Canon 550D or 600D?
Hey guys, I’m thinking of getting a camera and I’m not sure which one to get.
The 550D or the 600D.
I’ve heard that they are almost the same. Do both cameras perform the same when it comes to filming? Also does the 550D have a flip screen like the 600D? I’ve heard the only difference between the two is that the 600D has more features for taking photos? I’m not really a good photographer and I don’t know much but I’m thinking when I get better I may eventually need those features.
Should I pay the $120+ for the 600D?
Or should I just get just 550D and use some money for a Fisheye lens 
what would be a good one that isn’t very expensive?
Bumpity bump! 
I’m no expert on this but it looks like the only advantage of the 600D is the flip-out screen. This might be important to you for filming.
The 550D has a significantly smaller frame (129x98x62 mm vs 133x99x79 mm). It’s 20% thinner and 10% lighter. Apparently it’s also much faster on start-up. You’ll save money and can put it towards a lens if you get the 550D.
I guess the question is, how important is that flip-out screen?
There’s also some good info here.
Both cameras are pretty much the same. You will get the same quality of film/photos from both. Have a look at that link above from Digitalrev as it pretty much sums up the differences between the 550D and the 600D. One cool feature of the 600D is the ‘movie digital zoom’. Although I haven’t used a 600D before, Canon states that you can get a 3-10x digital zoom whilst maintaining HD quality while shooting video. This sounds awesome as you will soon find out that you will need to get a pretty large (and expensive) lens to acheive the equivalent of a 10x digital zoom.
In regards to the flip out screen this will be very useful when shooting skating videos or when shooting at low angles (such as following behind someone on a skateboard) as you won’t need to lay on the ground to see what you are shooting or ‘guess’ what you are shooting. I am about to buy a $500 external monitor for my Canon 7D for shooting skate videos which will pretty much do the same job that a flip out screen would do, so you are saving yourself quite a bit of money right there. If Canon had made a flip out screen model with the same specs as a 7D I would have chosen a flip out screen model for sure.
I am yet to buy a fish eye lens however I have heard the ‘Sigma 10mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM’ or the ‘Tokina 10-17mm f/3.5-4.5 ATX’ are good fish eye lenses to buy. The Sigma will most likely give you a better image as it is a ‘prime’ lens and will also be better than the Tokina in low light, but the Tokina is a zoom lens and acts as both a fish eye and an ultra-wide angle lens (kinda like 2 lenses in one). Read some reviews on these lenses and see what you think. The Sigma lens is however a little more expensive than the Tokina. In Australia they retail around the $900 mark but you should be able to find them online for at least $200-250 cheaper. Personally I’m leaning towards the Sigma. One important thing to remember is that the 550D and 600D are ‘cropped sensor’ cameras. Do not buy a fish eye lens which is larger than a 10mm (i.e. a 15mm), as you will not get proper fish eye looking shots.
In conclusion, with the flip out screen and the ‘movie digital zoom’ that the 600D offers for the extra $120, I reckon the 600D would be better value in the long run than the 550D, and if you buy one of the fish eye lenses above I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.
WOW! Thanks for the help guys
I think I might try get the 600D because its not that much more that the 550D and the flip out screen could be a really big help when it comes down to filming, whether it be skate videos or just vlogs and cover songs. :p
Both cameras are pretty much the same. You will get the same quality of film/photos from both. Have a look at that link above from Digitalrev as it pretty much sums up the differences between the 550D and the 600D. One cool feature of the 600D is the ‘movie digital zoom’. Although I haven’t used a 600D before, Canon states that you can get a 3-10x digital zoom whilst maintaining HD quality while shooting video. This sounds awesome as you will soon find out that you will need to get a pretty large (and expensive) lens to acheive the equivalent of a 10x digital zoom.
In regards to the flip out screen this will be very useful when shooting skating videos or when shooting at low angles (such as following behind someone on a skateboard) as you won’t need to lay on the ground to see what you are shooting or ‘guess’ what you are shooting. I am about to buy a $500 external monitor for my Canon 7D for shooting skate videos which will pretty much do the same job that a flip out screen would do, so you are saving yourself quite a bit of money right there. If Canon had made a flip out screen model with the same specs as a 7D I would have chosen a flip out screen model for sure.
I am yet to buy a fish eye lens however I have heard the ‘Sigma 10mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM’ or the ‘Tokina 10-17mm f/3.5-4.5 ATX’ are good fish eye lenses to buy. The Sigma will most likely give you a better image as it is a ‘prime’ lens and will also be better than the Tokina in low light, but the Tokina is a zoom lens and acts as both a fish eye and an ultra-wide angle lens (kinda like 2 lenses in one). Read some reviews on these lenses and see what you think. The Sigma lens is however a little more expensive than the Tokina. In Australia they retail around the $900 mark but you should be able to find them online for at least $200-250 cheaper. Personally I’m leaning towards the Sigma. One important thing to remember is that the 550D and 600D are ‘cropped sensor’ cameras. Do not buy a fish eye lens which is larger than a 10mm (i.e. a 15mm), as you will not get proper fish eye looking shots.
In conclusion, with the flip out screen and the ‘movie digital zoom’ that the 600D offers for the extra $120, I reckon the 600D would be better value in the long run than the 550D, and if you buy one of the fish eye lenses above I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.
could you elaborate more on the cropped sensor bit if you get a chance? thanks!
Yeah, my Nikon D5100 has a flip out screen!!!!! Don’t realize how handy it really is until ya use it!!!!! 
Crackers.
