I was so far with the Canon 50E (yes, exactly, old ham) road, and later with various digital "clippers" with better optics. Possession also various EF lenses and adapter.
Have long hesitated with the DSRL, because I kind of hoping that the full-size Bodies are affordable, unfortunately this has not occurred. Now I do have 'nen "Crop" :-)
Now to the point:
Packing
----------
Packaging is relatively wertig, everything is fitted tightly, nothing wobbles in a box.
The Body and Lens were also protected. So one imagines a Wrap!
Housing Material
----------------
the first impression: the housing is made of a low ("cheap" would be too hard) seemingly plastic. When I mean EOS 50E put next the difference is clear. Alone, the Canon logo, one that even gets Casio towards better.
A further shock I got when the flash "rausgewackelt" came okeeeey, I thought to myself.
The Body is Perfect, no question, but only thanks to the incorporated rubber pads. Unfortunately the bar for normal hands is a little on the small side, yes, many will say is just like 450, 550, but is too small! You have to practice grasping to no cramp in his hand to get.
I just hope with the optional Battery Grip it gets better.
The housing-gap measure is perfectly side, everything sits firmly and tightly together.
Weight is very good, you do not have to keep you feeling a brick in his hand.
The display mounting is very stable and accurate, Mechanically I like the most about this case. Although it comes with a finger against the "Q" key when trying pop up the display. That's the price of housing "size", here each mm is planned.
Grope
------
The keys are good the average score, the pressure point no skin off your feet, but keys are accurate (everything is still new :-).
Some keys have a different pressure point, which applies to the *, AF and Select ISO button. That seems to be rubber keys with a Kunstoffkopf, the rest feels like membrane keys.
The program selector dial as well as the work very precisely.
Switching goes without any major problems, the power switch is also accurate and has almost no game.
Display
-------
As an Android user you are from the screen just thrilled! The touch operation is a comfort what you have always wanted and now really only consistently. It behaves a bit like the air in the car: if it did not / does not know you miss it when you get to know it no longer wants to be without it again! :-) I have to admit, as Androidbenutzer Seeking instinctively the "Back" button, but of course does not exist here :-)
The display resolution is perfect! You can not even recognize a single pixel. Contrast and color reproduction are also very good. One can also at sun the content clearly visible (this should make the brightness higher). A brief photo session in the garden with my cats from the "cats perspective" has been a great success thanks to the rotatable display and the live view and the no need to wallow on the grass. Perfect!
Especially gratifying: the proximity sensor: take the camera out of her face, the display comes on again, it depends again on the nose goes from there. I would say: super thought along Canon! :-)
What I miss is the automatic adjustment of screen brightness. Eg in closed rooms ranging half brightness, in the sunny Vice Bund is full brightness quite nice.
Operation and functions
-----------------------------
The menus are very well structured: must not interminable configuration pages up the one and scroll down. Thanks to Touch Technology (presumably specially optimized) are all points simultaneously visible at once, more points are then on the next tab. This allows for fast operation without much having to fiddle around.
What is first of all getting used to for me are the many special programs and variations.
Ultimately, no one can conjure up. There are two values: the shutter speed and aperture value.
All these programs play with these values, on top comes a series of digital filters such as white balance, digital sharpness (edge contrast), image contrast, hue, saturation, etc.
If you are familiar with the basics of exposure and aware of working with depth of field, to get well without the scene programs and rightly so.
Sometimes you just do not have time to constantly look at the switch, "ah, there's portrait, click, click, click"; the process is much faster in the Programmed Auto (P mode): spin the wheel and open the aperture :-) Everything you need for this is seen in the viewfinder, you need not to reduce the camera to operate.
For all programs, it is striking that these are always occupied with some restrictions, such as: focus sensors are predefined or - what most annoys me - forced automatic ISO selection.
The programs can be very helpful, no question, especially when it has to be quick or you want to have as a beginner quick results.
Games in my eyes at the discerning photography but not such a big role, and define the camera for me not because nowadays the RAW images on the computer anyway just under the "magnifying glass" and accepts it if necessary or similar there by Photoshop , can correct a lot better. For ausgedehte "photo session with dokumentativen character" of a festival or holiday programs are just the thing. For anyone who has been to work one week at its 300 new images digitally on the computer.
