Canon EOS Rebel SL2 This Fall? [CR1]

[Tugela]

The Canon EOS Rebel SL1 may be the forgotten Rebel, except for those people that own one. It’s small size and good feature set has made it a sales success for Canon. When it was launched, it was the smallest DSLR on the market.</p>
<p>We’re told that an SL2 is definitely on the way and may be shrunk even further. While the thickness of the camera can’t change all that much because of the EF mount, the length, height and weight could be further reduced. One of the ways to reduce the size is implementing an EVF instead of an optical viewfinder. Sony has done this with the A77 DSLR, and Canon has said when the technology is good enough, they may also introduce it into the EOS lineup.</p>
<p>We’d expect an SL2 to share the same 24mp sensor as the recently released EOS Rebel T6i and EOS Rebel T6s.</p>

Don't buy this on the OVF effecting the size. It's a tiny pentamirror anyway, and if they keep the EF mount, mirror or no mirror makes no difference. Whilst you could argue that with present tech a good EVF is better than poor OVF, where would this leave the M ?

I think a tiny dslr is a good thing but it needs a decent pentaprism to compete against the up coming EVF, not the dark, low quality pentamirror.

Get rid of the mirror in the SL1 would make sense. The people who buy that camera almost certainly 99% of the time are completely unaware that there even is a mirror in there, so they don't have a bug up their butt about it the way some prosumers do.

An EFV makes it possible for the manufacturer to implement many more tools for composition and framing than are possible with a SLR camera.

 

[Tugela]

I really do like that idea. Obvious next step would be really small FF camera wouldn't it?

Isn't that the 6D? It's already pretty small.

Really - here's a comparison with a small full frame camera .. http://camerasize.com/compare/#380,487

I think the 6D is the full frame version of the 60D .... and look at the 60D vs the 100D (SL1) ..http://camerasize.com/compare/#100,448 ...... there is certainly room for a smaller full frame ..... especially if Canon aren't confident of putting forward a EVF, they need something for the users that want a smaller camera. While the US market generally prefers larger cameras, in other parts of the world (Asia in particular), smaller cameras are more sought after.

FF cameras don't have to be big, in fact in the old pre-digital days they were quite small, roughly the size of Sony's A7 series.

The "big" form factor came about when manufacturers started trying to make their consumer cameras look "professional" since that is what people with money apparently wanted. In the predigital age professional cameras would have a built in autowinder, which was important if you needed to take a lot of pictures very quickly. That required a substantial battery (regular cameras ran off tiny batteries usually used in watches), all of which required space - accommodated in added bodywork on the right (for the battery) and base (for the winder) of the camera. That was molded into grips, generating the form factor of DSLRs today. Sometimes those were add ons for prosumer cameras, professional cameras came with that already built into the body. Since Wannabes wanted to look like pros, enthusiast cameras came to incorporate many of those features as well.

The point is, a modern high end camera, even a mirrored FF one, does not need to be big. Size is for looks only.

 

[Loswr]

The point is, a modern high end camera, even a mirrored FF one, does not need to be big. Size is for looks only.

Sure, ergonomics are irrelevant. : I bet your hands would feel just great after using an a7R with a 70-200/2.8 zoom all day...if your hands are the size of a child's. I used a non-gripped Rebel with a 70-200 /2.8 for a day, with sore hands as a result. With a gripped body or 1D X and 70-200/2.8, the balance and fit are comfortable even for prolonged use.

 

[dak723]

Well, I can't speak for others, but the reason I bought the SL1 was because it is small and light and has an OVF. So, no, I don't think Canon should switch to an EVF. This is the perfect camera for all those folks who are enticed by the smaller size and weight of mirrorless, but turned off by the EVF. You get the best of both worlds, if you don't like EVFs.

For those thinking the 6D is smallish - not! I have a 6D and the SL1 is the camera I take with me when I need to carry for any amount of distance.

 

[LukasS]

Noooo!! I'm days away from buying 100D , now it will haunt me "to wait or not to wait"...

Do NOT wait! The 100D/SL1 is a really nice cute little DSLR and I bought it last fall. Since then the price hasn't changed much and is at a really tempting level and worth buing it. (right now I see it for less then 400 € with STM kit lens in Germany).

Yeah I was going to invest in M3 and EF-M lenses but after consideration I prefer smaller lightweight dSLR for daily and OVF, and there seems to be more nice options in 100D than I thought. It will be whole family camera - as my GF and son like to take pictures.

