If you’re a person who has been looking to just get into photography, there’s a strong chance you’ve considered the Canon Rebel T7i. The Canon Rebel lineup of cameras often sell well due to Canon’s name, their bundles, and aggressive marketing/pricing. They’ve always been considered very entry level and they really still are. But one thing that I’ve always been fascinated by is the fact that their image quality is pretty good when you’re looking at other cameras, comparatively speaking. The Canon Rebel T7i is surely better than your smartphone and has much more capabilities in some ways.
But at the same time, there are arguably better options available from the likes of Sony and Fujifilm.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Lightweight
- A fair amount of creative options
- Not bad autofocus
- Not bad image quality at high ISOs
- Good colors
- Touchscreen
- Fantastic battery life
- Tilt-swivel screen
Cons
- No way to edit the RAW files within the camera in the same way that you can with the higher end cameras.
- Canon’s sensors are starting to fall behind.
- Not a whole lot of dynamic range
Gear Used
We tested the Canon Rebel T7i with the 18-55mm kit lens.
Canon Rebel T7i Tech Specs
- 24.2MP APS-C CMOS Sensor
- DIGIC 7 Image Processor
- 3.0″ 1.04m-Dot Vari-Angle Touchscreen
- Full HD 1080p Video Recording at 60 fps
- 45-Point All Cross-Type Phase-Detect AF
- Dual Pixel CMOS AF
- Up to 6 fps Shooting and ISO 51200
- Built-In Wi-Fi with NFC, Bluetooth
- HDR Movie and Time-Lapse Movie
- Movie Electronic IS, Feature Assistant
Ergonomics
The Canon Rebel T7i is a small APS-C DSLR camera that is only one of the many entry level options Canon offers. So when you look at it without the lens off, you’ll spot that uber vulnerable area: the mirror and sensor. Otherwise there aren’t a whole lot of buttons.
PS: Don’t expose the sensor like this for prolonged periods of time.
Come to the top of the Canon Rebel T7i and what you’ll find are these dials and buttons. To change the focusing point you’ll use the button right by the ISO button. The On/off/video switch has a new option too–one that I literally just mentioned within this sentence.
Move to the back of the camera and what you’ll find is this giant tilt-swivel LCD screen that is also touch capable. Then there are buttons such as WiFi access, playback, drive, white balance, etc.
Here’s the Canon Rebel T7i’s tilt-swivel screen in action.
Build Quality
The Canon Rebel T7i is the company’s entry level option; well, one of them. As such, it feels entry level. It isn’t that solid but it isn’t bad either. And no, it doesn’t have weather sealing.
Ease of Use
Beyond the dials for controlling parameters like the ISO and shutter speed you’ll need to remember the Av button to change the aperture of the lens. But otherwise, Canon’s best feature continues to be its menu system, which dominates a lot of the rest.
Autofocus
The autofocus on the Canon Rebel T7i is fairly decent. Part of this has to do with the very good STM lenses offered. They’re good and in most situations will please most people. But when it comes to tracking kids running around or something of the sort, I wouldn’t totally rely on it. The 77D may be a better option then.
Image Quality
The Canon Rebel T7i has overall good image quality. The colors are nice and so is the high ISO output. But what you get is a lack of dynamic range. Canon’s sensors, with the exception of the Canon 5DS, haven’t always had the best dynamic range for a few years now.
JPEG Output
Lots of folks are bound to shoot the Canon Rebel T7i and only use JPEG mode. And for the most part the JPEGs are very nice. I never had an issue just throwing them up on Instagram, providing that I nailed the shot to begin with. But I mostly nail the shot.
High ISO Output
At ISO 4,000 the Canon Rebel T7i isn’t too shabby. It’s good for a screen but I wouldn’t print this photo very large. In fact, I printed it using the Canon Prograf 1000 at 13×18 and wasn’t that impressed with the print.
RAW File Versatility
What’s been annoying me about Canon’s sensors is the fact that they really don’t retain a whole lot of highlight detail. You’re best off underexposing and pushing the files in post.
Extra Image Samples
Conclusions
Likes
- Nice colors
Dislikes
- Canon has too many Rebels and APS-C DSLRs
I’m pretty torn on the Canon Rebel T7i. Is it a bad camera? Absolutely not. Could Canon have done much better? Yes. This APS-C sensor has 24MP and isn’t quite up to what Fujifilm and Sony put out. But for some odd reason, Canon just chooses to not try a whole lot harder out of fear of cannibalizing their own products.
Would I buy the Canon Rebel T7i? Probably not because I much prefer the color output that Fujifilm gives off in the APS-C world. But if I were just getting into photography, I’d strongly consider this camera or something from Sony. A buddy of mine just got a Sony camera with two lenses for pretty much the same price as Canon’s Rebel T7i. That Sony camera has the potential to outlast a Rebel because it’s at a higher tier of camera.
Again, I’m torn here; but the Canon Rebel T7i isn’t a bad camera, it’s just not particularly exciting.
The Canon Rebel T7i receives four out of five stars. Check out the latest prices over at Amazon.
