My Gear : CANON EOS 550D

Canon EOS 550D is my second DSLR camera. I bought this great camera at the end of 2010. This Canon EOS 550D replaces my old Canon DSLR too, EOS 1000D. This is an awesome DSLR according to me. Some review said that EOS 550D is baby EOS 7D. The highlight feature of EOS 550D are :

• 18 Megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor
• DIGIC 4 processor with ISO 100-6400 (Expansion to 12800)
• Continuous shooting at 3.7fps
• Full HD movie recording with manual control and selectable frame rates
• 7.7cm (3.0”) 3:2 Clear View LCD with 1,040k dots
• iFCL metering System with 63-zone Dual-layer Metering Sensor
• Quick Control screen to change shooting settings
• Exposure compensation +/-5 stops (although viewfinder scale is still +/-2 stops)
• Select maximum value for Auto ISO
• External Microphone socket
• Movie crop function
• Eye-Fi connected functions compatibility

Canon EOS 550D was announced at the beginning of February, 2010. In North America, this 18-megapixel camera is known as EOS Rebel T2i. It also successor of Canon EOS 500D / T1i.

Digital Photography review site, dpreview.com awarded this DSLR camera with GOLD Award and gain overall score 77%. The comment is
"All in all, the EOS 550D is the most compelling DSLR of its class that we've ever tested. It is hard to imagine how much more we might realistically expect from a product of this type, and although the improvements that Canon has made over the EOS 500D aren't revolutionary, the 550D is a better camera than its predecessor. In terms of both still and video capture, the 550D is currently the best camera of its type on the market."

While review from PhotographyBlog.com said that this Canon EOS 550D is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED with 4.5 stars. This their conclusion

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	4
Features	4.5
Ease-of-use	4.5
Image Quality	4.5
Value for money	3.5

Canon EOS 550dD/T2i full specification :