This SL2/1x0D talk is yet just rumors. Get it now, enjoy it now and rethink your decission only when the rumor becomes reality and the new price is out, supposedly more than 100 € higher (I guess a MRSP at 650,- at the beginning and for the first few months).

True.
The price for (only) body is reasonable, so I'm not taking it too much into account (it was more about features in new version). I wanted to couple it with 10-18mm EF-S as a standard and maybe 18-55mm second (later).

If you ar willing to pay the price for early adaptor, then wait. Or spend that money on the cool pancake lenses

Yeap I was going to buy few EF-S and EF pancakes . Thanks for your thoughts .

 

[Marsu42]

The one exception is the 6d... but they were forced at gunpoint by Nikon's d600 to deliver something that wouldn't threaten their 5d3 and saw a niche as a "tourist ff cam".

Well if the 6D was a response to the 600D Canon were pretty damn fast !

Indeed they were, that's why the 6d is basically a 5d2 in a 60d body with some of their then-current hardware & firmware inside. The 11pt af system was most likely already lying in a drawer before they chose to put the 1dx system into the 5d3.

I think your condescending remarks about the 6D are a little unfair. I know that you really wanted a 5DIII, and I'm sure there are many others like you, but don't underestimate the amount of users who just want a fairly straight forward FF camera with high 'IQ'.

To reiterate, even though it's ot: I absolutely admit that I'm easily annoyed by the 6d because the af system isn't the best choice for what I do. And I never said the 6d wasn't a good choice for certain shooting styles if the 6d isn't purchased as a "mini 5d3".

Still, the 6d is a darn expensive (Germany) piece of camera equipment, so it'd better be good!. Alas, I have to stand by my evaluation that the core 6d tech is all legacy and not very refined (af system, metering) or cheap (build quality, shutter). It appears to be build to be able to drop the price a lot before lack of profit makes Canon release a potential 6d2. In my book, that makes the 6d not "straight forward" as say the all-around 70d, but rather dodgy to handle.

Sure, ergonomics are irrelevant.

Indeed they aren't, and this is why Canon uses this as major leverage to upsell. Personally, I don't see how size needs to be tied to price - for example with my good ol' film 620rt, I could purchase a large grip and exchange the stock one just like that. I somehow doubt this is impossible to manage with a dslr.

 

[LookingThroughMyLens81]

I could be persuaded to buy an SL2 if it was a smidge larger, dropped the easy-to-break/damage articulating screen, and had a larger buffer w/larger battery - the SL1 just doesn't sit well in my hands and it's battery is pathetic - and Canon gave it a DNG option for RAW, either out of the box or with a firmware upgrade. If it met those two requirements, I'd buy 2-3 of them to use with individual lenses.

 

[Gnocchi]

I love my 100d, so it would be great to see the model/line continue. the best thing about this camera is its weight and simplicity, it's lighter than an em5 (body) and easier to operate imo.

 

[verysimplejason]

The Canon EOS Rebel SL1 may be the forgotten Rebel, except for those people that own one. It’s small size and good feature set has made it a sales success for Canon. When it was launched, it was the smallest DSLR on the market.</p>
<p>We’re told that an SL2 is definitely on the way and may be shrunk even further. While the thickness of the camera can’t change all that much because of the EF mount, the length, height and weight could be further reduced. One of the ways to reduce the size is implementing an EVF instead of an optical viewfinder. Sony has done this with the A77 DSLR, and Canon has said when the technology is good enough, they may also introduce it into the EOS lineup.</p>
<p>We’d expect an SL2 to share the same 24mp sensor as the recently released EOS Rebel T6i and EOS Rebel T6s.</p>

Don't buy this on the OVF effecting the size. It's a tiny pentamirror anyway, and if they keep the EF mount, mirror or no mirror makes no difference. Whilst you could argue that with present tech a good EVF is better than poor OVF, where would this leave the M ?

I think a tiny dslr is a good thing but it needs a decent pentaprism to compete against the up coming EVF, not the dark, low quality pentamirror.

You can always look for this feature at other offerings of Canon. SL1 is made for a different group of consumers hence the possibility of an EVF.

 

[Lars]

I'm a (very happy) SL1 owner, and I wouldn't mind upgrading to a EVF mirrorless SL2 - *IF* it is done well, with great AF.

I'm not hell-bent on an optical viewfinder... They are going away. But I don't want an ugly compromise, which is what the M2 and M3 appear to be. It would need to match the best mirrorless offerings in AF performance.

 

[wsmith96]

I really do like that idea. Obvious next step would be really small FF camera wouldn't it?

Isn't that the 6D? It's already pretty small.

