For
Small size, autofocus is swift, no compromise to image quality, live view responsive, touchscreen, engineering marvel in many respects, battery life lasted wellAgainst
Small size, less advanced AF system than 700D and similar Canon models, less featured than 700D and similar models, viewfinder settings not particularly bright, some viewfinder AF point bleed
When Canon came to update the EOS 650D DSLR it did something not
entirely expected: while the inevitable EOS 700D surfaced, so too did
the brand new EOS 100D, a shrunken DSLR some 25 per cent smaller and 28
per cent lighter than the DSLR.
A whole new category is born. Well, sort of. The 100D unhinges
Canon's typical numbering system - the smaller the number the more
advanced the model, which is now no longer the case. That's impact
enough in itself unless you're based Stateside, where the model goes
under the far more sensible Canon SL1 moniker.
And what of Canon's EOS M compact system camera - is the 100D an
attempt to brush up where the M fell short and what compromises, if any,
come with the 100D's smaller-than-typical-DSLR scale? Does it make any
sense in the face of the 700D?
Thinking big when it comes to small
The moment you pick up and handle the EOS 100D it feels like an
entirely different kind of DSLR on account of size alone - it really is
dinky. For some that will be the perfect concept, while for others the
design will be too small. We found a stray pinkie would search for space
on the cameras's grip but, alas, such space does not exist which made
for uncomfortable long-term use - and we think the same will be true of
many potential users' hands, though maller-handed users might find this
scale spot on.
But even at this scale Canon's managed to keep most of the features
big in spite of the size. It's a bit of an engineering show-off really:
the cut-back size has been achieved by redesigning the shutter
mechanism, as well as the sensor module which, despite still being the
same base unit as the 700D's 18-megapixel APS-C sensor, has considerably
smaller surrounding components. It's clever stuff.
However, the scale does impact on specification to some degree, even
if the features list isn't hugely different from that of the EOS 700D.
The main thing that jumps out is that the 100D's 9-point autofocus
system has just one cross-type sensor at the centre, whereas all nine of
the 700D's AF points are cross-type. That makes the 100D less sensitive
towards the outer areas of its autofocus diamond array when held in the
portrait format - something that might not impact use as drastically as
it sounds.
The built-in optical viewfinder manages to offer the same 95 per cent
field of view as the EOS 700D, but is ever so slightly smaller. It's
hard to spot unless you have both cameras side by side - something we've
played around with - and it looks as though the height of the 100D's
finder is marginally less. The size makes little to no impact in use,
but over extended periods of use in a variety of conditions we've not
found the settings display to be particularly bright - the green
aperture and shutter values just don't show up as strong as they should,
which doesn't sit well in bright sunlight. In our review model we also
found that the lower three AF points leaked their red confirmation
lights to surrounding areas - not a serious point, but not as tidy as
we'd like it to be when more or less living through the viewfinder.
Elsewhere the 100D's layout is a subtle twist on the typical Canon
DSLR design. The buttons, much like the camera itself, are of a shrunken
size yet still satisfactory and responsive, while there's only the one
main thumbwheel to the top and no rotational d-pad to the rear can make
for less immediate adjustments compared to some EOS equivalents. If
buttons don't float your boat then the touchscreen comes in handy - it
may not be the vari-bracket screen as on the 700D, but is equally
responsive to the touch. This opens up a different way of working,
either selecting the autofocus point by the touch of a finger or jumping
quickly to the desired selection from within a menu.
Dial M for murder
There's something rather "EOS M meets EOS 700D" about the 100D. In
many respects we think it puts a question mark over the M-series compact
system camera for a variety of reasons. The M isn't all that tiny as
compact system cameras go and its performance is rather mediocre - the
100D walks all over it by comparison.
READ: Canon EOS M review
Which makes a good case for this dinky DSLR: small size doesn't mean
small performance. The 9-point diamond-shaped array can be set to a
single focus point or you can open up all nine points to the camera to
take command of via the rear AF select button. Press it while looking
though the viewfinder and it will show the current selected AF point,
which can then be moved via the rear d-pad; press it again and all nine
points are selected in an auto-area mode.
In addition to the one shot single-focus mode where manual focus
override is possible, there's also AI Servo for continuous autofocus and
AI Focus which is a half-way house between the two (without manual
override). For a brand new user drawn to the 100D on account of its
size, such options are far from self-explanatory and there's no way to
query what they mean from within the menu system. Even though it sits
below the 700D in the rankings, the complexity is much like that of any
other middling Canon DSLR. We think it would have made more sense to
have built in some degree of education - beyond that of the "CA"
creative auto mode on the top dial - to get the best out of some of the
available settings.
In use the autofocus system is swift in operation - it's very similar
to that in the 700D and capable even in low-light conditions. One area
we were rather impressed with was the 100D's ability in live view
preview, where the rear LCD screen can be used to preview the shot
instead of via the viewfinder. In accessing this mode the standard
phase-detection autofocus system is bypassed and the sensor takes
command. But in the case of this particular sensor - as first introduced
in the EOS 650D - there are select pixels on its surface which operate a
phase-detection system and, while it's not as nippy as when using the
viewfinder, it's decent enough to work with and well beyond that of most
other DSLR live view systems.
