The mobile cameras nowadays offer such an excellent quality that most people do not invest in standalone digital cameras. However, if you desire better zoom and manual control, then it is a good choice to go beyond a mobile camera. Many users advice to go for Canon EOS 1500D if it is your first camera purchase. If you want a thorough DSLR Camera review of it, you are at the right place. Here you go:
Canon EOS 1500D Design
In appearance, the EOS 1500D is quite similar to its other Canon siblings. It is approximately the same in size and weight as predecessor models. If we talk about the placement of buttons, it is the same too. It is easy to shoot with one hand because of its good grip. There is rubber cladding in plenty on the right side of this camera. There is a plastic finish, which does not seem too premium. It is a basic DSLR after all.
There is a flap on the left which covers all the inputs of a wired remote. You get a Mini-HDMI port and Mini-USB port on it. It is a little odd that Canon is still providing a Mini-USB port, at this time. It offers a 3-inch TFT LCD along with a 920K dot resolution. There is no support touch or swivel. The optical viewfinder provides 95 percent field view. Also, there is a small dial for adjusting dioptre.
You get a pop-up flash to connect external flashes. You can do this with the hot shoe connector. There are a lot of buttons to access quick settings such as the ‘Q’ button. The shortcut buttons for ISO, drive mode, autofocus and white balance adjustments make the user experience better. You can use these buttons to navigate the menus.
There is a devoted LED light at the bottom that lights up during the use of Wi-Fi connection. On the top, there is a mode dial which feels solid. You can easily switch modes even if your fingers are greasy because of its grippy texture. The power switch has a reassuring click so that you can shoot with any doubt.
This Canon DSLR also provides a vertical command dial to change values of ISO, exposure, etc. it is placed just previous to the shutter button. From our perspective, the EOS 1500D feels pretty similar to the ESO 1300D and it is not actually a bad thing. It is lightweight and easy to carry to places with you. It is a good choice for novice users as it offers just the right amount of buttons. Overall, it is not daunting in experience.
Canon EOS 1500D Specifications and Features
The biggest update in this digital camera is its sensor resolution. It has a 24.1-megapixel APS-C sensor. Whereas, the 1300D had an 18-megapixel APS-C sensor on it. Other than this, only little has changed. It uses a Digic 4+ image processor, the same as other similar models. If we talk about features, there is ISO in native range of 100-6400 and 3fps burst shooting. You can record videos up to 1080p at 30fps.
It also has nine autofocus points which include a cross-type point on the centre. Similar to the 1300D, it provides NFC and Wi-Fi to connect it with your smartphone. It is easier to set up with an Android phone with NFC because it the makes the whole process automated. If you an iPhone user, you will need to manually press and enter the Wi-Fi password of the camera.
Once its setup is done, you can view pictures that are kept on the SD card of this camera through the Canon Camera Connect app. You can also use the display of your smartphone as a viewfinder if you desire to do remote shooting.
The Canon app provides alike functionality with both platforms. Whenever you import images, you can select the original pictures transferred or lower their resolution on your phone. There is a lack of Bluetooth, so you cannot have a continuous-on connection. So you need to manually transfer the images according to your preference.
Performance and Battery Life
Experts do an ISO test to see how the camera sensor deals with the noise when the ISO values are amplified. This also provides an indication on how a specific camera would carry out in low light clicks. In these shots, one has to generally use a high value of ISO to get a proper good quality image. This Canon DSLR offers a range of 100-6400 ISO values (these can be expanded up to 12800).
Even when you go up to ISO 1600, it handles noise and preserves details well. However, when you reach ISO 3200, there is an evident drop in detail and the images seem smoothened out. The detail drops further if you use the highest level of ISO. In that case, Chroma noise is slightly visible and the colours seem a somewhat blurred.
If you like to take landscape shots, there is good news. The higher resolution of EOS 1500D provides great scope to crop images after clicking if you want to. The level of details you get is good. However, it can be tricky to get a sharp image. Even when you use ‘P’ mode with steady hands and good light, you can end up with soft looking landscape pictures occasionally.
There is a slight chromatic aberration as well but it is not easily noticeable. If you place the item in the centre of the camera frame, you get decent sharpness in the shots. But the pictures where the objects are on the side, appear to be a bit blurred. The focusing speed given is good, just as you would expect in a basic level DSLR. The kit lens provides nice depth of field as well for close up pictures.
The auto white balance can be a bit inconsistent. You can at times end up with variable degrees of colour tonality in burst images of the same set. Sometimes, macros you shot can come out with oversaturated colours. It provides good detail for close ups though. Plus, the edges are nicely defined in most of the cases.
Sad part is the burst mode is not much helpful along with fast moving objects. In simple words, 3fps is not enough to get that job done. Other than the standard programmable shoot modes, one can use full auto along with ‘A+’ mode. You can also switch to different modes such as Sports, Landscape, Portrait, etc. With these, you can easily set up your camera to get the desired shot.
When you view images in this camera, you can use options to rotate, add and rate creative filters. It is pretty easy to adjust and use grainy black and white, soft focus, etc. In lower light, it is best to drop the ISO up to 3200 in the camera. This way you can prevent getting luminance noise and too much Chroma in low light clicks.
Even if you shoot indoors and use artificial lighting, pictures do not have good sharpness when you press zoom in. This limits the potential to crop images for use. Dynamic range you get is pretty average too. On the contrary, the xenon flash provides good spread which is helpful to shoot in lower light.
Video recording does well at 1080p with 30fps, which is decent. However, it stands a little behind its competition which is providing 60fps full-HD video for many years now. If we talk about the quality of video, it is good but you will have to focus or use the shutter button manually. The latter is not ideal, because the motor sound also gets recorded in the video, which ends up sounding terrible.
The EOS 1500D has the same battery as the EOS 1300D – LP-E10. Which is rated on average to supply 600 clicks per charge. When we put it to a test, we were able to get around 480 shots. Our test included using the live view, flash, and video occasionally. If you enable Wi-Fi, it would also show an effect on the battery life.
Price – Justified or Not?
The starting price of Canon EOS 1500d 24.1MP DSLR camera is Rs. 28,990 in India. This is the lowest price for which this camera is available on Amazon India. It is approximately Rs. 6,000 more costly than the EOS 1300D that it was launched to replace. This addition in price would be a great deal if Canon has provided a more sizable upgrade in the 1500D.
Bring it Home or Not?
It does offer a high resolution but you still get a crippled burst mode and average ISO performance. It does not deliver the satisfactory shots easily. On the contrary, this Canon DSLR is well built, lightweight, easy to learn to use. Lastly, it lets you build a connection with your smartphone via Wi-Fi.
If you have a smartphone with impressive camera quality, you do not necessarily need to buy this digital camera. However, it is still your decision to make whether or not invest in it.