CANON EOS REBEL T5

Canon’s new entry-level DSLR, the EOS Rebel T5 ($550), is an upgrade from the now discontinued T3. That’s all well and good, but is it better than the more affordable mirrorless competition – which have become very strong performers in the past year? While the camera will satisfy newbie DSLR owners in ease of use and great image quality, the fact that there isn’t a major upgrade in features leaves us wanting a little more. (Check out our T5 vs. Nikon D3300 comparison here.)

Features and Design

Ho-hum, it’s another all-black basic DSLR with a textured grip. We really shouldn’t expect much more sizzle since, other than Pentax’s Day-Glo bodies, almost all digital single lens reflex cameras look alike. Canon fans will find nothing unusual here, neither will every buyer looking for a new DSLR. Granted, it doesn’t have the heft of the new pro-level Nikon D4S, but it also doesn’t have an MSRP that’s ten-times more expensive – the T5 is clearly for newbies and those looking to upgrade older Rebels.

Stealthy it is not, for it’s rather noisy as the mirror assembly flaps away.

At $549 with a kit zoom lens, the 18-megapixel T5 has solid imaging underpinnings but if you’re looking for “scintillating,” you won’t find it here. The camera measures 5.1 x 3.9 x 3 inches, weighing 17 ounces for the body, battery, and card. We know this is hard to quantify but overall it feels rather “plasticky.” At least, carrying it around your neck shouldn’t be too much of a burden.
The key feature on the front is the classic EF mount and, thanks to many years in the business, Canon offers a huge selection of glass. We can’t imagine anyone spending $1,000 for a wide-aperture prime lens to use with this camera, but the 55-250mm would be a good addition ($299); Canon sent that along for our review. Given the 1.6x digital factor, we had a 28.8-400mm focal range to play with, which was a lot of fun shooting landscapes.
Even though the T5 improves upon the T3’s 720p with Full HD 1920 x 1080/30p video, they neglected the stereo part of the equation, opting for a mono mic. We know manufacturers have to watch their pennies but this seems like a foolish oversight. Also, note the T5 does have an outboard AF Assist lamp like Nikon, Sony, et al. Here it’s part of the auto pop-up flash. This is nothing unusual for Canon DSLRs and fortunately we had few focusing issues.
We found the grip comfortable and the textured finish helped keep things steady. In keeping with its entry-level status, the main mode dial not only has Scene Intelligent (smart) Auto, PASM, and Movie, it has four commonly used scene options (Portrait, Landscape, Macro, and Sports) along with other settings.