Canon EOS 600D Digital SLR Camera (inc. 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II Lens Kit)

Up until this camera came along I used an hd camcorder for my video and a dslr for my bird photography. This camera along with the 70-300mm lens means "one camera does all". The video is great but you need to work at it. Its certainly not as easy to use as a dedicated camcorder but the results can be better. You're thinking of getting the 650d, reading the reviews, comparing it to the 600d and countless others and pulling your hair out at all the pros and cons? Am I close. I'm a photographer and have used this, the 600d and its sony equivalent. I might be able to help. Let me start with an anecdote, (you've read enough technical jargon for now so consider this a breather) I film the eagles on Mull and the landlady I stay with was telling me about this other photographer who visits her little cottage (it's beautiful by the way, you should visit if you get the chance). So anyway, she is cooking tea , as she does if you ask her nicely. While it's cooking he shows her one of his photos, probably of a sea eagle catching a fish. Everyone wants to photograph one of those even though its on every other postcard in Scotland. Next to a highland cow looking over a gate its the top photo/cliche to get.. Anyhoo, she looks at the photo and says "wow that's great...you must have a brilliant camera" . So they sit down for supper a bit later and its delicious, she is a great cook. He says "This is lovely...you must have some great saucepans!" boom boom. But herein lies the real point of this camera. You know its the person behind the camera that takes the pictures but do you really know it? This and the 600d take pictures so good (if you have the skill) you could blow it up the size of front door but are you going to want to. The thing no sellers want to tell you is that for years, maybe 5 , all of the big names have been making great dslr. Since the nikon d40 perhaps. But you really want to know, if you bought this, would you be happy or buying a pup. Be reassured that neither canon, nikon or sony make chocolate teapots. They know how to make a great camera and this is one. It's biggest difference as you will have read ad nauseum , is the touch screen. is it worth it. It is if you like touch screens (I do). That's not flippant, it's how it is. So the photos will be great and its a great camera, you've read other reviews so I won't duplicate what you have already read but one thing you may not have read is about the video. All the makers have got dslr right. No pups in sight, but video is a relatively new feature and Sony have tbh been leading the way. This camera sets to rectify that by having autofocus. A lot of places on the net, say it's not needed, you should be using manual focus. Nonsense. Manual focus is ok at times but can be a pain. Filming your dog on the beach for example..The autofocus on the 650d is actually pretty good. Not as good as a camcorder but pretty good. The slowest part is for it to get going. But when it's locked on its sound. Well worth having. So thats sorted right..err no, not really. This is the 650d 's killer feature. Trouble is, they left out the killer feature on the 600d. The 3x zoom with "no loss in quality". So here is the choice if you are buying this for video. if you want you're 300mm zoom to be able to zoom to 900mm for filming sport or wildlife. It's the 600d for you If you love the idea of autofocus (or hate the idea of doing it the old fashioned way) its the 650d for you. In my opinion if you're considering the other makes like Sony, it comes down to who makes the the lens you are likely to want. I know I have focused (blabbed on) about video but hey, there has been thousands of photo reviews already about iso , shutter speed etc etc. Nothing for me to add there! So if you are considering using it for video here are a few "must have" things you will need to go with it.Hoya 58mm UV FilterReplacement Battery for Canon LP-E8 / suitable for Canon EOS 550D / EOS 600D / EOS 650D Oh and the one that should have gone top of my listMake better videos with your dslr or camcorder So now I have spent ten minutes typing away, telling you how I like the 650d for video (I do) do me a little favour and click that you find this helpful. Unless you don't. Either way you will enjoy this camera but do consider the little brother the 600d also. We live in good times to take photos as there are so many great cameras and this is definitely one of them. One more thing I forgot to mention (and yes it is regarding the video) is that to get great video you need to use the right settings in the menu.Unfortunately these are counter intuitive and if you don't use them you may be under whelmed. If anyone wants them, comment and I will try to post a link I have done lots of tests and made quite a few films with this camera just do a search on youtube for alex sally and you'll find my channel. I have also found what I think is the best setting to use to get a natural look. If you intend using it for video you will need a tripod for sure and probably an external mic. if you want to get the best from it. I'm joking that as a camera "it's ok" . The camera part has been reviewed fully on here and lets be honest no dslr in this price bracket by any make isn't capable of producing great results and this one is no different. Happy shooting.. Since writing this review I have also added (written) a book on amazon kindle on how to get the best from its video capabilities... Make better videos with your dslr or camcorder alex sally

