There's been quite a bit of talk about cameras lately, maybe a little too much, but it has become quite clear that the differences between camera systems are more minimal than they've ever been, and it's possible to get good results from almost any of them. We already looked at the 5D Mark III and the T2i, and it was clear that for web video, the final image quality was very similar. Now comes the Canon T4i, which is an update to the popular T3i/T2i cameras. The video reviews are out, but should you upgrade?
Sebastian over at cinema5D has had the camera for a little while and he's put together two videos that give a sense of the video quality and the low-light performance:
It becomes pretty clear in the first video that moire/aliasing is about the same as it has been. That's slightly disappointing -- more so than the marginal improvement in sharpness for the Canon 5D Mark III. Canon is definitely drawing a line in the sand, and only particular models above a certain price range will see improvements in that area. Where is that line? It's hard to say, but at the moment it's at the $3,500 level.
As far as noise is concerned, there is a slight improvement, and there is a lot less chroma noise in the T4i than in the Canon 7D.So what's the verdict? If you've got a T2i, T3i, 60D, or 7D, and you don't need the noise improvement or want to buy new lenses for autofocus, you'll probably be better off sticking with your current camera. If you've never bought a camera before, or you have a DSLR without video capabilities, this is definitely one to consider.
If you're curious what the autofocus performance is like, here's a video showing off that ability:
There is a face-tracking function that might provide better results, but at the moment is seems like it is designed only as a convenience feature, not necessarily to be used in a situation where you need perfect focus. It will be interesting to see what Canon does next with their line, as there are rumors that they will be replacing a number of the cameras this year.
If you want to buy the T4i, you can do so from the links below:
Links:
- Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM $199
- Canon Rebel T4i Body Only $849
- Canon Rebel T4i w/18-55mm IS $949
- Canon Rebel T4i w/18-135mm IS STM $1199
[via cinema5D]
