Canon EOS 450D camera review
Introduction The Canon EOS 450D is the successor to the popular EOS 400D, and offers a number of significant improvements that Canon hopes to fight against ever-growing competition. The matrix resolution has been increased from 10 to 12 megapixels, a Live View function has been added, a large LCD screen, a new 9-point autofocus system, 14-bit processing, spot metering, using an SD card instead of Compact Flash, and shooting at a speed of 3.5 frames per give me a sec. Design and use The Canon EOS 450D is very similar in appearance to its predecessor. It has the same smooth edges and rounded corners. However, the camera gained a little in the dimensions of 128.8 x 97.5 x 61.9 mm, but became a little lighter in weight, less than 500 grams. The plastic cover has been given a more sophisticated look and a special finish on the handle that you hold the camera by. It will prevent the camera from slipping during shooting. The chamber also has a special place for the thumb on the back wall. A large screen appeared at the back, due to the placement, which the manufacturer had to move the vertical row of 5 buttons. Well, of course, the camera is well built and will be solid enough for the entry-level. The camera is sold with the new EFS 18-200mm IS lens, which offers a focal length range of 18mm to 200mm, and image stabilization has been added. This is important for Canon, as all competitors Sony, Olympus and Pentax also offer image stabilization in their DSLR cameras. The difference between Canon (or Nikon) and other manufacturers such as Sony, Olympus or Pentax is that they organize image stabilization in the camera itself. Canon chose to stabilize the mixing of lenses in the lens itself, although this limits the use of other lenses with the camera, but it leads to the visibility of the stabilizing effect through the viewfinder. I would like to point out that image stabilization is undoubtedly a real boon for photography in low light conditions. Like most entry-level DSLRs, the EOS 450D provides a range of automatic shooting modes aimed at beginners, including portrait, landscape, macro, sports and night portrait. All of these functions are standard, except for Macro Mode, which allows you to capture an image in 1: 1 ratio using a dedicated macro lens. There are, of course, manual and semi-automatic modes in the camera for users who wish to use more advanced settings when shooting. Canon calls these modes Creative Zones and provides all the standard settings. Such as Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority and Full Manual modes. In addition, the camera has a "-DEP" (automatic depth of field) function, which gives a wider depth of field value. With the Creative Zone features enabled on the camera, you can adjust the ISO sensitivity from 100 to 1600, more than enough for most lighting conditions. While it is reasonable to ask why Canon does not include ISO 3200, given the excellent image quality at ISO 1600, you can also choose from three AF modes (One Shot, AI Focus and ALServo). The camera now uses a new 9-point crossover AF. type autofocus system. The user also has access to white balance values: six preset, auto and custom settings. All key information is now displayed in the viewfinder, including ISO values. Most of the 450D's buttons are located on the back of the camera, although the large screen made the button layout a bit unusual.The buttons give you quick access to continuous shooting, autofocus, a choice of metering options, and the use of Picture Styles. A new ISO change button has been added to the top of the camera, which provides easy access to this function when using the viewfinder. Aperture and shutter speed can now be easily adjusted using a special wheel on the top panel. The only thing that seemed inconvenient was the need to hold the exposure compensation button to change the aperture in manual mode, and not just press to switch between shutter speed and aperture. A new addition to the camera is Live View, which allows you to view the scene live on the LCD screen rather than through a traditional optical viewfinder. This function is mainly used by users of compact cameras who are accustomed to taking pictures based on the image of the LCD screen. Also, this function will be attractive for macro shooting. It is often easier to view on the screen than looking through the viewfinder when the camera is mounted on a tripod. Enabling Live View is in the system menu. After turning on the Live View mode, it is activated by pressing the button located on the back of the camera. The screen displays grid lines and a very useful live histogram to help you get the right exposure. The image on the screen can be enlarged up to 10 times for a more detailed view of the details. Live View can be controlled remotely using the supplied EOS software utility, which allows you to change settings and take pictures from a PC. The focusing of the camera is designed to satisfy both novice and experienced users. First, the Quick AF method works, physically raises the camera mirror so that the autofocus sensor can adjust, after that, after a second, the image appears on the screen. Another method, Live AF, uses image contrast for the autofocus system, the same method uses digital compacts, the main advantages are the complete absence of noise during operation, and no dimming of the LCD. Unfortunately, focusing with this method is much slower than with Quick AF and takes 3 seconds. Canon has incorporated high frequency shaking technology into the camera to remove dust from the camera. This feature will help to postpone the need to manually clean the