Canon T2I vs T3I

Emowillcox

Member
T2I vs T3I:cool:
Just sold my old canon rebel xt and thinking to replace it with something newer that will shoot video. My hope is in the future to possible use it for some aerial work once I get a reliable platform that will lift this size camera. My first thought was to just go and get the latest great canon in the rebel family. After doing a little reading it appears to me that the t2i and t3i are not that much different. Looks like they both shoot the same quality but the t3i is heavier and has a monitor on the back that moves. For me this is not that important and I 'd rather save the weight. Wondered if anyone has any opinions or experience with these cameras. I know Bart is using a T2I and I wondered if you were going to buy a canon rebel today would you get the same one? Also any suggestions on where to buy one... seems like I remember Bart getting his at Best Buy for the special crash warranty.:D
 

Bartman

Welcome to MultiRotorForums.com!!
Doh! what if someone from BEst Buy reads that!!??!!
I've got an idea, buy a T2i. :confused: the T3i is basically the same with the flip out monitor, as far as I can tell. the GH2 is pretty nice but expensive.
If I had to buy another camera today I'd buy the smallest best-quality camera I could find with about a 14mm lens or zoom setting. something that could easily fit on a simple 2 axis mount and be carried by a quad with the mk 3638 (or equivalent) motors. light and simple seems to help maximize the fun factor.
 

DucktileMedia

Drone Enthusiast
The t3i has the flip out lcd, audio gain, wireless flash transmitter, and digital zoom in video.

I have been waiting for a spot to throw this in the camera loop. I recently tried out a friend's panasonic tm90. At first I was amazed at how small it was. it does 1080 60p! And above all else, the optical stabilization is unreal. I took it off of his tripod and zoomed across the river to some windmills at 20x zoom. Absolutely NO jiggles or movement. There was a bit of a lag though if you wanted it to pan. But this is a great compromise to make for a steady image. The downside to this, and the reason I would stay canon or gh2, is that you have to have a still camera in addition to this as video camera stills are worthless. But at $450 it is worth considering for AV. Having a 7d and glass for it i am inclined to go T2i but the 1 thing I wonder about is how it deals with vibrations. This is always the big problem with any camera, of course. I think the GH2 has some kind of optical stabilization.

but to answer your question, none of those 4 added features of the T3i would have any benefit doing AP.
 

jes1111

Active Member
I tend to agree with @windhorny - using a DSLR for aerial video is a compromise at best. Certainly you don't need the shallow depth of field "look" which is the main reason it's so popular with film makers, so the only justification is avoiding the cost of a dedicated video camera. As with everything: use the right tool for the job, I say!

The baby Canon's are good cameras, for sure. But as @windhorny says - no AP-significant feature/performance differences between the T2i and T3i. The extra 50g weight is not a show-stopper. If you want the T3i features on the ground then go for it. With DxO Optics Pro, naturally :)
 

Emowillcox

Member
Thanks Jes, Windhorny, and Bart for the responses. I had a busy week and just now getting to respond. I'll go with the T2I after your comments. I already have a 10-22 canon lens and flash that will work on it. I agree saving the weight will be good and don't need those added features the t3 has. Thanks for the input and helping me make sure I was making the right decision.
 

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