) so if you're looking at a cheap DSLR, there's no reason to pass this one up. It's even cheaper than their high-end compact cameras. Oh, and if you're reading this to decide between Canon and Nikon, sorry, I can't help you as I've only ever owned Canon. I do know this though, it's never broke or had any technical issues in the few years I've owned it; The 550D has only ever been professional. Professional DSLR features at 3% of the cost of the top-of-the-range Canon camera.

Excellent – I upgraded from a 400D to the 550D and on a trip to New Zealand shortly after purchase I was found I was disappointed with the image quality. But I also shot enough good photos to realise that maybe it was the person behind the camera (me) who was the problem. Having 18MP makes a big difference (especially when checking photos at 100%) as any… Read more

mistakes, like camera shake, are accentuated.

Since then I've adjusted my technique and found the camera a delight to use. It's weight is excellent and if you have small hands it fits snugly. It has a heap of extras in the menu that you would normally find on a more expensive model. I don't use the video much so can't comment on its quality but it's nice to have when recording at family outings.

Definitely an excellent camera for the amateur photographer. Easy to use; lightweight; excellent image quality; able to fit all Canon lenses; good price. No swivel LCD screen; video mode does not adjust focus automatically.

Realistic colours and very clear photos – Six years ago I bought a point-and-shoot camera that was highly recommended, waterproof to an extent and packed with a lot of features. Despite all the positives, I quickly became disenchated with it, especially with landscape photos. December 2009 I used the excuse of a planned big overseas holiday to buy this camera. It was a twin lens deal. The… Read more

lenses are easy to change and enable great landscape shots but also great close-ups. I use it set on automatic focus a lot as this allows you to take a quick photo. However, I have taken some fantastic photos using manual focus, like close-ups of plant life. In fact, it has now become a bit of a hobby, and challenge, to photograph close-ups of flora and fauna. Want to see if I can produce that rival those that appear in coffee-table books. A great camera for the hobbyist and snap-happy people like me. Only problem is I now want a semi-pro camera. When I get it, it will be a Canon. Easy to use camera, great quality photos, easy to use software to adjust photos. Getting caught with the wrong lens fitted and missing a photo opportunity.

Great camera for cost – I have been using an Olympus Digital SLR for around five years and I had originally bought this over a Canon as I was tempted by a free extra lens. I had regretted this decision ever since. Having tried friends' Canon cameras since I realised that they were far superior to the Olympus so finally made the plunge to purchase one. The main… Read more

advantage of the Canon is the use in low light or indoor settings without a flash. My Olympus would always blur without a flash but with a flash everything would be washed out. The Canon enables me to take these photos without a flash and the pictures rarely blur and the quality is superb.

Outdoors and in good light the photos are also excellent.

I'm no expert but have had a film SLR since 1992 (Pentax), then the digital SLR since 2007 and this is leaps and bounds above them both. everything - but the low light/indoor photos make it stand out

A great Camera Body for the price – As I am more interested in Video than Photography I went with the 550D body instead of the much more expensive Mark 5D II. This allowed me to spend my money on good quality Canon lenses which has been the best decision Ive made. The ease of use and HD quality video I have got from this DSLR has been exceptional for the amount of money spent. I… Read more

would highly recommend this Camera for anyone with a limited budget wanting to get into DSLR Video. Inexpensive DSLR HD video platform

Perfect Beginner DSLR – Very happy with this camera, even a beginner can pick it up and take a great shot on auto mode. Have just done a beginner DSLR Course which I would recommend because now I can make the most of all the features. Great Size, takes great photos, easy to use Accessories ie extra lenses are expensive, all the functions can be overwhelming if you don't know how to use them

A great stepping stone into Digital SLR photography – Enough customisation to start to get really creative, but simple enough for the rest of the family to be able to still take great shots. Teamed with my Tamron 18-270mm it is the best general purpose setup you could have at an affordable price. Love it. Ability to grow with me as I progress my skills

Excellent – Great camera it is one of many Canon SLR cameras I have owned. Anyone that buys one of these cameras wants extra features for unusual situations that they can encounter while taking photos - take the time to learn how to use the camera and you will be impressed. Now it also has HD video. If you have never had a camera that can be updated… Read more

with software before - it is worth noting that you should check the canon website for updates to the camera firmware:

http://web.canon.jp/imaging/eosd/firm-e/eosdigital7/firmware.html

It is also important to follow the steps in doing the update and do any updates in order. Before doing any update - check your menu on the camera and see what Version of the firmware you have installed on the camera.

Some of the known issues with the camera have been fixed (notably a blue tinge that can creep into some picture taking situations). The update fixes this.

