Five Reasons to Buy the Canon Rebel T2i/550D

I purchased the Canon Rebel T2i/550D a little over a month ago to add Cinematography to the list of services I can offer potential clients. I've shot many videos on SD and HD camcorders, but using a still camera to record movies was a new adventure to me.

I have been shooting almost non-stop since I got the camera, and I love it. When I've logged a few more hours of filming, I will put together a review, but here are five reasons why you should buys this camera.

Five Reasons to Buy the Canon Rebel T2i

1. It's cheap!!! The camera with the 18-55mm kit lens can be found for well under $900 leaving you extra money for accessories like lenses, memory cards, bags, and whatever else you might need.
2. Interchangeable Lenses. Unlike a point and shoot still camera, or a consumer grade camcorder, you have the ability to switch lenses. If you want to take close up shots, and then take landscape shots, you can switch from a telephoto to a wide angle lens respectfully. It makes the camera that much more versatile.
3. It's Small and Light Weight. This camera is smaller then many of the cameras in the EOS lineup, so it's very easy to travel with. Being lighter as well, you can keep it around your neck for hours, and not feel it the next morning.
4. Using SDHC Cards. The camera uses SDHC/SD cards, which are small, light, affordable, and durable. If your shooting live events, it can be a real hassle lugging around a bag full of blank tapes. I spent $80 and got two, 16gb SDHC class 6 memory cards which usually covers me for a full day of shooting.
5. Image Quality. When looking at the specifications of the camera, you'll see that in terms of video recording, it shares nearly all the same internals with it's big brother, the Canon 7D. Now while the 7D has some advantages over the T2i (mainly for taking stills), you still can't beat the T2i at it's price; nearly half that of the 7D. Once you learn the functions of the camera, you can still take some amazing still photos as well, so don't count it out of the running.

Once I've spent a little more time with the camera, I plan on doing a more in-depth review, but I thought I'd share this list. It's a top notch piece of gear, and I have no regrets regarding my purchase.