An absolutely great travel camera!

I feel like the professional reviewers here and at other review sites have missed something about this camera that seems obvious to me.  When I bought my Rebel T3 I didn't want or need a super whiz-bang camera, I already have several of those.  I needed a lightweight box that contains a decent APS-C sensor, which I can attach to some of the fine EOS lenses that I already own.  So as a second body, the Rebel T3 is absolutely ideal, and a real pleasure to carry around while hiking or taking all-day walking trips. If you attach a 40mm pancake lens to this camera, then you have a combination that takes stunning pictures in a (comparatively) featherweight package.  I prefer this combination to any of the point-and-shoot products that I've tried, because the images are just so much better, and the imaging system is so much more flexible. (I can shoot RAW images, with insane clarity, and not have back pains from lugging around 40 pounds of equipment!  This is nothing short of a miracle!!!)

For those days when I need to carry around just one camera/lens and I might be far away from the subject, I can pop-on a Tamron 18-270 VC lens. While many of the super-zoom pocket cameras have impressive specs, nothing compares to having a DSLR that actually snaps the picture (quickly) when I press the shutter release...

So I understand that the process of reviewing a camera/lens combo requires that you compare it to everything else that's available via objective criteria.  But that 69% rating denies that this camera might be useful to someone else, as something other than a beginner's camera. I bought my T3 body for a little less than $300, and for me it has been one of the best camera purchases that I've ever made.  As an addition to an existing system, this is a brilliant camera.

So I wish there was another scored evaluation criteria that just evaluated the image quality. Because the lack of high-resolution tilting LCD, and lack of a 1080p movie mode with an external microphone aren't things that interest me. (If they did, I would have bought a different camera.) Just pointing out that a good camera is one that is well suited to the intended purpose, and "good" isn't necessarily something that can be easily quantified objectively.