sensor, but unfortunately it will not remove contaminants such as salt spray, pollen, debris from careless sensor cleaning, or the wrong kind of solvent. The camera also features a new Dust Delete Data System that can map the position of visible dust on the sensor and can be deleted automatically after shooting using the supplied software. The organization of the menu in the cell has been completely overhauled. The EOS 450D now uses a menu system inherited from EOS professional cameras, with a simplified structure and tab control fully controlled by the scroll wheel. In the menu, you will find 7 tabs and up to 7 options in each of them, which provide quick and easy access to various parameters. Also in the menu, you can customize your own personal menu page for quick access to frequently used settings. The camera is powered by the new LP-E5 battery, which has a higher charge of 1080mAh. This extends the shooting time from a single charge to 500 shots. Another new development is the shift from Compact Flash to SD cards, which are more affordable, which is important for the market that Canon is targeting. The Canon EOS 450D turns on very quickly in less than a second. Thanks to the new focusing system, the camera focuses equally well and quickly in both good light and low light conditions.Shooting in both JPEG and RAW formats does not result in visible lag in the camera. Pictures are quickly displayed on the screen and recorded to the memory card. In continuous shooting mode, you can hold down the shutter button and shoot at 3.5 frames per second. In JPEG format, the camera is capable of taking 53 shots in a row, and in RAW format, 6 shots. Overall, the camera shows very high performance. As mentioned earlier, the camera is equipped with a new large 3-inch screen that reproduces more colors than its predecessor and allows you to see your photos in full when shooting. Unfortunately, the screen resolution is only 230,000 pixels, but this is enough to show your pictures to friends. By default, the current shooting settings are displayed on the LCD monitor and can be turned off by pressing the button next to the screen. The camera also has a new handy sensor located under the viewfinder that turns on when you use the viewfinder and turns off the display to save power (this feature can be turned on or off from the main menu). After you have taken a photo, you can get more detailed information about the photo, which can be viewed on the LCD monitor by pressing the DISP button, which shows the image histogram and all shooting data, including the shutter speed, time and date it was taken. Pressing the button again displays an additional RGB histogram. In order to take a closer look at the image, users can enlarge the image up to 15 times. You can also delete images, rotate images, view slideshows, protect images so that they are not accidentally deleted, and many different printing options. Unlike some of the competition, the camera doesn't have the usual effects you can apply to your images. Picture Styles are the only way to set up effects in camera, which shows how the effect will look and applies it to a copy of the image while keeping the original intact. Thus, the Canon EOS 450D is very similar to the previous models of this line, the plastic body is well assembled, clear control, a new live view mode. All this makes the camera a good choice for both beginners and professionals. Image quality The Canon EOS 450D takes excellent pictures. At all sensitivities from ISO100 to ISO800, there was no visible noise in the images, a small amount of noise appeared only at ISO1600. The camera also handles chromatic aberration well, the effects of purple or blue edging only appear at the edges of the photo at high contrast. Using the built-in flash gave soft light and did not cause red-eye in pictures. Using a shutter speed (up to 30 seconds) when shooting at night allows you to capture the maximum amount of light in all shooting situations. Image stabilization using the lens that comes with the camera works well in low light conditions and at maximum focal lengths. Some examples made by Canon EOS 450D Specifications (edit) Image sensor: 22.2 x 14.8mm CMOS Effective Pixels: 12.2 Megapixels Processor: DIGIC III Lens mount: EF / EF-S Focusing TTL-CT-SIR with CMOS sensor, 9 AF points AF point selection: Auto selection, Manual selection Metering: TTL full aperture metering from 35-zone silicon cell (evaluative, partial, center spot metering, center-weighted metering) Exposure compensation +/- 2 EV, 1/2 or 1/3 stop in steps ISO sensitivity: Auto (100-800), 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 Shutter type: Electronically controlled focal plane shutter Shutter speed: 30-1 / 4000 sec Viewfinder: optical, approximately 95% coverage Mirror: fast acting translucent mirror (transmission: reflectivity 40:60) Monitor: 3.0 "TFT, approx. 230K dots, 100% coverage Live View with grid selection. Intelligent orientation sensor bar graph Self-timer: 2 or 10 sec Computer: USB 2.0 Video Output (PAL / NTSC) Memory cards: SD, SDHC Dimensions: 128.8 x 97.5 x 61.9mm Weight (body only): 475g Conclusion The Canon EOS 450D is the fourth best-selling digital SLR camera of all time. There are many things like Live View, a large 3-inch screen, a new autofocus system, and the Quick AF mode is of most interest for macro photography and studio shooting. The camera also uses lens shift based image stabilization to improve performance in camera shake or low light conditions, a good addition is the use of more affordable SD memory cards in the camera. Plus, support for high-speed shooting at a speed of 3.5 frames per second.