There are two main types of DSLR cameras on the market, full framed sensor or cropped sensor cameras (also know as APS-C sensors). You can usually tell what camera has what size sensor by its price. A Canon 7D is a cropped sensor and a Canon 5DMKII is a full framed sensor and is about $1,000 more expensive.
Full framed sensors give you the best picture quality on the market. It just gives your picture more depth to it, however with such a high amount of depth, focusing accurately becomes harder.
Cropped sensors, which many of the DSLRS have these days, are literally smaller sensors. Still totally awesome but not as good as full framed sensors. There is a ‘crop factor’ that you need to take into consideration when dealing with lenses if you have a cropped sensor camera. This factor is 1.6x. Basically you need to apply this factor to the ‘mm’ of a lens to determine exactly what ‘zoom’ or focal length you will be getting. For example chuck a 50mm lens on a Canon 7D (cropped sensor) and your effective focal length is 50mm x 1.6 = 80mm, a 70-200mm lens will actually be a 112-320mm lens etc. Here is a post with a video which is a really good example of the difference http://philipbloom.net/2010/08/20/which-lenses-to-buy/. There really is quite a difference. There is another cropped sensor called an APS-H which has a factor of 1.3x.
This factor can be both good and bad. Good because you effectively get a better zoom on lenses rather than dish out heaps of cash on a telephoto lens. Bad because to get wide angle shots you will need a wider lens which are generally more expensive. So it pretty much cancels each other out in the end. Another important thing to remember is that camera companies are making ASP-C specific lenses these days. It is possible to mount any type of lens on a cropped sensor camera, but you cannot mount a ASP-C specific lens to a full framed sensor camera as it wont work properly. Something to keep in mind if you eventually want to drop some cash on a full framed sensor camera in the future.
Thanks for the info tomstott
Very helpful and clear.
Crackers.
There are two main types of DSLR cameras on the market, full framed sensor or cropped sensor cameras (also know as APS-C sensors). You can usually tell what camera has what size sensor by its price. A Canon 7D is a cropped sensor and a Canon 5DMKII is a full framed sensor and is about $1,000 more expensive.
Full framed sensors give you the best picture quality on the market. It just gives your picture more depth to it, however with such a high amount of depth, focusing accurately becomes harder.
Cropped sensors, which many of the DSLRS have these days, are literally smaller sensors. Still totally awesome but not as good as full framed sensors. There is a ‘crop factor’ that you need to take into consideration when dealing with lenses if you have a cropped sensor camera. This factor is 1.6x. Basically you need to apply this factor to the ‘mm’ of a lens to determine exactly what ‘zoom’ or focal length you will be getting. For example chuck a 50mm lens on a Canon 7D (cropped sensor) and your effective focal length is 50mm x 1.6 = 80mm, a 70-200mm lens will actually be a 112-320mm lens etc. Here is a post with a video which is a really good example of the difference http://philipbloom.net/2010/08/20/which-lenses-to-buy/. There really is quite a difference. There is another cropped sensor called an APS-H which has a factor of 1.3x.
This factor can be both good and bad. Good because you effectively get a better zoom on lenses rather than dish out heaps of cash on a telephoto lens. Bad because to get wide angle shots you will need a wider lens which are generally more expensive. So it pretty much cancels each other out in the end. Another important thing to remember is that camera companies are making ASP-C specific lenses these days. It is possible to mount any type of lens on a cropped sensor camera, but you cannot mount a ASP-C specific lens to a full framed sensor camera as it wont work properly. Something to keep in mind if you eventually want to drop some cash on a full framed sensor camera in the future.
thanks very much for the advice, it was very handy and explained much better than some of the websites which left me puzzled!
Good explanation of full frame vs cropped tomstott.
Correct me if I’m wrong:
I’ve found (by working with photographers using full frame senors) that a full frame allows the photographer to “cheat” with their photos by allowing them to shoot wider, then crop the image to what they should have done in the image finder (or with the coeect lens) - thus creating more work during processing. Not that processing is a bad thing! just that the photographer is relying more on their equipment to correct any mistake they might make.
I conclude that you maybe paying more for a full frame sensor when you can save money by having a better “eye” for photography. Although tomstott does point out you need be more precise with your focus on full framed cameras.
Not that I wouldn’t bye a full frame camera (if I could afford it). Depth of field creates an image more elusive to capturing a true “moment of time” of which the human eye processes each 1/24th of a second, resulting in a more aesthetically pleasing image. ie: a better looking photo true to what we don’t realise we see. Hence the true art of photography - “Capturing a Moment in Time”
I guess by shooting a larger image than what a cropped sensor can capture, it does give you some freedom to cut down/crop the photo without sacrificing image quality.
Don’t think that you need a full framed sensor camera to get good depth of field shots. I own a 24mm f/1.4 lens and when attached to my 7D it produces some crazy depth of field shots. Just remember a lower ‘f’ value means greater depth of field.
I guess by shooting a larger image than what a cropped sensor can capture, it does give you some freedom to cut down/crop the photo without sacrificing image quality.
Don’t think that you need a full framed sensor camera to get good depth of field shots. I own a 24mm f/1.4 lens and when attached to my 7D it produces some crazy depth of field shots. Just remember a lower ‘f’ value means greater depth of field.
Whooo hooo….we got a 600D as a wedding present. pretty funny because I hadnt told anyone about looking into this….now I can come back and go over your posts again and better understand it. thanks again Tom!
You’re welcome Crackers! Have a blast using it and make sure you post some footage up when you get shooting.