International naming	• US: Canon Rebel T2i • Japan: Canon EOS Kiss Digital X4 • Elsewhere: Canon EOS 550D
Body material	Stainless Steel and polycarbonate resin with glass fiber
Sensor	• 18.7 million effective pixels • 18.0 million total pixels • 22.3 x 14.9 mm CMOS sensor • RGB Color Filter Array • Built-in low-pass filter with self cleaning unit • 3:2 aspect ratio
Dust reduction	• Low-pass filter vibration at power-on (can be interrupted) • Anti-static coating on sensor surfaces • Software based dust-removal (camera maps dust, removed later)
Image sizes	• 5184 x 3456 • 3456 x 2304 • 2592 x 1728
Still image formats	• RAW (.CR2 14-bit) • RAW (.CR2 14-bit) + JPEG Large/Fine • JPEG (EXIF 2.21) - Fine, Normal
Movie recording	• 1920 x 1080 (1080p, 16:9) @ 30/25/24 fps • 1280 x 720 (720p, 16:9) @ 60/50 fps • 640 x 480 (4:3) @ 60/50 fps • Quicktime MOV format (H.264 video,linear PCM audio) • Up to 29 min 59 sec (or max file size 4 GB)
Image processor	DIGIC 4
Lenses	• Canon EF / EF-S lens mount • 1.6x field of view crop
Focus modes	• Auto Focus • Manual Focus (switch on lens)
Auto Focus	• 9-point CMOS sensor • F5.6 cross-type at center, extra sensitivity at F2.8 • AF working range: -0.5 to 18 EV (at 23°C, ISO 100) • Predictive AF up to 10 m
AF modes	• AI Focus • One Shot • AI Servo
AF point selection	• Auto • Manual
AF assist	Flash strobe
Shooting modes	• Auto • Portrait • Landscape • Close-up • Sports • Night portrait • Flash off • Movie • Program AE (P) • Shutter priority AE (Tv) • Aperture priority AE (Av) • Manual (M) • Auto depth-of-field
Metering	• TTL 63-zone SPC • Metering range: EV 1.0 - 20 EV (at 23°C, ISO 100, 50 mm F1.4)
Metering modes	• Evaluative 63-zone (linked to AF points) • Partial 9% at center • Spot 4% at center • Center-weighted average
AE Lock	AE lock button
AE Bracketing	• +/- 2.0 EV (3 shots) • 0.5 or 0.3 EV increments
Exposure compen.	• +/- 5.0 EV • 0.5 or 0.3 EV increments
Sensitivity	• Auto (100 - 6400 *) • ISO 100 • ISO 200 • ISO 400 • ISO 800 • ISO 1600 • ISO 3200 • ISO 6400 * • H1 expansion (ISO 12800 equiv.) • Highlight tone priority
Shutter	• Focal-plane shutter • 30 - 1/4000 sec (0.5 or 0.3 EV steps) • Flash X-Sync: 1/200 sec • Bulb
Aperture values	• F1.0 - F91 (0.3 EV steps) • Actual aperture range depends on lens used
White balance	• Auto  • Daylight  • Shade  • Cloudy  • Tungsten  • Fluorescent  • Flash  • Custom
WB Bracketing	• +/-3 levels • 3 images • Selectable Blue/Amber or Magenta/Green bias
WB fine-tuning	• Blue (-9) to Amber (+9) • Magenta (-9) to Green (+9)
Color space	• sRGB • Adobe RGB
Picture style	• Standard • Portrait • Landscape • Neutral • Faithful • Monochrome • User 1 • User 2 • User 3
Custom image parameters	• Sharpness: 0 to 7 • Contrast: -4 to +4 • Saturation: -4 to +4 • Color tone: -4 to +4 • B&W filter: N, Ye, Or, R, G • B&W tone: N, S, B, P, G
Image processing	• Highlight Tone Priority • Auto Lighting Optimizer (Basic and Creative modes) • Long exposure noise reduction • High ISO speed noise reduction • Peripheral illumination correction
Drive modes	• Single • Continuous: 3.7 fps up to 34 Large/Fine JPEG / 6 RAW frames * • Self-timer 10 secs (2 sec with mirror lock-up) • Self-timer continuous
Mirror lockup	Yes (custom function)
Viewfinder	• Pentamirror • 95% frame coverage • Magnification: 0.87x (-1 diopter with 50 mm lens at infinity) • Eyepoint: 19 mm • Dioptric adjustment: -3.0 to +1.0 diopter • Fixed precision matte • Proximity sensor disables LCD shooting mode information
Viewfinder info	• AF information (AF points focus confirmation light) • Shutter speed • Aperture value • ISO speed (always displayed) • AE lock • Exposure level/compensation • Spot metering circle • Exposure warning • AEB • Flash ready • High-speed sync • FE lock • Flash exposure compensation • Red-eye reduction light • White balance correction • SD card information • Monochrome shooting • Maximum burst • Highlight tone priority
DOF preview	Yes, button
LCD monitor	• 3.0" 3:2 TFT LCD • 1040,000 pixels • Approx 100% coverage • Wide viewing angle (160° horizontal and vertical) • Dual anti-reflection, anti-smudge • 7 brightness levels • Up to 10x zoom playback
LCD Live view	• Live TTL display of scene from CMOS image sensor • 100% frame coverage (30 fps display rate) • Real-time evaluative metering using CMOS image sensor • Best view or exposure simulation • Grid optional (thirds) • Magnify optional (5x or 10x at any point on the screen) • Optional Auto-focus with mirror-down / mirror-up sequence • Quick or Live mode autofocus
Record review	• Uses last play mode • Magnification possible • 2 / 4 / 8 sec / Hold
Flash	• Auto pop-up E-TTL II auto flash • Guide number approx 13 • Modes: Auto, Manual Flash On/ Off, Red-Eye Reduction • X-Sync: 1/200 sec • Flash exposure compensation: +/-2.0 EV (0.3 or 0.5 EV steps) • Coverage up to 17 mm focal length (27 mm FOV equiv.)
External flash	• E-TTL II auto flash with EX-series Speedlites • Hot-shoe
Other features	• Orientation sensor • In-camera copyright information • Automatically writes FAT16/FAT32 depending on capacity
Auto rotation	• On (playback uses orientation data in file header) • Off
Playback mode	• Single image • Single image with info (histogram brightness / RGB ) • Magnified view (1.5 - 10x in 15 steps, browsable) • 4 and 9 image index • Auto play • Image rotation • Jump (by 10, 100 or date)
Custom functions	12 custom functions with 36 settings
Menu languages	• English • German • French • Dutch • Danish • Portuguese • Finnish • Italian • Norwegian • Swedish • Spanish • Greek • Russian • Polish • Czech • Hungarian • Romanian • Ukrainian • Turkish • Arabic • Thai • Simplified Chinese • Traditional Chinese • Korean • Japanese
Firmware	User upgradable
Connectivity	• USB 2.0 (Hi-Speed) • Video out (PAL / NTSC) (integrated with USB terminal *) • HDMI mini output (HDMI-CEC) • E3 type wired remote control • Remote Controller RC-6 • External microphone (3.5mm Stereo mini jack
Audio	• Mono microphone on front • Mono speaker on rear • External stereo mike (optional)
Storage	• SD / SDHC card • SDXC card *
Power	• Lithium-Ion LP-E8 rechargeable battery • Approx 440 shots (23°C AE 50%, FE 50%), CIPA standard • 4 level battery life display • Optional ACK-E8 AC adapter kit
Battery Grip	Yes, BG-E8
Direct printing	• Canon Selphy Printers • Canon Bubble Jet Printers with direct print function • Canon PIXMA Printers supporting PictBridge • PictBridge
Dimensions	129 x 98 x 75 mm (5.1 x 3.9 x 2.9 in)
Weight (inc batt/card)	530 g (1.17 lb)
Software	• Zoom Browser EX / ImageBrowser • Digital Photo Professional (Windows / Mac) • PhotoStitch • EOS Utility (inc. Remote Capture; Windows & Mac except Mac Intel) • Original Data Security Tools • Picture Style Editor