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Canon Rebel T3 or T3i?

jbachandouris

jbachandouris

macrumors 603
Original poster
Aug 18, 2009
6,023
3,244
Upstate NY
T3 is 12.2 MP. 720P recording. Price $469 (from Best Buy-only CC with no interest for 18 months).

T3i is 18MP. full 1080 recording. Price $756-$150 (Best Buy reward certificates) $606

So is it really worth $137 more? Honestly, I don't 'need' either one (already own T3), just curious....
 
Such a small gap isn't worth it, I'd be looking at the 60D tbh, I mean I jumped from a 450D (unsure on US name) to a 7D. I wouldn't have gone to any other XXXD camera (Are they all rebels?) because the difference was too small.

The US names made this more complicated that it needed to be, hope it helped though.
 
If I jumped up too high, the wife would have my head!

The T3 is still within return policy period, so I can exchange it if I want. I'm not sure its worth the extra cash. I want, but we'll see...
 
I think the T3 is very limited. I'd exchange it for the T3i, or if you're on a tight budget, you should consider the T2i, maybe even the T1i. I think those models are better than the T3.
 
The T2i is better? Is the T3i much better than the T2i?

After reward zone certificates and the exchange of the T3, the added cost would be about $70
 
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If you're really only spending $70 extra, then sure, get the T3i.

I, personally, wouldn't care about the extra MP or 1080P video mode. However, I think that the swivel & higher quality screen, as well as the marginal bump in IQ bump are worth $70. If you do care about the MP/1080P then those two make it even a bit easier to swallow the extra cost.

If you end up having to spend more than $70, you may want to see if you'd be better served by maybe picking up a cheap prime lens, such as the 50mm 1.8 Mk2. Glass > body.

You should check out reputable forums such as FM Miranda or POTN for great prices on used gear.
 
amoda said:
If you're really only spending $70 extra, then sure, get the T3i.

I, personally, wouldn't care about the extra MP or 1080P video mode. However, I think that the swivel & higher quality screen, as well as the marginal bump in IQ bump are worth $70. If you do care about the MP/1080P then those two make it even a bit easier to swallow the extra cost.

If you end up having to spend more than $70, you may want to see if you'd be better served by maybe picking up a cheap prime lens, such as the 50mm 1.8 Mk2. Glass > body.

You should check out reputable forums such as FM Miranda or POTN for great prices on used gear.
Click to expand...

Sorry, the T2i is $70 more. Plus, the T3 does not have the auto sensor cleaner, which I did not know before I bought it.
 
Is it worth it? Depends how serious you are about photo/video. For me, it would be surely worth it. Actually, I'm the exact opposite of amoda, the 1080p video is very nice :D I think the t2i is the sweet spot. The t2i is a very similar camera to the t3i and shares both the image sensor with the higher up 60d and 7d.

The differences between the t3 and t2i are considerable, you get a much larger screen as well as 1080p video where as between the t2i and t3i you pretty much get just a twisty swivelly screen (same size as the t2i).

TL DR; if you plan on getting serious about photo, especially video, get the t2i.
 
paolo- said:
Is it worth it? Depends how serious you are about photo/video. For me, it would be surely worth it. Actually, I'm the exact opposite of amoda, the 1080p video is very nice :D I think the t2i is the sweet spot. The t2i is a very similar camera to the t3i and shares both the image sensor with the higher up 60d and 7d.

The differences between the t3 and t2i are considerable, you get a much larger screen as well as 1080p video where as between the t2i and t3i you pretty much get just a twisty swivelly screen (same size as the t2i).

TL DR; if you plan on getting serious about photo, especially video, get the t2i.
Click to expand...

The auto sensor cleaning and face detection also come into play. I have been researching this for about an hour. Also debating on the Best Buy warranty since it covers accidental damage. They have it for $673 and I have $100 reward zone certificates plus 18 months no interest. If I had the cash, I'd shop around more, but I don't.
 
jbachandouris said:
The T2i is better? Is the T3i much better than the T2i?

After reward zone certificates and the exchange of the T3, the added cost would be about $70
Click to expand...

I'd say to get the T2i. The only differences between that and the T3i are a swivel screen, and recording movies with 3x digital zoom, and probably a few other small things. The jump from the T3 to the T2i is pretty big though, adding a higher resolution sensor, better low light capabilities, slightly higher dynamic range, 1080p video, a self cleaning sensor, and the ability to use Magic Lantern. Magic Lantern also works for the T3i, but as far as I know, not the T3 yet.
 
I had the T2i, and like others said, it's the sweet spot. Youl'll only lose the swivel screen, movie crop, and some other minor things like filter effect. But you do miss out on the wireless flash option on the T3i, which may be useful if you get a flash unit down the road.

Magic Lantern is something you install on the camera. It's mainly for used for video, where you can better control the audio of the movie. But if you're on a tight budget, you can't go wrong with the T2i.
 