I spent hours choosing between the Canon 600D and the Nikon D5100. This is what I found out: The main advantages of the Nikon was: a higher rated sensor which is going to give you better images in darker conditions, auto focus while shooting videos, slightly higher buffer rate when continuous Shooting! The main advantages of the Canon was: higher image resolution, better video settings and quality, better resolution LCD display, better button layout and menus! Most of the reviews I read said that the cameras were almost identical in terms of picture quality and build quality!. I viewed loads of images taken by each of the cameras and they were very much the same! it was very hard to tell them apart! I also looked at lens options for the both cameras, the Canon seemed to have more lenses available, and they seemed much easier to understand in terms of compatibility with the Canon bodies! I read that some of the older lenses for the Nikon weren't compatible due to the camera not having a motor built into the body! After all the thinking I decided to go for the Canon 600D with the 18-55mm lenses kit. Today I received it and: I charged it and took it straight outside to take some pictures, one thing I noticed straight away was how big and crystal clear the view-finder was! I put it in auto mode and took a few shots of the plants and buildings! The quality was fantastic, lovely rich colours, very sharp and detailed! Later in the day I went down to the coast and took a few pictures of some seagulls in flight, I could only get so close due to the reach of the 18-55mm! I couldn't believe how quick the camera focused on the bird and how quick it took the pictures! I got home and uploaded them, they came out lovely, excellent focus on the gulls! I was very pleased with the shots!, I know hardly anything about DSLR's and I managed to capture these great pictures without hardly any effort! I am more than happy with my choice, the main reason I choose the Canon was for its high quality and popularity! The reason why I choose to buy a DLSR was: Last year I purchased a Fuji HS20 bridge camera and ever since regretted it! The images produced by the camera (mainly in auto mode) were lacking any detail and the colours looked washed out! it also took forever to focus on moving objects! I visited many forums asking for advice on what settings to use and still was yet to get anything decent out of it!! I wish I had spent a little more at the time and brought a DSLR!

I bought the EOS 600D with the 18 - 55 mm lens but I put that on my 450D and sold that on and kept my 17 - 85 mm lens, so I can't really comment on the new lens only to say it is very light and I certainly do not like the rotating focus ring at the far end of the lens which I regard as a serious error in design and presumably only done to keep costs down. There is no way I would buy this lens new for the £100 plus price it goes for. Much better to pay less and buy a second-hand and better lens. As for the 600D body I have a great deal of praise. I have had 7 EOS cameras from the time they first came out. I find the 600D very user friendly with useful displayed descriptions of selected functions. It has a huge range of adjustments, almost too many. The LCD screen is very bright and clear but like all LCD's it is difficult to see in bright sun light but then that's why I buy a SLR and probably always will. I think it's a shame that the fps is only around 3 when older models have got close to 5 fps. The live mode shooting is still a bit too sluggish for me to use except when the position of the shot dictates it. The live mode focus is again too slow and shooting a moving subject would be a waste of time although fine in normal SLR mode. The quality of the video is excellent and I found the sound good as well although not when playing it through the camera which would be a waste of time. On a TV it's not bad at all. I think one has to remember that the video mode is basically a novelty as the restrictions of focussing and inability to pause make the end product not what most people might want. The snapshot video is spliced together very well but it's a pity that you can't change the duration in an album and so if you start with 4 seconds for example, every clip has to be 4 seconds or you go to a new album. All this said I am very happy with this camera and if you are up grading from a 450D or earlier, you should not be disappointed. I am glad to give it 5 stars despite some draw backs. Additional. Since writting the above I have got round to installing the Canon software with the kit. The movie editting suit, (not actually called that), is very good so I take back what I said about the camera video being just a gimmick. It is possible to produce some nice editted pieces although you need a bit of time to get the work done well.

This is my first DSLR & I love it, the quality of my photos has increased so much & I no longer want to use any other camera. it's taking some time to learn the different features & techniques, but thats all part of the fun. It would have been better if the guide manual included was a little more photographic, lots of words didnt really inspire me, so I purchased a detailed hardback instead. My only (slight) regret is that I didt get a bigger lens, this one isnt great for far away so I'm now looking at getting a second lens, mainly for travels/landscape shots. Overall though, a great camera, brilliant quality (as usual from Canon) & very good value.

