Canon eos 2000d/ T7 18-55mm Is II
For beginners and the budget-conscious, this is the better option of Canon’s two newer cameras
Canon recently launched two beginner-friendly DSLRS, in the shape of the 4000D/ Rebel T100 and 2000D/ Rebel T7. The former is the outright cheapest DSLR on the planet but leaves a little to be desired in terms of features and build. For example, it has no dioptre adjustment for the viewfinder, a plastic rather than metal lens mount ring, an 18Mp image sensor with a below-average megapixel count, and a relatively small, low resolution rear screen. Its kit lens is also a very basic affair that lacks image stabilization.
Spend a bit more on the 2000D, and all of these issues are addressed. Better build quality includes a metal lens mount, a dioptre adjustment for the viewfinder, a 24.1Mp sensor, and a three-inch 920k rear screen. The kit lens is a humble affair with a relatively noisy electric motor, but at least it adds image stabilization.
Build and handling
With a good-quality plastic shell, the 2000D is the lightest camera in the group but still feels durable. A bonus over the 4000D is that there’s a separate on/off switch, instead of just an ‘off’ position on the shooting mode dial. This means you can leave the mode dial in your preferred shooting setting, rather than twirling it around every time you turn the camera on or off.
As with most recent Canon DSLRS, the 2000D has a built-in feature guide, which helps
beginners get on terms with camera settings in an intuitive and interactive manner. The ‘Creative Auto’ shooting mode offers another stepping stone in the transition from fully automatic shooting (with ‘intelligent’ scene analysis), to more advanced modes like Program, Aperture-value, Timevalue and Manual modes.
As you’d expect from a beginners’ camera, there are plenty of Scene modes available on the shooting dial, and a range of Creative Filters is also available. For connectivity, the 2000D boasts Wi-fi and NFC, the latter, unfortunately, being unavailable with the basic 4000D.
performance
The pentamirror rather than pentaprism viewfinder is typical of cameras at this price, as is the LCD that lacks vari-angle or touchscreen facilities. The AF system is also quite downmarket, with just nine AF points, of which only one is cross-type, able to resolve detail in both horizontal and vertical planes. Still, autofocus and metering are both accurate. For shooting under low lighting, the sensitivity range isn’t great, at just ISO100-6400 in standard trim, rising to ISO12,800 in expanded mode. The 3fps burst rate is rather pedestrian but the Raw buffer depth of 11 shots is nearly twice that of the 4000D.