I went with the T3i route myself. I looked at the T2i for a bit however, this being my first DSLR, I wanted the best I could get at the time. The swivel screen is a very nice plus for me. Other than that, there's not a huge difference between the two honestly. If you can fork over a bit more then you might want to look at the 7D. For me it was a smidge too much at the time which is why I went with the T3i. I don't regret my purchase at all however if you go with either the T2i or T3i, you're in good shape.
 
I am just a little annoyed at myself for buying the T3 without realizing all that it lacked and since I bought it at Best Buy, I get to worry about their new 'excessive returns' policy.

I can't understand why the T3 doesn't have the sensor cleaner. There's no reason that feature shouldn't be in ALL their SLRs!
 
Remote Flash

One thing that is not so obvious about the T3i is that it can control remote strobes, T2i can't.
 
jbachandouris said:
I am just a little annoyed at myself for buying the T3 without realizing all that it lacked and since I bought it at Best Buy, I get to worry about their new 'excessive returns' policy.

I can't understand why the T3 doesn't have the sensor cleaner. There's no reason that feature shouldn't be in ALL their SLRs!
Click to expand...

Just enjoy your new camera! No matter what camera you buy today, there will be a better one out next year, and the year after that, etc. Learn your chops on something really affordable and then upgrade later on with the kind of knowledge that can come only from experience.
 
jbachandouris said:
I am just a little annoyed at myself for buying the T3 without realizing all that it lacked and since I bought it at Best Buy, I get to worry about their new 'excessive returns' policy.

I can't understand why the T3 doesn't have the sensor cleaner. There's no reason that feature shouldn't be in ALL their SLRs!
Click to expand...

I feel the same way. And just to add salt to my and your wound, the T3 doesn't have mirror lock. Seems like such a simple feature to add. Or, perhaps more accurately, seems like such a strange feature to remove.
 
T3 is junk. Don't think the T3i is worth the price. The T2i is just perfect.
 
jbachandouris said:
Magic Lantern?
Click to expand...

Magic Lantern is like jailbreaking a Canon camera. It adds things like focus peaking (useful for manual focus), a 360 degree shutter for video (that means 1/25" shutter speed for 25fps, which leads to nice motion blur), a nice intervalometer with bulb ramping (useful for time lapse), and many more features. I love having it on my camera, and it lets you do a lot more.

mac mac mac said:
I had the T2i, and like others said, it's the sweet spot. Youl'll only lose the swivel screen, movie crop, and some other minor things like filter effect. But you do miss out on the wireless flash option on the T3i, which may be useful if you get a flash unit down the road.

Magic Lantern is something you install on the camera. It's mainly for used for video, where you can better control the audio of the movie. But if you're on a tight budget, you can't go wrong with the T2i.
Click to expand...

Really? The wireless flash alone would be worth it for me personally, I didn't know it could do that. Of course, the T3i wasn't out yet when I got my T2i, so I didn't have that option, plus I got mine heavily discounted from B&H (over $150 off), so I couldn't have afforded a T3i at that point anyway.

If you don't plan on getting multiple external flashes, the built-in triggering isn't too big of a deal, and if you ever did decide to later on, you can get cheap radio triggers online for ~$30, which work well for me.
 
mackmgg said:
Magic Lantern is like jailbreaking a Canon camera. It adds things like focus peaking (useful for manual focus), a 360 degree shutter for video (that means 1/25" shutter speed for 25fps, which leads to nice motion blur), a nice intervalometer with bulb ramping (useful for time lapse), and many more features. I love having it on my camera, and it lets you do a lot more.



Really? The wireless flash alone would be worth it for me personally, I didn't know it could do that. Of course, the T3i wasn't out yet when I got my T2i, so I didn't have that option, plus I got mine heavily discounted from B&H (over $150 off), so I couldn't have afforded a T3i at that point anyway.

If you don't plan on getting multiple external flashes, the built-in triggering isn't too big of a deal, and if you ever did decide to later on, you can get cheap radio triggers online for ~$30, which work well for me.
Click to expand...

But will the the $30 radio do TTL, exp compensation, etc...?
I got the T3i over the T2i just for the wireless flash.
 
procopio said:
But will the the $30 radio do TTL, exp compensation, etc...?
I got the T3i over the T2i just for the wireless flash.
Click to expand...

No, but that's why I said that option is only if you don't think you'll need that yet. No sense spending an extra hundred dollars for something there's a small chance you'll use it in the future. I would rather have built in e-TTL triggering, but it's not something I would say a beginner needs if they don't see themselves using multiple flashes (in itself a multi-hundred dollar investment it doesn't seem like the OP wants to make yet) in the near future.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

I went with the T2i. At this point the wireless flash option is not necessary at this time and I'm not a huge fan of swivel screens.
 
Note to self: STOP checking Best Buy.com for better prices on purchased (or planned purchase) items!

The T3i is $717! That's only $50 more than I've already spent. I'm sure Best Buy's 'Excessive Returns' computer would have a fit if I tried another exchange...
 
i love my T2i, a new lens will suite my needs in the near future. hoping for a 15-85.
 
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