Really - here's a comparison with a small full frame camera .. http://camerasize.com/compare/#380,487

I think the 6D is the full frame version of the 60D .... and look at the 60D vs the 100D (SL1) ..http://camerasize.com/compare/#100,448 ...... there is certainly room for a smaller full frame ..... especially if Canon aren't confident of putting forward a EVF, they need something for the users that want a smaller camera. While the US market generally prefers larger cameras, in other parts of the world (Asia in particular), smaller cameras are more sought after.

I was comparing apples to apples. Of course a mirrorless would be smaller. I doubt you can fit a ff mirror box into a camera the size of the sl1. Looks like you are stuck there, or you need to shop other vendors.

 

[Kristofgss]

Yeah I was going to invest in M3 and EF-M lenses but after consideration I prefer smaller lightweight dSLR for daily and OVF

I was going to buy few EF-S and EF pancakes .

I picked the 100D(SL1) for that same reason. it fits in a jacket pocket with the ef-s 24 or ef 40 for instant shooting so you don't need a backpack. And you can use all the other canon lenses you have without the need for an adapter.
Mirrorless is all good and well, but as soon as you have a decent zoom on it, it's not that much smaller anymore.

 

[[email protected]]

Two comments on the SL1:
1) It is the toughest camera I've owned in terms of the abuse it takes, not counting water resistance (which I haven't tested). I did something pretty dumb last week. I was preparing a campfire with with my 2-year-old son. Since he was in the cab of our utility vehicle, and I didn't want my SL-1 to be thrown out the window while I was doing this, I removed my camera from the cab and put it in the bed of the vehicle.

Forgetting I'd done that just a minute later, I started throwing throwing wood into the bed - these were 20-inch quarters of large maple logs - from a distance of about 10 feet. I don't know how many of those logs actually hit the camera, as I'm sure after the first two or there, it was covered by the pile, but suffice it to say that marks on the plastic indicate that it took at least one or two direct hits.

My Tokina 11-16 is a bit worse for wear, but still optically perfect. One of the rings isn't working, and there is a tinkling noise inside when you shake it, which I'm guessing isn't good.

The SL-1 didn't seem to notice. I think a larger camera would have experienced more stresses and impact, rather than squirting out of the way upon being hit. The need to make everything compact may also have created a more solidly-constructed assemblage. Just theories.

2) If it weren't so small, I wouldn't have taken any camera with me for this little project. Which, in retrospect, might have been the better outcome; but nevertheless, shows how size does matter for creating more photographic opportunities.

I'd very much welcome a Mark II, and I wouldn't be married to either a mirror or an optical viewfinder, but I WOULD be very disappointed if it lacked direct mounting capacity to slr lenses.

 

[skfla]

I have a SL1 and it has been my favorite for air travel. So I'll be interested in an SL2, if and when it appears.

I'm curious what lens you take with the SL1? If you have a favorite (for size and results) pls let me know.

The original reason I didn't pick one up to try was the fact Canon only had the one pancake. Now w/ the much larger variety of pancakes (is it 2 now?) maybe I'd give the SL2 a try. Especially since the M3 isn't coming to the US. Idk. Seems like a hassle to worry about this when there are so many decent mirrorless systems on the market.

 

[Khufu]

I have a SL1 and it has been my favorite for air travel. So I'll be interested in an SL2, if and when it appears.

I'm curious what lens you take with the SL1? If you have a favorite (for size and results) pls let me know.

The original reason I didn't pick one up to try was the fact Canon only had the one pancake. Now w/ the much larger variety of pancakes (is it 2 now?) maybe I'd give the SL2 a try. Especially since the M3 isn't coming to the US. Idk. Seems like a hassle to worry about this when there are so many decent mirrorless systems on the market.

The EF 100mm f/2 is amazing on the SL1, as is the 50mm f/1.8 (mk 1 for me) and the old 35mm f/2... They all have a cool "small/chunky" kinda' look when paired with the SL1...

Also, the Tamron 55-200mm lens is stupid-light/compact and a sharp, great performer, often forgotten (there's also an 18-200mm which I'm told is poor. The 55-200mm is ace though!)

 

[Tugela]

I have a SL1 and it has been my favorite for air travel. So I'll be interested in an SL2, if and when it appears.

I'm curious what lens you take with the SL1? If you have a favorite (for size and results) pls let me know.

The original reason I didn't pick one up to try was the fact Canon only had the one pancake. Now w/ the much larger variety of pancakes (is it 2 now?) maybe I'd give the SL2 a try. Especially since the M3 isn't coming to the US. Idk. Seems like a hassle to worry about this when there are so many decent mirrorless systems on the market.

