Canon Rebel T3 Review

I woke up this morning earlier than usual, so early my wife asked me if everything was alright.  Everything was more than alright, today I was going to receive a new Canon DSLR from my editor at Unique Photo to review.  I had spent nights dreaming of which camera was coming my way, 7D, 1D, 1Ds, in many ways it was like a child counting down to Christmas morning. After several hours of staring out the window my prayers were answered as a big delivery truck slowly pulled up to my building.  At a speed that would raise an eyebrow at the NFL Draft Combine I made my way down the 3 flights of stairs to quickly sign my name on the electronic dotted line took the box in hand and raced up the stairs.

With Barry White’s “Let’s Get It On” cued up on my iTunes I began opening the box letting shipping peanuts and other packing materials fly up in the air anticipating unveiling the latest in Canon DSLR bliss.  Then there it was …. a Rebel T3 kit with 18-55mm lens.  After a brief conversation with my editor, I was informed the was no mistake in shipping and that this was in fact the latest Canon DSLR and how he felt I would be pleasantly surprised with what it can do. I put the battery in the charger and walked out of my office with the body and lens in my hand, from across the room my wife began apologizing, “I’m sorry I took the last of the coffee left in the pot.”  Walking closer amidst intermittent laughter she explained the camera that I had been anticipating for the past few days from far away looked like my coffee cup in my hand.

All the cameras I own have a substantial size and weight, this rebel in my hand mistaken from afar as a 12oz coffee mug was no more than 1lb and certainly left me feeling like I was playing with a toy.  After brewing another pot I returned to my office with coffee and camera in hand and to my surprise the battery had achieved a full charge out of the box in under 15 minutes!

Considered to be the first entry-level digital SLR of the Canon series, the Rebel T3 shares a lot of the same pedigree of its peers.  Flipping through the owners manual I was amazed to see how much was coming in such a tiny package, my interest in the camera was growing with every specification I read.  The 12.2 megapixel CMOS APS-C sized image sensor along with the Digic 4 Image processor is more than respectable in today’s market for quality providing both JPEG and RAW image formats.

Starting to focus in on my bookshelf I was amazed at the speed of the 9 point high-precision focusing system. However in attempting to duplicate this speed in live view option was as anticipated not as fast or accurate but looked fancy all the same on  the 2.7” LCD screen.   Going from live view my next quick test was the video capability on the Rebel T3 which is to many today as important as the still images the camera can take.  My experience with the video left me with a very neutral feeling where I was not overwhelmed but was not by any means let down.  Given adequate lighting provided and lack of motion the Rebel T3 video performs like you would expect of a entry level digital camera. However on an DSLR I would have expected faster focusing, the ability to have some form of manual control, or at least resolution adjustment to the video settings.  Considering this is a entry level DSLR it is maybe expecting a little too much to expect, but overall sound and video quality deliver. I quickly went back to DSLR basics removing the usage of the LCD taking off live view functionality and going back to utilizing the viewfinder.  As previously found the AF speed is quite impressive and the accuracy in the metering is spot on.  Although the viewfinder was small (once again compared to some of my higher end DSLR’s I own this may just be me) I could clearly see as I was changing my focal length and spot metering points I saw my shutter speeds and f-stop truly making proper adjustments.  Unlike some other cameras out there the mythical green auto square on the Rebel T3 provides excellent results for anyone who just wants to take the camera out and shoot with no worries.

Spending the rest of the day with the camera in hand I got more of a feeling for the ergonomics of the camera.  At times it’s light weight made me forget the camera was in hand which makes this camera a great selection for those going on day trips, sightseeing, etc.  One of the reasons the camera is so light is as result of the all plastic body, I think if some rubber grips were attached it would also add to the ergonomics and feeling in hand.  With the sun down I tried some tests with the flash and although the power was a little less then you would expect from a DSLR it maintained an excellent balance with the ETTL-II technology from Canon.

After a total of about 5 hours playing with the camera I found in many ways my editor was right.  It is quite possible I was expecting out of this world features from a camera only a few months old but looking at the images on my computer I saw excellent color and sharpness in the stills.  I also did some research as far as pricing and I found that not only do you get a lot of features out of the small Rebel T3, but you are certainly getting a bang for the buck.  It is clear this is Canons selection in what is the most competitive digital camera bracket right now that is the entry level DSLR.

In doing your research you will see many options from camera manufacturers to get you into the DSLR bracket.  But with the balance of automated portrait settings, 12 megapixel resolution, fast and accurate AF, spot on metering,  video capability, and the 18-55mm lens make this really an attractive option for the price tag (roughly $600) and is a lot of camera in a little body making it truly worthy of your consideration.  Overall I give a 3.5 out of 5 stars to the Rebel T3, I don’t imagine anyone looking to purchase their first DSLR feeling overwhelmed by the DSLR controls or being underwhelmed by image quality, a true bang for your buck camera.

Justin Case is a free lance journalist with experience in the photographic industry.  A trained photographer, Justin works as a contributing editor to a variety of photographic blogs and publications.  His views and ideals are a delicate blend of accurate reporting and a completely warped interpretation of reality.