One Product Reviewer said that there was a lot of noise at high ISO settings - well, it may be a surprise to him that that has always been the case with cameras when using High ISO's. Even in the good old days of film you had to put up with 'grain/noise' if you chose a fast film - want less grain/noise? Use a lower ISO and don't use excessively long exposures. I prefer not to go over ISO400 for excellent quality. Great camera, great variety of lenses - works seamlessly for me, great size for travelling (smaller than its bigger brothers) My wife won't let me buy two

My first DSLR – I'm happy with my 550d, I got it when it first came out. It was one of the first to have movie mode. It performs well in most conditions and is very versatile. It has everything you'd expect from a DSLR and more. People who are saying con is that it doesnt have continuous autofocus... it's a DSLR! To have continuous autofocus would be noisy… Read more

and ruin the video because of the lens.

Its noise levels are good even at very high ISOs. That was an important factor to me

Good colours, good skin tones with built in flash

Has a mic jack for stereo sound for movie mode, other DSLRs with movie mode don't have this, but the audio quality of the built in mic is pretty good too.

Pics are a little soft straight from the camera with default sharpness settings etc, but that is a characteristic of Canon and leaves options open for post processing. I have no issue with it and would rather than than have things come out too sharp and too contrasty because that is hard to fix.

Autofocus can take a bit long in very low light situations

Flash takes a long time to assess the lighting... for example taking a photo of people indoors with the flash... it will flash extremely bright and strong like a rave before it actually takes the photo... so you end up with a lot of pics of people squinting their eyes etc, because they think you already took the photo when it flashed the first few times. Ive had people flat out refuse to look at the camera again because they said the flash was hurting their eyes. Reliable, good price these days, good quality photos, good performance, movie mode The flash issue when taking photos of people is the biggest issue for me

simple to use – When we had our son, there were so many moments that we wanted to catch but our old camera was too slow to take them. When we brought our Canon 550D were able to capture shots quickly and with great quality! This is an user friendly camera and captures lighting and colours amazingly.

Fantastic camera – This Camera is an excellent entry level DSLR. There is a wide range of lenses available for it.The camera is easy to use but a bit of knowledge makes it even better. Takes Great Photos

brilliant! – The canon is easy to use, takes beautiful photos and just feels great to use. Would highly recommend it to beginners or semi-pros. Love it!

Excellent – I can't live without mine now I have discovred just how amazing pictures can be. After completing a course I have learnt all about the features, I recommend all who buy this product do the same to get the most out of it. I love mine! It's easy to use and has such vivid colours. A wide range of lenses avaliable and add ons. Too many functions, bit overwhelming at the start. The user manual is HUGE!

Good – For a beginner wanting a DLSR with video and live view this is an excellent option. The high resolution sensor may be appealing to some but higher resolution means smaller pixels, which means more noise. The sensor is quite limited at high ISOs compared to high-ISO champs from Nikon. Finally brings video to an entry level Canon DSLR. Pretty… Read more

snappy autofocus, although not as fast as a pro DSLR.

Excellent saturation, color and contrast in images.

High resolution sensor outdoes almost any other DSLR, excepting prod models.

Extensive range of Canon SLR lenses, although crop factor does reduce the usefulness of wide angle lenses.

Large aperture prime lenses can be used to give shallow depth of field, Hollywood style look to movies.

Light weight Noise at high ISOs is really not acceptable.

Build quality still not the best.

Grip still not as ergonomic as Nikon or Pentax offerings.

Good – This is a very good entry level camera. It has given me a year of fun and learning. It takes a very sharp picture and you can just set it on auto and it does the rest. If you are adventurous you can use its manual settings or half manual settings such as AV or TV. It’s nice and light and easy to change lenses. I don’t think that it is as good in… Read more

low light as the Nikon D90 but I am no professional.

Don’t be fooled by lots of megapixels, they are not the only factor that you should take into consideration.

Overall good value for money. I found the price varied from 1200 to 1600 dollars when I got mine so look around.

I have the 18 to 55 and 55 to 250 lens which is plenty to start with. This is my first DSLR and I love it. It’s easy to use and not too heavy. I was very protective of it when I first got it but now I just use it and it seems to stand up to the hard use like climbing around the rocks and taking on my push bike.

I like the fact that you can set it on auto or play with the manual settings.

lots to like about this camera as it is a great alrounder. I dont believe that it is as good in low light as they say

Excellent – Like the other reviewer I did a fair bit of comparisons with other similar cameras and really happy with this camera. Brilliant quality photos. Built for enthusiasts or even beginners with auto settings. Absolutely love this camera with HD video. Can be a bit heavy especially when you've been holding it for a while but that's probably because I'm just too happy to keep put it down Exceptional quality photos A bit bulky.

Excellent – I researched the camera extensively - compared against it's rivals but for the price the Canon was a clear winner in my opinion. Just love it. Bought it for two reasons - amazing quality & the fact it has HD video & socket for external microphone. Great camera ... very happy. Like everything about it - it's design, ease of use & amazing quality of… Read more

photos & videos. High Definition video & fact you can take HD video plug in microphone. Great screen - easy to use controls & menu clear. Not found anything to dislike about the camera yet.