Review: Canon EOS 550D

MORE: Click here to read our full review of the Canon EOS 550D

Canon’s latest digital SLR camera is the EOS 550D, which sits somewhere in the middle of the company’s range.

It uses the same body design as the cheaper camera models, which means that the mode dial sits on the top-right side where the higher-end cameras have a second screen.

The main 3in screen on the back of the camera instead doubles as an information display, showing aperture and other exposure settings when it’s not showing a picture.

It’s got a so-called Live View mode in which the screen can be used for composing shots instead of the viewfinder, and that’s also the way video is shot – it can shoot high-definition video in the 720p resolution.

Unlike the more expensive Canon models the 550D uses SD memory cards rather than Compactflash, but it does have a microphone socket so that if you’re shooting video you don’t need to use the camera’s built in mic.

Unfortunately it doesn’t have all the controls that are on the higher-end Canon models so for instance the camera is not particularly easy to control when it’s in full manual exposure mode.

Usefully, there’s a miniature HDMI port in addition to the standard mini-USB, so you can connect it directly to a TV to show off your films.

The motordrive is quite fast allowing you to blaze off shots at 3.7 frames per second.

The kit we’re looking at comes with a Canon 18-135mm lens, which has image stabilisation to combat camera shake. It’s one of the cheaper Canon lenses, though - it’s not as quick to focus as the Canon USM lens models, and it adds about £200 to the price of the camera above the standard 18-55mm lens kit.

MORE: Click here to read our full review of the Canon EOS 550D