Nikon vs. Sony vs. Canon.

[MrLogic]

In the "affordable" camera segment of Canon's lineup, only the Canon 7D and the new 60D have the new, color-aware light metering

The more affordable Canon 550D / Rebel T2i has the same color-aware metering system.

Canon EOS T2i (Rebel T2i, Canon 550D) Digital Camera - Full Review - The Imaging Resource!

 

[Derrel]

In the "affordable" camera segment of Canon's lineup, only the Canon 7D and the new 60D have the new, color-aware light metering

The more affordable Canon 550D / Rebel T2i has the same color-aware metering system.

Canon EOS T2i (Rebel T2i, Canon 550D) Digital Camera - Full Review - The Imaging Resource!

Ah! I'd forgotten about the T2i. Thanks for the link, but it's not quite "the same" metering system in the T2i and 7D. As per the link you provided, "The Canon T2i now includes a 63-zone iFCL sensor, which stands for Intelligent Focus, Color, and Luminance metering. The name hints at how the sensor works: the iFCL chip has a dual-layer design with each layer sensitive to different wavelengths of light, allowing subject color to be taken into account when determining exposure. Information on focusing points is also taken into account in metering calculations, and it is in this area that the Canon T2i's iFCL chip differs from that of the EOS 7D, accounting for fewer focus points in the consumer Rebel camera than its prosumer sibling. Like the T1i before it, the Canon T2i offers nine-point focusing with a central cross-type f/2.8 focus point, rather than the 19-point AF of the 7D. The focusing screen, likewise, is of the etched variety, and not the fancy LCD overlay on the Canon 7D."

This is similar to the way Nikon has 420-area measurement in the consumer models, and 1,005 area metering in the higher-end models. As I understand it the 7D and the EOS 60D have "the same exact" metering system, while the T2i has the stripped-down,slightly lower-spec'd system, kind of the way Nikon bifurcates its metering systems, always keeping the "best" technologies in the higher-priced cameras.

 

[prodigy2k7]

In the "affordable" camera segment of Canon's lineup, only the Canon 7D and the new 60D have the new, color-aware light metering

The more affordable Canon 550D / Rebel T2i has the same color-aware metering system.

Canon EOS T2i (Rebel T2i, Canon 550D) Digital Camera - Full Review - The Imaging Resource!

Ah! I'd forgotten about the T2i. Thanks for the link, but it's not quite "the same" metering system in the T2i and 7D. As per the link you provided, "The Canon T2i now includes a 63-zone iFCL sensor, which stands for Intelligent Focus, Color, and Luminance metering. The name hints at how the sensor works: the iFCL chip has a dual-layer design with each layer sensitive to different wavelengths of light, allowing subject color to be taken into account when determining exposure. Information on focusing points is also taken into account in metering calculations, and it is in this area that the Canon T2i's iFCL chip differs from that of the EOS 7D, accounting for fewer focus points in the consumer Rebel camera than its prosumer sibling. Like the T1i before it, the Canon T2i offers nine-point focusing with a central cross-type f/2.8 focus point, rather than the 19-point AF of the 7D. The focusing screen, likewise, is of the etched variety, and not the fancy LCD overlay on the Canon 7D."

This is similar to the way Nikon has 420-area measurement in the consumer models, and 1,005 area metering in the higher-end models. As I understand it the 7D and the EOS 60D have "the same exact" metering system, while the T2i has the stripped-down,slightly lower-spec'd system, kind of the way Nikon bifurcates its metering systems, always keeping the "best" technologies in the higher-priced cameras.

Its close enough to "the same" that its not even worth mentioning IMO. That's just nit picking now...

 

[Necrossis]

The lens was the thing that actually caught my eye the most.

Yes, I know, that's why I'm ready to wait for a few weeks, maybe even months before buying a new camera. But lately I saw so many great deals that just made me want to buy a DSLR as soon as possible! For example - someone is seeling a new 7D body for only 990€ and it really seemed not much to me, since all the other 7D's are 1,5k+€.

I'm really not into the whole video feature thing, so it's really the least important thing, atleast for me.

I don't know really. At the moment I'm sure I'm going to buy a Canon, the only problem is that I'm confused which one. Today I tried both - 50D and 550D and the 50D just felt better, probably also because of it's size. Would be buying a 7D a bit over the top? I'm not really a amateur, but since all the new cameras are coming out...

 

[Derrel]

Well, "nitpicking" versus "accuracy" is something one might want to consider, since Canon is clearly reserving one technology for the higher-end bodies, and different implementations are very critical on things like 4-color metering...Nikon's D80 had a crap metering system...the D90 has an awesome metering system...what make sme wonder about the actual performance we'll actually see from users world-wide when the 60D hits is the viewfinder screen differences in the 7D, and the T2i and the 60D...the actual readings are taken OFF OF THE SCREEN,inside the camera...the 7D, like Nikon's D300 and D300s, uses the transmissive LCD type viewfinder screen, while the T2I uses the old-school type of viewfinder screen. THis could be a very,very,very significant factor in how the metering actually works out as "smart metering".

While it might seem like "nitpicking", iFCL metering is at Version 1.3 right now....the original 7D, then the T2i in version 1.2, and the as-yet-unavailable 60D we'll call version 1.3. The difference between a transmissive LCD viewfinder screen and a plain,low-technology viewfinder screen could easily be a critical real-world difference between the different cameras. Light metering in say, the Nikon D80 for example, totally sucked, with HUGE problems in metering depending on what AF area was selected...I suspect that Canon might also be having some teething problems as they bring a totally new (really, radically new!!!) light metering technology onto the market.

It seems like the more points of data collection, within reason, the better the automated decision making process could potentially be. Of course, practice and theory are often different. My main complaint about the Canons I have owned has been their dumb, color-blind light metering. That is, I think, the main technological weakness Canon still has, and they're really working on improving that area with this new iFCL metering campaign. I suspect that each,individual body will perform slightly differently, even though the base technology might be similar in name, the actual implementation might be as widely different as say the Nikon D80 versus the D90...one was weak, the other significantly better at metering.

Light metering becomes a big,big factor in run-n-gun and fast-action shooting,as well as one-handed, one-the-go and Point and Shoot type uses where less-than-expert people are running/shooting the camera.