Especially worth mentioning are: the creative mode and HDR and Night mode with 4 shots.
In creative mode, you can influence the depth of field than those in 5 stages. So that really what is, you should use a fast lens, to the kit lens does not count. The good old 50mm f / 1.8 can work wonders.
With HDR can be particularly "dramatic" produce images :-)
Have just like in the Garden "kept clean": you can see everything that is in the shade and the sky is still blue and contrast. Unfortunately you have to say that you can only make 3 images with a non-adjustable exposure steps in HDR. That could be determined flexibly, right, Canon?
Bracketing function is independent of course available, this can however only 3 images at up to 2 exposure levels. Thanks Canon: - /
The same goes for night shots without a tripod: here 4 images are automatically "shot" and added together. This is the noise are also reduced, the result, however, has not so blew me away.
Got the Sandisk Extreme Pro (95 (R) / 80 (w) MB / s) gegöhnt card and tried with series of images in the P mode: the highest JPEG resolution (L with round arch, content requires 3.5MB in size) works without any breaks, have ununtebrochen ca 30-40 images shot with the full range image speed.
If you switch a RAW it is significantly slower after the first 5 images, Felt 2 frames / sec. A RAW image had about 20MB. Here is apparently the processor / interface at the end or the camera writes suboptimal on the map. For it would theoretically up to 4 images to be stored in the second.
Image Quality
------------
Is very good! Noise is noticeable from about ISO 800. The ISO 12800 it is best to steer clear :)
The focus - unless it is dirty by the kit lens - is just overwhelming.
Have tried different lenses, (almost) all very good.
Speaking lens: the camera has the function vignetting and color aberration of Canon lenses out attribute. A very handy feature, which can compensate for errors cheaper lenses. How well this works so far I could not test. Yet to come.
Video recordings
--------------
Short film of 16 seconds required 80MB. Quality I could not test, but is coming soon.
Connectivity
----------------------
HDMI I could not try, cable is ordered. USB was automatically recognized by Windows 7 and you could copy images. On Linux, the camera is not recognized as a USB storage, ie. This is probably with gphoto2, but could not test (perhaps soon) it.
You can optionally connect a GPS receiver, the entry for it, there is the menu.
All my accessories 50E fits and works on the 650D (excluding battery grip).
Conclusion
-----
After the disappointment of the housing material I am despite the small restrictions here and there with the camera very satisfied. It offers an enormous variety of different programs that are admittedly limited, but still achieve good results.
It is therefore suitable both for beginners as well as (prospective) ambitious amateur photographers.
Professionals would probably be rather abgeneingt because of haptics, the slow shutter speed, and the whole "limited and useless Schnitckschnack".
This camera would have the camera people are par excellence, Canon had not so limited.
Therefore only 4 points, simply because some left to be desired.
Nevertheless, it makes a lot of fun and most of all very high-quality images!
It remains the faint hope that someday are extensions on the net that will blow up one way or another bondage.
* Supplement dated 03/07/12: *
- Now my grip Phottix has come so that the camera is now perfectly in your hand!
What is still missing is the hand strap :-)
For AF:
- Could now test it and as expected everything quickly and reliably focused as I was used to from the 50E is also my USM lens.
- A lens with a conventional engine must be assessed wholly unsuited to AF speed.
* Supplement dated 10/07/12: *
For AF: The AF in Live View mode (ie mirror flipped up, monitor on the display.) Is naturally slower than with the mirrors, did also not expect any miracles, but it adheres when using the Live View mode in exceptional cases within limits. With (D) SLR cameras photographing anyway mostly through the viewfinder. Against nose prints on display, there is the way the optical extension for little money, highly recommended!
For HDMI connection:
I now have a suitable cable brought (mini-HDMI HSMI) and am very satisfied. The stunning picture quality, all very keen to establish no noise (yes there is something, for example: at cheap BR players). The best part is the HDMI Remote Control: take the TV remote and therefore zaps the slideshow of the camera from your couch :-) Now that's an awesome feature! (NOTE: Be sure to fully assigned cable!).
