what is difference between t5 & sl1?

[luci]

Trying to decide which camera to purchase - t5 or sl1~~

[TTMartin · Accepted solution]

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@luci wrote:

Trying to decide which camera to purchase - t5 or sl1~~

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The SL1 is the smallest and lightest dSLR. When it was introduced it was actually priced as a higher end camera like the T5i. But, in the U.S. bigger is often seen as better so things like a light weight carbon fiber body didn't impress.

The T5 is newer technology, but, its design goal was targeted at the lower end of the dSLR market. The T5 typically comes with a non-STM kit lens. While still a good starter lens, the STM versions are simply better.

Personally I would take a SL1 with an EF-S 18-55 IS STM over a T5, but, that's me.

[TTMartin · Accepted solution]

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@luci wrote:

Trying to decide which camera to purchase - t5 or sl1~~

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The SL1 is the smallest and lightest dSLR. When it was introduced it was actually priced as a higher end camera like the T5i. But, in the U.S. bigger is often seen as better so things like a light weight carbon fiber body didn't impress.

The T5 is newer technology, but, its design goal was targeted at the lower end of the dSLR market. The T5 typically comes with a non-STM kit lens. While still a good starter lens, the STM versions are simply better.

Personally I would take a SL1 with an EF-S 18-55 IS STM over a T5, but, that's me.

[amatula]

I own the SL1. It is my first DSLR.  It's really lightweight and the only negative reviews I've seen is it is hard to hold if you have larger hands. I am petite and I couldn't be happier with the weight and feel of the camera. It works beautifully for me. So I might suggest before purchasing etiher that you hold and/or demo both. All the controls are easy to use and simple (and I learned many -- shhhhh - without even reading the manual).

I like the SL1 but I need to learn all of its functionality in order to take better photos (read: I need to read  the manual thoroughly!). The 18-55 IS STM lens it comes with is a good one but if I had a preference I'd go with a f2.8 or f1.8 lens to let in more light.

I am outdoors photographer and the camera is holding up to the elements (cold weather, rain..) and I am happy with that.

And the nice thing is it is not expensive... yet you can take great photos with it (dare I say... once I read the manual a bit more!)

Hope that helps,

Annie

[jrhoffman75]

Tutorial. 

Private Message sent. 

[TCampbell]

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@amatula wrote:

I like the SL1 but I need to learn all of its functionality in order to take better photos (read: I need to read  the manual thoroughly!). The 18-55 IS STM lens it comes with is a good one but if I had a preference I'd go with a f2.8 or f1.8 lens to let in more light.

I am outdoors photographer and the camera is holding up to the elements (cold weather, rain..) and I am happy with that.

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Annie, the manual is more of a reference in that it will tell you what features the camera has and how to access them, but it wont necessarily help you understand how to know which of it's many features would be the best to use in a given sitatuion.

You can get some great books on the topic.  Community members here can probably suggest quite a number of good books.

As a good primer, I like Bryan Peterson's book "Understanding Exposure".  Others really like the Scott Kelby "Digital Photography" series of books.  And there are, of course, many others.

As for holding up to the elements... be careful here.  The SL1 and the lens that comes with it are not actually weather-sealed.  The mid-range cameras (70D) and up all have weather-sealed treatment.  This means body seams have gaskets, dials have o-rings, etc. and it's generally enough to keep out rain, moisture, dust, etc. as long as the water isn't under "pressure" (submerged) or "velocity" (being blasted.)  Weather-sealed lenses have a silicone "skirt" that forms a seal when against the camera body when the lens is atttached but some of these lenses also come with instructions indicating that a front filter is needed (e.g. clear glass) to "complete" the weather-seal.  

If you think you might be using the camera outside in the rain, you can get protective rain-jackets for cameras (you can even get very cheap disposable plastic rain-jackets) that will offer at least some protection if you get caught in the rain.  The "rain jackets" cover the body and lens but usually provide "sleeves" so you can slip your hands into the bag-like cover to directly access all buttons and dials, etc.   You can do a web search for terms such as "camera rain cover" or "camera rain sleeves" and you should find many choices... some are high-end durable intended to last for years... some are designed as cheap disposable plastic.

[amatula]

Thank you for the suggestions, including the helpful books! 

I find digital very humbling -- a good thing. I was not expecting much dfferences from film SLR when I purchased.  ** But** I mostly prefer digital now 🙂

Again, thank you for taking the time to respond to my questions and comments. I appreciate it.

Happy Holidays!

Annie

[luci]

Thank you!

[TCampbell · Accepted solution]

The T5 was introduced in early 2014 with the intention of having a very low price point for entry level into the DSLR market.  It's feature set is more basic than the other Rebel models because you have to keep in mind that the goal was to keep the cost low to make it the most affordable DSLR model in the lineup.

The SL1 was introduced in 2013 at the same time as the T5i.  The T5i (note the "i" suffix in the name) denotes it as a high-end model in the entry-range (there's a mid-range and high-end range above the entire Rebel line) but the SL1 was designed to have the most compact body for a DSLR with an APS-C size sensor and yet be fairly strong on features.  Having a compact body size was the design goal (not the price tag).  Note that when you make a body smaller, control layout becomes more difficult but the SL1 has a touch-screen LCD so you can use that to adjust settings instead of buttons (you can optionally disable the touch-screen LCD.)

One other thing...

While it might not be obvious,

- the T5 comes with the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II lens.

- the SL1 comes with the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens.

The STM is Canon's replacement for the older design... the "STM" itself refers to the fact that it has the new Stepper Motor technology which is nearly silent (so quiet that when recording video using the internal microphone it is unlikely the microphone will be able to detect any focus motor noise at all.)  But it's not just the focus motor... they've also updated the optics and they've updated the image stabilization as well.  The new STM lens is better all the way around.

The STM lenses are not their top-end lenses... they're really a welcome refresh on the old entry level lenses.  They tend to be priced at about $50 then the same lens they replace, but considering the improvements to both optical performance as well as the focusing motor performance, I'd say these new lenses are worth every penny of that extra $50 price tag.