So this was my first step to taking my photography to a hobby level, instead of just my touristy point and click at everything mentality. I was moving from a Sony Nex 5, which I had used for around a year in total. That had taught me a few things about photography but it just didn't cut for me if I wanted to be able to take better photos. So I bought the 600D. I had been looking at the few other cameras around this price range, including the Nikon D5100 and the Sony SLT A55, but I felt that the features the 600D had and the lenses available to purchase were more appealing. I have been using the camera on both manual and automatic modes and it can produce some excellent results. The automatic options include an a range of modes from sports to creative auto. The creative auto gives you the control over the depth of field and other options. These are great if you just want to fire of some shots without having to worry about the light settings. The manual settings are just as easy to work around and you will find yourself using them more and more. This is partly due to the easy menu options and the placement of the manual buttons around the camera. You can quickly change the ISO and many other settings from the click of the finger and the scroll wheel above the grip. The autofocus works great and is extremely fast, I have compared this against a friends Nikon D7000 and the 600D is always quicker and more responsive. Manual focus is easily turned on by a flick of the switch on the lens. Many people say they don't think the articulated screen is much to sing and dance about, but I love it. It is great to use when you want to get a funny angle or hard to reach shot. It also provides protection for the screen when you have the camera in your bag as you can turn the screen inwards. The screen itself is lovely and sharp, with great colours, so you really know what the photo looks like when you review it afterwards. If you are looking to take your photography that little bit further when you are a beginner like me, then I fully recommend this camera. I currently have the 600D, 18-55mm lens, 55-250mm lens, and 50mm lens. These cover all the situations I have come up against so far and all at great price. I do fancy some of the higher end lenses, but they start getting very expensive.

Speak to anyone that has owned a canon camera and most rave about them, this new 600D DSLR which is the replacement for the 550D is just great..noscrub that fantastic. having moved up from a Panasonic ProSumer Camera to the DSLR the results I get side by side are outstanding. images are full of colour and with precision detail. 18MP of image leads to fantastic images whatever you take. I bought as a kit with the 18mm to 55mm lens as this is a much better package price than buying seperate, the 2 lense kits don't seem to be a good value. I bought my 2nd lens seperately and this worked out much cheaper. The 2nd lens is the 55mm to 250mm IS II and like the 18-55mm lens is of excellent quality and optics. The camera itself feels like a quality product, sturdy and handleable. The layout of controls are eaily available and there are a plethora of options to suite your needs. I have only had this camera for a short time buit I love it. it is a joy to use. If you only use it in Automatic then you are missing out on many creative possibilities but you will get amazing pictures whatever way you use it. Worth every penny.

I had been researching for a good camera and had settled on a Sony compact HX9V,then the EOS600D came up on lightning deals. Even at the full price this camera with the 18-55 lens kit is the real deal. Canon also offer a £50 cashback until the end of January. With the EOS600D you can take pictures in the basic mode settings that will be as good as, if not better than, any compact but get into the creative modes and you can take photographs. If you only want to take pictures go for a good compact because the EOS600D is a great photography tool and to not use it as such would be a waste. The amount of settings and abilities this camera has is truly stunning,you have the option of RAW format as well as JPEG but with 18 Mega Pixels compression should not be a problem with image quality. I'm a newbie to DSLR photography but with a camera this complex the controls are very understandable. What I would recommend is if like me you are new to this technology is get a good book. I've got ( on Amazon ) "Canon EOS Rebel T3i/600D From Snapshots to Great Shots" by Jeff Revell.I see that the "for dummies" series also do a book. Also be prepared to spend some £££ on things like spare batteries ( although so far I've found battery life to be great ) lens' and filters. Whilst these are not cheap this is a quality product and you wouldn't buy a ferrari and fit pram wheels to save a few quid. Once I have used and learnt my way around this camera I will using it with my telescope for astro imaging,something I couldn't have done with a compact.All the reviews I read on this camera were positive and I can only echo those views this is a very good camera. Oh and it takes full HD movies as well. So what is there not to like?

I had a Canon G10 which was my first Canon camera. I changed to Canon from Fuji because of the image quality. I have always been interested in low light photography, night time, reflections, music gigs etc. The D600 is a very good tool for all of these and much more. I have had good results with all of my efforts since purchase and I haven't even started looking into RAW mode work yet. The features are all well laid out in the menu system and having a built in reminder as to what most of the settings do is really useful to me at this time. Pictures are so subjective that I hesitate to say that my work has improved because of the hardware. I just feel that it has and I am more than happy with the results. The kit lens comes with Image Stabilisation and this works really well. I find the grip just about right, I have quite big hands but its comfortable and the structural plastic body feels sturdy. I would rather have a lighter body than a metal one. The image quality is superb and the ease with which I have gotten to know the camera speaks volumes for the ergonomics and underlying design work. Now if Father Christmas brings me a nice telephoto zoom lens at Christmas I will be very pleased. Buy with confidence, use it a lot, in fact give it hell. Take lots of pictures, one of them is bound to be good. Dave