Canon Announces EOS SL1

Canon Announces EOS SL1

Canon today announced two new DSLRs to its EOS line-up, one a completely new design in the Rebel EOS SL1 and the other an update in its popular Rebel T series, the T5i.  Of the two, the EOS SL1 is by far the more compelling new design.

The EOS Rebel SL1 / 100D Digital SLR

The Canon EOS Rebel SL1 / 100D with the new EF-S 18-55 f/3.5-5.6 IS STM Lens.

The EOS Rebel SL1 DSLR is being marketed as the world's smallest and, at 14 ounces, lightest DSLR--that is, of any DSLRs that use an APS-C sized sensor.

The SL1 offers the same 18 Megapixel sensor and Digic 5 image processor as the co-announced T5i but in a dramatically smaller form factor.  In fact, the SL1 is closer in width and height to Canon's mirrorless EOS-M and Micro Four Thirds mirrorless cameras such as the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5 than it is to other Rebel series SLRs.

The EOS SL1 is about the same width as the Canon EOS-M.

Of course the SL1 is deeper than mirrorless cameras, but it retains an optical viewfinder, something most mirrorless systems cannot match.

Equally impressive is that the SL1 manages to retain most of the features of its T-series brethren:  4 frames-per-second shooting, a 3 inch fixed touch-capacitive screen (same as the EOS-M), 9 point autofocus, ISO from 100 to 25600, 1080p30 video recording (and a stereo input jack!), and continuous autofocus in movie mode with subject tracking.

The SL1 has the same touch-sensitive screen as the EOS-M.

The SL1 will no doubt cannibalize the EOS-M series, or at least version I, but it offers a strong challenge to naysayers who believe that DSLRs are a thing of the past.