Back in 2013 when I reviewed the Canon SL1, I remember how controversial my review was. I used a woman in the product images — but the reason why I did so was because the product was literally targeted to women. That’s what we were told in the meeting with Canon. This camera was the first of a bunch of really small Rebel cameras designed to be carried around with you everywhere. It was from an era where Canon did everything they possibly could to not make mirrorless cameras. There were times when the reps sounded delusional to me when they said that mirrorless was just a fad. But believe it or not, this camera still persists.
I’m still shocked that Canon never made a Canon Rebel R of some sort. Instead, they just give cameras some weird names instead.
So is the SL1 still good in 2025? If you pair it with a really small lens, I’d say yes. The images I made with this camera still amaze me even today. What I concluded in my review was the following:
Canon has done something with the Rebel SL1 that we believe they’ve gotten pretty much right in most aspects. The image quality that this camera can provide is excellent overall. Not only is the SL1 responsive and simple to use, but it is also quite small and will make you want to carry it everywhere.The novice and amateur users that this camera is targeted towards will be ecstatic with their purchase, but we need to clearly state the only the advanced users will be able to take the absolute fullest potential of the camera’s strengths.
In the end though, we need to recommend this camera only to those that are dying for a DSLR. You’ll get some exceptional results with practice and you won’t have the overkill that the higher level DSLRs will offer you.
This was from an era where people bought DSLRs just because they wanted better pictures, and so they shot with the camera in auto mode. You can surely do that with the SL1 and get really gorgeous images. This camera doesn’t shoot the best JPEGs at all — there are indeed much better from this era from Fujifilm and others. However, most folks might be satisfied with the output.
But here’s the thing: you can get it for less than $400. So should you get it? I have to be very frank: no. The R100 is a better buy for just a few hundred more bucks. Just save the money up and get the R100. No one NEEDs a camera these days. You want a camera because it’s a passion of yours. And in this case, the R100 is very small and does so much more. You should check out our review.