The days of long DSLR product cycles vanish with insatiable consumer electronic demand. I thought Apple reigned supreme as the vigilant replacement retail-God, but I am mistaken. The Canon EOS Rebel T2i arrived this afternoon for my immediate evaluation. A year has not even passed since the introduction of its predecessor, the T1i. The T1i will not be missed because of the new features of its replacement.
The T2i is the first Rebel series DSLR with video capabilities of the more expensive 5D mark II,7D and the 1D Mark IV. Full manual exposure of video capture benchmarks this entry level DSLR . No more restraints of full automatic exposure. One has control over the image quality during video capture that could be only seen in the more expensive cameras. There is finally a audio mini jack to plug in various audio devices. The list goes on.
800 dollars gets you the body only but that is less than half the price of the Canon 7D body. ($1699) I did a quick video test with the T2i. As you noticed from the picture above, the T2i has the new BG-E8 battery grip, an Azden shotgun mic rubber mounted on a hotshoe adapter and a Pearstone LMT-100 Hi-Lo XLR audio adapter. This 20 dollar device balances and converts XLR mics to an audio mini jack. The lens is a Canon EF 35mm f1.4 L.
More pictures of the camera in this gallery.
My next post will feature still pictures at various ISO settings and the new features of Digital Photo Professional 3.8
Finally, Canon is effectively merging two technologies in one high quality digital camera!
ReplyDeleteHello Chad
ReplyDeleteIs the "Azden shotgun mic" a STEREO mic???
Thanks for your reply...
Greetings from Mexico
The Azden SGM-1X pictured above is a mono shotgun. It has only one electret condensor to gather sound. The Azden SMX-10 is the stereo version. It has dual electret condensors for the left and right channels.
ReplyDeleteThanks for watching!
Im a little late to this blog, but I am looking for a hot shoe mounted mic for my T2i. The in-body microphone is no longer cutting it for me. I was wondering what kind of attachments you need to buy in order to put the SGM-1x or the SMX-10 on this DSLR?
ReplyDeleteDoes it already come with a mic input cable to plug into the side of the T2i?
Another question is, do you think this microphone would do well in loud situations like a concert?
Marco,
ReplyDeleteIf you have an existing XLR shotgun microphone, you just need the Pearstone LMT-100 adapter. It converts the XLR to stereo mini jack. As for a hotshoe mount, the Azden already comes with one on the rubber mounted cage supplied with the shotgun. Just click on the LMT 100 hyperlink in the above PhotoBlog post and it will take you to the B&H website.
The shotgun would work well in a concert situation. The only problem you will have is the risk of overmodulating the audio level because you are at the mercy of the Automatic Gain Control. The T2i has no audio level control like the Canon 5D Mark II. All you can do is to do a test before the actual shoot.
I posted several T2i articles in my PhotoBlog. All you have to do is to type in "T2i" in the search bar on the top left of the website and hit enter.
I hope this helps...Thanks for looking!
Thank YOU very much. You seem very informative and I like your choice of cameras. I also notice you're an "official sponsor" of North Tampa Photography. That must mean you live somewhere in Tampa?
ReplyDeleteSmall world, Im in that store almost every week. I love that place.
Marco,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the compliment. I have been a long time customer of North Tampa Photography and over time have become friends with the owners. They are good people and I wanted to spread my knowledge to whomever shares the same passion for photography. I try to be informative through my PhotoBlog posts and I also teach a "Shooting Video with your DSLR" Class at North Tampa Photography. Stay updated with any upcoming classes by becoming a Fan of North Tampa Photography on Facebook. Thanks and you may bump into me at the store someday...