The EF 100mm f/2 is amazing on the SL1, as is the 50mm f/1.8 (mk 1 for me) and the old 35mm f/2... They all have a cool "small/chunky" kinda' look when paired with the SL1...

Also, the Tamron 55-200mm lens is stupid-light/compact and a sharp, great performer, often forgotten (there's also an 18-200mm which I'm told is poor. The 55-200mm is ace though!)

I imagine that the 40mm would be a good fit as well.

 

[traveller]

I don't get all the hatred for EVFs I'm reading in this post. For the record, I own three digital camera: a 5D Mk3, a Fuji X-T1 and an old 450D. If it's a choice between the 5D Mk3 and the Fuji, no question that I prefer the OVF of the 5D3, but I'm now horrified whenever I look through the viewfinder on my 450D about just how poor it is.

Tiny pentamirror viewfinders should now be confined to the dustbin of history, if you can't fit at least a pentaprism the size of the 70D's, go for a half decent EVF instead. Even the 1.04M dot units fitted to the Sony A6000 and the original Olympus EM5 are superior to the Rebel's offering.

EVFs also enable you to dispense with the cost of seperate AF and metering systems, as well as the main mirror mechanism. If Canon were being extra smart, they could even invent a new backwardly compatible lens mount (i.e. so that you could still use EF & EF-S lenses, on cameras fitted with the new mount, but not the new lenses on cameras that retain mirrors) that would enable lenses that could partially collapse inside the now-empty mirror box.

 

[Proscribo]

Tiny pentamirror viewfinders should now be confined to the dustbin of history, if you can't fit at least a pentaprism the size of the 70D's, go for a half decent EVF instead. Even the 1.04M dot units fitted to the Sony A6000 and the original Olympus EM5 are superior to the Rebel's offering.

I have to disagree. I used to have a 550d and have used my girlfriend's E-M10 and I prefer the OVF of 550d (Altho I also think that E-M10 is much better overall camera, but that's not the point here.) over E-M10's EVF. I don't know how to describe it well... it's maybe something with the screenish look of the EVF, I don't know. Just last Sunday I was checking out the new E-M5 II and still felt that the EVF wasn't really what I'd expected, apart from the great size it has (and ignoring all the extra info it can display, to keep this comparison a bit simpler).

Actually, now that I mentioned it. I was already severely disappointed after I had had hands on with Sony A7, oly's OM-D and others like those in a local shop sometime last year (I'm not actually sure, when it was) as any EVF didn't "feel right". I don't mean they're bad but just to point out, that SL2/whatever is better with OVF, as it can fit it. Canon has their M-line for mirrorless and EVF stuff, if they just got any proper models out ffs. About M3: it is obviously a good camera but come on, it's overpriced when compared to rivaling models from others.

 

[traveller]

Tiny pentamirror viewfinders should now be confined to the dustbin of history, if you can't fit at least a pentaprism the size of the 70D's, go for a half decent EVF instead. Even the 1.04M dot units fitted to the Sony A6000 and the original Olympus EM5 are superior to the Rebel's offering.

I have to disagree. I used to have a 550d and have used my girlfriend's E-M10 and I prefer the OVF of 550d (Altho I also think that E-M10 is much better overall camera, but that's not the point here.) over E-M10's EVF. I don't know how to describe it well... it's maybe something with the screenish look of the EVF, I don't know. Just last Sunday I was checking out the new E-M5 II and still felt that the EVF wasn't really what I'd expected, apart from the great size it has (and ignoring all the extra info it can display, to keep this comparison a bit simpler).

Actually, now that I mentioned it. I was already severely disappointed after I had had hands on with Sony A7, oly's OM-D and others like those in a local shop sometime last year (I'm not actually sure, when it was) as any EVF didn't "feel right". I don't mean they're bad but just to point out, that SL2/whatever is better with OVF, as it can fit it. Canon has their M-line for mirrorless and EVF stuff, if they just got any proper models out ffs. About M3: it is obviously a good camera but come on, it's overpriced when compared to rivaling models from others.

Each to their own, but remember that EVFs are at their worst in typical indoor lighting. I found the viewfinder fitted to the Rebels to be little more than a crude aiming device, you simply cannot tell what is in focus (not that the 5D3 with stock screen is brilliant). At least Canon have finally fitted a decent AF system to the 750D/760D, I found that my 450D missed focus far too often, despite all looking fine through the viewfinder.