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When the spec for the Canon Eos 600D (or Rebel T3i for the USians) was released, quite a few people asked if it wasn’t just a more expensive version of the 550D with a flip-screen. (Our Daniela wasn’t one of them, and as far as I can tell, her credit card is still locked in a drawer somewhere.) Reading the reviews, you’re getting a very well-specced and reliable camera for around £700 or US$800. I’m prepared to buy one, on what people here are saying. Wanna take a look?

CNET Australia says ‘The 600D also gets an 18-megapixel CMOS sensor and the Digic 4 image processor, the same as the 550D. Full HD video recording at 30, 25 and 24fps is almost Canon standard now, and the 600D also comes with video snapshot mode, which borrows elements from the company’s camcorder range. It lets photographers take a small snippet of footage (two/four/eight seconds) and piece together the clips in a montage with background music if desired.’ – Read the full review on CNET Australia

Digital Photography Review says ‘From the perspective of anyone following the market, the T3i / 600D isn’t a very exciting camera – it’s a slight upgrade of its predecessor with the flip-out screen from the more expensive EOS 60D. However, from the perspective of someone buying their first DSLR or upgrading from anything more than about three years old, it’s an excellent combination of features and capability at a very reasonable price.’ – Read the full review on DPReview

The Digital Picture says ‘The Canon EOS Rebel T3i / 600D delivers 18 megapixels of professional grade image quality in a compact, light weight, feature-filled, easy-to-use body that carries a very affordable price tag. These are the qualities have anchored the flagship Canon Rebel model in the top-selling DSLRs category for years – and I fully expect the Canon EOS Rebel T3i / 600D to maintain the Rebel’s popularity.’ – Read the full review on The Digital Picture

ePHOTOzine says ‘The design of the camera is very good, with ample rubberised areas, and a large hand grip. However I found some of the button locations slightly awkward, particularly the ISO button, although the rest were good. The Canon menus are easy to use and logically laid out as you would expect with a Canon camera. The battery life was better than expected, although there is little warning about when the battery is finally going to give up on you.’ – Read the full review on ePHOTOzine

Imaging Resource says ‘Indeed, the major differences between the 600D and 60D are few. It’s down to frame rate (3.7 vs. 5.3 fps), maximum shutter speed (1/4,000 vs. 1/8,000), maximum ISO (12,800 vs. 25,600 equivalent), viewfinder size (0.87x vs. 0.95x), battery type, and grip size. There are other, more minor differences, but those are the big items. As such, the 600D seems like a pretty good deal.’ – Read the full review on Imaging Resource

PhotographyBLOG says ‘In use, we found the Canon EOS 600D / Rebel T3i to be a responsive and versatile camera that almost never got in the way of picture taking. As noted earlier, the auto focus was fast when using the optical viewfinder, and not always painstakingly slow when using Live View, either.’ – Read the full review on PhotographyBLOG

PhotoRadar says ‘The various changes bestowed upon the Canon 600D perhaps make a little more sense here than they do in the enthusiast EOS 60D, and what results is a model that provides plenty of growing space for beginners but enough to keep the more adventurous happy from the off.’ – Read the full review on PhotoRadar

Pocket-lint says ‘Far less a model to entice 550D owners to upgrade, the 600D instead offers a well-specified mid-range package that’s pushing into the 60D’s territory. And that’s no bad thing.’ – Read the full review on Pocket-lint

TechRadar says ‘Although the 600D’s focusing speed is generally good, the meagre burst rate and slow down upon processing mean that it’s perhaps not the ideal camera for action photography. It’s also probably not ideal for larger handed users, but otherwise there’s little to complain about.’ – Read the full review on TechRadar