Home / Digital cameras

RSS Feeds

News | Forum | Store

Canon EOS 1100D review

1 of 10

Gallery

Verdict:

A predictable update to a fine entry-level SLR – it might be short on exciting extras but its ability to take gorgeous photos is hard to fault.

Review Date: 4 Apr 2011

Price when reviewed: £499

Buy it now for: £280
(see more store prices)

Supplier: http://www.johnlewis.com

Reviewed By: Ben Pitt

Our Rating 4 stars out of 5

User Rating

The Canon EOS 1000D was a fantastic camera, giving frugal shoppers a foothold onto the esteemed EOS range for a breakthrough sub-£400 price. However, its 2.5in screen, lack of video capture and limited performance mean that it's not such a tempting prospect in 2011.

The 1100D is designed to take Canon back to the top of the entry-level SLR podium. It's a little bigger than its predecessor but also a little lighter. With its 2.7in LCD screen, 720p video capture and an HDMI socket, the 1100D addresses all the key areas where the 1000D was showing its age. The autofocus sensor is up from 7-point to 9-point and the battery life is up 40 per cent to 700 shots.

It's pricier, too, although we suspect that it'll come down a little as more stock arrives on these shores. However, those in search of a bargain should be careful to make sure the bundled lens is the Mk II IS version (where IS stands for image stabilisation). A Mk III lens without stabilisation brings the price down further but the stabilised lens is well worth the extra outlay.

The more expensive Mk II lens is worth getting

Spot metering is still absent, but it's not something many people will miss. Continuous RAW performance remains more of a problem, though. It set off at 2fps and slowed to 0.8fps after just three frames in our tests. That doesn't compare well with the similarly priced Pentax K-r which captured 13 RAW frames at 5.4fps before slowing to 2fps.

At least continuous JPEG shooting – which matches the 1000D's 3fps performance – is now available at the same time as noise-reduction processing. Noise reduction was either (nominally) on or off on the 1000D, but now there are four strength levels. Selecting the maximum setting reduced continuous performance to 1.6fps, but the standard setting is strong enough for our tastes. Otherwise, performance was excellent, taking just 0.5 seconds to switch on and shoot, and the same time between subsequent shots. RAW shots were just under a second apart.

Prev Next

Get more reviews, tutorials and in-depth advice, every month with Computer Shopper.
Click here to try 3 issues for £1

User Reviews

See more EOS 1100D EF-S 18-55 IS II Kit reviews on Reevoo.com

Best Prices

Price comparison powered by

Prices, delivery and availability at 12 retailers		Go
	£280	Go
	£293	Go
	£299	Go
	£300	Go
	£300	Go
	£302	Go
	£306	Go
	£328	Go
	£337	Go
	£348	Go
	£360	Go
	£402	Go

< Previous Reviews : Digital cameras Next >

Sponsored Links

User comments

Great Camera

I've had the Canon 1100D for about a year and the device takes some amazing images, I was truly surprised at how far my photography skills appeared to have come. If you are used to point and click cameras, the addition of a focus ring, brighter colours and higher pixel count should definitely make your images stand out.

By stanjefferson on 2 Aug 2012