Photography

Canon wants you to think twice about trusting your smartphone camera, with its newest DSLR

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The Canon EOS Rebel T6 (also know as the EOS 1300D) is a budget-friendly entry-level DSLR with built-in Wi-Fi
The Canon EOS Rebel T6 (also know as the EOS 1300D) is a budget-friendly entry-level DSLR with built-in Wi-Fi
The Canon Rebel T6 (1300D) can be used with Canon EF and EF-S lenses
Built-in Wi-Fi makes it easy to share images from the Canon Rebel T6 (1300D)
There are dedicated modes on the Canon Rebel T6 (1300D) DSLR for shooting subjects including food
The Canon Rebel T6 (1300D) will be available in April priced at US$550 bundled with the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II kit lens
On the rear of the Canon Rebel T6 (1300D) is an optical viewfinder and a 3-inch LCD monitor
The Canon EOS Rebel T6 (1300D) features an 18-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor
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Canon has announced a new entry-level DSLR which could make a good first dedicated camera for those stepping up from using their smartphone whenever the photographic mood strikes. The EOS Rebel T6 features an 18-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor, along with beginner-friendly features, and built-in Wi-Fi with NFC for sharing content quickly and easily.

The T6 (known as the EOS 1300D in some countries) is a follow-up to the popular T5/1200D (which appeared in our 2015 round-up of the best DSLRs for beginners), and a (very) little brother to the recently announced Canon EOS 1D X Mark II and 80D. While many specs are the same as its predecessor, the T6/1300D has a number of improvements aimed at upgrading smartphone photographers and the Instagram crowd. In addition to its built-in Wi-Fi, these include new photo modes and in-camera filters.

In terms of core photographic specification, the T6/1300D packs an 18-megapixel APS-C (22.3 x 14.9mm) CMOS sensor which is paired with Canon's Digic 4+ image processor. This allows the camera to have an ISO range of 100 to 6,400 (expandable to 12,800) and the ability to shoot continuous full resolution images at 3 fps (frames per second).

The Canon Rebel T6 (1300D) will be available in April priced at US$550 bundled with the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II kit lens

Autofocus is dealt with by a 9‐point AF system which includes one center cross‐type AF point. The T6/1300D is also capable of recording Full HD 1080p video footage at up to 30/25 fps, with the maximum frame-rate increasing to 60/50 fps at HD 720p resolution. This all makes the T6/1300D a reasonably capable DSLR suitable for any beginner photographer.

However, the marketing from Canon is clearly focused on luring smartphone photographers away from seeing their phone as their go-to camera. Features being promoted include the ability to makes images pop with a shallow depth of field (thanks to the larger sensor and many Canon EF and EF-S lenses available), beginner photo settings such as a dedicated sports, macro, portrait and even food modes, and in-camera creative filters.

While there's no doubt even entry-level DSLRs are still far more capable than the very best smartphone cameras, the multi-purpose convenience factor of phones – along with the relatively terrific shooters found in recent phones like the Galaxy S7 and iPhone 6s – may make Canon's argument fall (at least somewhat) flat with consumers at large.

There are dedicated modes on the Canon Rebel T6 (1300D) DSLR for shooting subjects including food

The camera itself measures 129 x 101.3 x 77.6 mm (5 x 4 x 3 in) and weighs 485 g (17 oz), making it small for a DSLR, but still a lot bigger than your phone and many entry-level mirrorless cameras. On the back there's an optical viewfinder and a 3-inch 920k dot LCD monitor. As you'd expect from a DSLR there are plenty of dials and buttons, for when users feel ready to take control themselves.

In addition to making it easy to share content wirelessly, the built-in Wi-Fi and NFC can also be used to control the camera remotely from a smartphone running the Canon Camera Connect app. The T6/1300D should be able to shoot around 500 shots on a single charge if using the optical viewfinder to compose images, or around 180 shots if using Live View mode.

The Canon T6 will be available in April priced at US$550 bundled with the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II kit lens.

You can check out a promotional video for the Canon EOS T6/1300D below.

Product page: Canon EOS Rebel T6

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6 comments
Lbrewer42
Simple solution for Canon to compete better - build an iPhone into a DLSR - then those wanting to put out the expense for a DSLR will not miss the reason they carry their iPhone :^))
guzmanchinky
No one will swap a smartphone for an SLR. I've managed to convince people to carry a pocketable camera like the Sony RX100, when I show them just how much better the images are, but a SLR is too bulky for 99% of casual photogs.
P51d007
It still amazes me, that consumers fall for the "image quality just as good as a dSLR" from a smartphone. Considering that the consumer grade dSLR's employ a cropped down APS-C sensor, not a full 35mm size sensor, the APS-C is tens of times larger than the average PINHOLE sensor used in smartphones, you'd have to be really stupid to think that any tiny sensor, with the small glass lens, could come anywhere near the depth, clarity, bokeh of a dSLR. Where smartphones DO come in handy, is a replacement for pocket cameras. The sales of pocket cameras is way down. Smartphones are pretty good at "snapshots" but fall pretty quickly in low light, or fast moving subjects. Cramming more and more sensor elements into such a tiny smartphone sensor, just makes it worse because of the problem of crosstalk, signal to noise ratio. The LARGER each image sensor, the more light it can receive. But, consumers aren't really educated. They fall for the more is better. More megapixels, faster processors, tighter pixel density on the screens.
ErstO
Does a GPS chip really cost too much or draw too much power?
I like using my smart phone when traveling because of the location metadata it stores.
I realize most users looking for a high end DSLR could care less about the metadata, but for the casual user looking for something better then a smart phone it would be a nice feature.
atomic666
sounds like a piece. What is Canon doing? Why are they still stuck on DSLRs? Dont they realize Sony has blown away all the competition? 3fps crap, iso crap, 60fps @ 720 crap. I would literally throw this thing in trash cause I'd feel guilty if I sold it. just saying.
BigGoofyGuy
I miss my Minolta SLR. I think this will be a great way to replace it. The price seems reasonable.