With the included 18-55mm kit lens, which is also new, the proportion
to the body is fair, but we've spent a lot of our time using the camera
with the 24-70mm f/2.8 L-series lens which is a far larger chunk of
glass. We're impressed with how it operates in conjunction with the
autofocus system, but such a lens on the front of such a small body can
feel rather strange in the hand - it's front-heavy in the extreme and
the lens itself provides more of a grip than the camera body does.
READ: Canon EOS 650D review
It's that last point which got us thinking: is the EOS 100D anything
more than a single purpose, one-off buy? It makes practical sense with,
say, the 40mm pancake lens or other such stubby lenses, but for longer
zooms it doesn't quite gel. It's as though this latest DSLR is all about
aligning itself with a particular section of Canon's EF range. Nothing
necessarily wrong with that, but a thought nonetheless and we still
think it kills off the EOS M to some degree.
Canon EOS 100D review - sample image at ISO 6400 - click for 100 per cent crop (raw conversion)
It's even pinched the EOS M's battery which gave us fear that its
life per charge would be poor. But it's not: we've been snapping over a
long bank holiday weekend and even at 380 shots deep the battery was
showing as full. We didn't need to recharge it once over a couple of
days and far exceeded the quoted 400 shots per charge. That's way better
than what we managed with the EOS M.
Small size, big quality
The 100D's 18-megapixel sensor is based around the same one as found
in both the EOS 650D and 700D, yet by design it's completely different
because of all-new components. That doesn't mean the exposed sensor size
is any different compared to other 1.6x crop Canon sensors, however,
it's all down to different architecture.
That's something not to be overlooked as the new layout means
heat-generating components are closer together and lingering heat can in
turn mean more image noise. Does it affect the 100D's resulting
quality? In short: no, not from what we've seen. There may be subtle
technical differences between the 700D and 100D but we're just as
impressed with what this mini DSLR is capable of producing. It may be
small, but it's not cutting back on the quality front.
Canon EOS 100D review - sample image at ISO 100 - click for 100 per cent crop (raw conversion)
Out of the ISO 100-12,800 sensitivity range, which is available up to
ISO 6400 in Auto ISO mode, the results are impressive. Cast a critical
eye over shots and the middling ISO settings from ISO 800 and above do
display some subtle image noise but it's nothing too much to complain
about.
It's a lot like the EOS 650D, which means even the higher ISO
settings impress. We've used the 100D in a variety of dim conditions and
even at ISO 3200 the raw files have a grain-like noise but not a great
deal of colour noise interference to shout about.
Canon EOS 100D review - sample image at ISO 3200 - click for 100 per cent crop (raw conversion)
Raw and JPEG files do differ by quite a significant amount, however,
and in all cases we found the CR2 raw files to deliver more detail,
particularly at the higher ISO settings. We'd recommend shooting raw at
all times, however, as there's a touch more critical detail, a wider
colour palette that can visibly be seen when comparing file types and
more room to breathe when it comes to exposure.
Exposure is usually on the money, although we did find in bright
conditions that it would be pushing the threshold and sometimes
highlights blew out. That can be corrected for with exposure
compensation or in post-production, but it's something to keep an eye on
when shooting.
Canon EOS 100D review - sample image at ISO 400 - click for 100 per cent crop (raw conversion)
Colours and bright and punchy and there are even in-camera options
for pre-set picture styles, including in-camera black & white. If
you want to get extra creative then there are filters - such as soft
focus, water painting, toy camera, miniature effect and so on - which
can be applied after snapping an image.
Canon rarely takes its eye off the ball when it comes to image
quality and the 100D produces mighty quality despite its small size.
It's no compromise on the image quality front as far as we're concerned.
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Verdict
The EOS 100D may be small, but it still manages to pack in the
power and we've generally been impressed. But, in saying that, you'll
need to really want a smaller-scale DSLR in order to go out and
buy one. For just £50 more the EOS 700D offers a more advanced
autofocus system, larger build for what we think is a more comfortable
use over an extended period, a better battery life and vari-angle LCD
screen too. It's just all-round better, which puts a lingering question
mark over the 100D.
Size definitely counts for something though, and while we think the
100D is here to take the pressure off the EOS M to some degree, pair the
100D up with smaller-scale Canon glass and it's the small scale that
sells it. In context to the rest of the Canon range there's no other
reason to pick up this model though.
This is a tricky camera to score. We've ummed and arred about it at
length because both head and heart say go out and buy a 700D instead,
yet the more we've used the 100D the more we've grown to like it. Add
mighty image quality from this mini model and it just doesn't make sense
to score it any lower despite its shortcomings in context to the rest
of the EOS range. It's an impressive bit of kit.