Canon EOS 1200D review: Still a worthy budget camera

Canon EOS 1200D Video

It’s great to see 1080p video recording at a choice of 24, 25 or 30fps. It’s backed up with the ability to set the exposure manually, and to adjust the shutter speed and aperture while recording. 50Mbit/s AVC encoding produces huge files, which minimises compression artefacts but also means the camera stops recording after about 12 minutes when the 4GB file size limit is reached. It could at least warn users with a countdown – the on-screen display gives the impression that it can record for 30 minutes, which is misleading.

Video quality is fine for casual use but it failed to match the fine details of the Nikon D3300, and it was noisier at fast ISO speeds too. Meanwhile, video autofocus displayed none of the improvements of recent EOS cameras. There’s an option (disabled by default) to update autofocus while recording by half-pressing the shutter button. Doing so sent the lens darting all over the place, and manual exposure settings were disregarded as the camera sought a high-contrast subject to focus on. The card slot’s location beside the battery is another potential setback for videographers, as it’s inaccessible when the camera is mounted on a tripod.

Canon EOS 1200D Image Quality

SLR photo quality tests rarely throw up big surprises, and the 1200D displayed the traits we’ve come to expect from the EOS range: a sublime colour palette and sharp details in JPEGs, and the ability to extract finer details and an expanded dynamic range from RAW files. We found autofocus to be equally reliable when using the viewfinder and live view, which hasn’t always been the case with consumer EOS cameras.

Colours in JPEGs are expertly rendered, but it’s worth shooting raw for the crispest details

The big sensor ensures that subtle skin and hair textures aren’t lost to noise in brightly lit scenes

Noise was insignificant across most of our tests, but direct comparisons with the Nikon D3300 at fast ISO speeds revealed that the Canon exhibited significantly more noise in its JPEGs. Processing their output in Lightroom 5 narrowed the gap, but the D3300 still held onto its lead.

Noise can be a problem in low light. This shot is far from terrible but we’d hope for slightly smoother colours at ISO 3200

The top ISO 12800 setting is best avoided, whereas the Nikon D3300 is much better at the same ISO speed

The Nikon D3300 displays a clear lead in this shot, too

The difference isn’t so acute when comparing their RAW output (processed in Lightroom 5) but Nikon is still ahead

Automatic exposures were sometimes slightly over-exposed for our liking, with the Nikon D3300 doing a better job of the same scene. It’s not hard to adjust for this manually, but it’s not always obvious until you get the photos home for close inspection. Exposure bracketing would have provided a simple workaround, but Canon has chosen to omit it from this camera.

Canon EOS 1200D Conclusion – What to Buy?

The D3300 is more expensive but can now be had for around £489 with a kit lens. It’s also worth noting that the 1200D kit we tested doesn’t include an optically stabilised lens. An alternative kit with a stabilised lens (part code 9127B032AA) and now costs £319. Without having tested the image quality of the IS lens, we would be inclined to recommend spending the little extra for image stabilisation.

There are various other 1200D kits that are also worth considering. Jessops currently lists a twin-lens kit with the non-stabilised 18-55mm plus the 50mm f/1.8 – a superb budget portrait lens that performs far better than its low price would have you believe – now for £340. There’s also a triple-lens kit that adds a 75-300mm lens for those looking for more reach on the telephoto end.

This highlights a key decision for anyone taking their first steps in SLR photography. It’s worth getting a camera body with the features you need, but the biggest boost to image quality will come from your choice of lens or lenses. The 1200D is a low-cost, no-frills camera, but the triple-lens kit in particular is an amazing deal. We’d argue that it’s far more capable than an EOS 700D with its basic 18-55mm kit lens due to its great selection of glass.

This isn’t the only low-cost SLR, though. The Pentax K-50 is only a little more expensive now at around £395, and is considerably more upmarket. The Sony A58 is better specified in various respects and costs as low as £289. Then there’s the Nikon D3300, which comes top for image quality in this group.

This leaves the EOS 1200D struggling to stand out. Then again, there’s nothing much wrong with it, the companion app is genuinely handy for new those buying their first serious camera, and that triple-lens kit might well be enough to clinch the deal. Buy Now from Amazon.