Whats your opinion of the SL1?

I have the opportunity to get a new in box sl1 with the kit lens for $300. I'm not sure if this is a good price.

The reviews of the SL1 are always a couple of years old. I do have a couple of Canon lenses laying about, and a 50mm prime, from my old rebel xs days.

How is the video, the handling, and all that compared to mor recent cameras?
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"It's" is the contraction of "it is".
"Its" is the possessive pronoun.
Example:
The camera and its viewfinder. Correct!

P Langham said:

I have the opportunity to get a new in box sl1 with the kit lens for $300. I'm not sure if this is a good price.

Click to expand...

Yes it is a very good price.

P Langham said:

The reviews of the SL1 are always a couple of years old. I do have a couple of Canon lenses laying about, and a 50mm prime, from my old rebel xs days.

How is the video, the handling, and all that compared to mor recent cameras?

Click to expand...

Video is fine (smooth AF changes when using STM lenses and AF in video, pretty good 1080P HD quality), for such a compact DSLR handling is fine, with very good ergonomics/UI.

If you want a compact DSLR, it still is the nicest one. I would totally prefer it over my EOS M.

P Langham said:

--
"It's" is the contraction of "it is".
"Its" is the possessive pronoun.
Example:
The camera and its viewfinder. Correct!

Click to expand...

P Langham said:

I have the opportunity to get a new in box sl1 with the kit lens for $300. I'm not sure if this is a good price.

The reviews of the SL1 are always a couple of years old. I do have a couple of Canon lenses laying about, and a 50mm prime, from my old rebel xs days.

How is the video, the handling, and all that compared to mor recent cameras?
--
"It's" is the contraction of "it is".
"Its" is the possessive pronoun.
Example:
The camera and its viewfinder. Correct!

Click to expand...

I love the sl1. For a while I ditched the DSLR in favor of mirrorless but the sl1 has convinced me that I really need to just stick with entry level dslr's. In the past I owned a 60d but I now know that large and heavy cameras are not for me. Heres a short list of its pros:

-lightweight

-fast live view for a dslr

-ovf

-small and easily fits into a bag/purse

-phase detection

-excellent IQ. This forum loves to argue otherwise based on lab results but I only care about what my eyes see.

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https://www.flickr.com/photos/125072070@N08/

I agree with what the others have said. IQ is quite good, compact, lightweight, STM lenses are the way to go and there's a nice assortment of them. $300 for the body and lens (new) is definitely a reasonable price. I really enjoy mine and am confident you won't regret it.

Jim

Cannot comment on video, but I really like my SL1. I bought it for a smaller travel camera but I find I grab it more than my 30D now. Easy to handle and photo quality is outstanding.

Get the 24mm STM and 40mm STM and you will have a great combo with your 50mm prime.

Chris

Yes $300 is a great price for the SL1

I really like mine. Here's a picture I took with it in Yosemite in May with the 10-18 lens.

I love my SL1 and STM lenses as a light weight alternative to my 5D Mk III. I use Magic Lantern on the SL1 so I can have Kelvin white balance and 1/3 stop ISO settings. (lots of other cool features too)

It's a little long, but bear with me.

SL1 is great. the 18-55 IS kit lens that comes with is a gem. I compared it to Nikon's 18-55 VR kit lens and by far, Cannon's blows it away. The IS is inaudible in video and the autofocus is snappy. It's got decent battery life, it lasts a couple weeks with casual on & off shooting. I received mine last year and have had a lot of fun with it.

overall score for me: 10/10




3-inch LCD displays info in a similar way a top-LCD does.

The 3-inch LCD can be used for changing settings on the fly via touch screen. I think they tried to give you prosumer controls without the extra LCD. The 3-inch LCD behaves similarly to a top-LCD and you're able to change settings with the control dial on top. While you don't have 2 dials for shutter and aperture control on Manual mode, the 1 dial is enough for me seeming that it feels enough like my Fuji S2Pro which had the 2 dials & top-LCD. For a surety it's easier to use than my S2 and am glad I picked it out.

My only cons:

I had to read the manual to figure out what the AF modes were.

its a fantastic camera and I would recommend it to anyone.

I think the SL1 is a great little camera. I bought it for the idea of travel and when I'm on the go.

I have it with the STM lenses: 10-18, 18-55, 55-250 and 24 pancake as my on the go kit. They are all great lenses yet compact and lightweight. The SL1 and the 24mm are almost pocketable (at least with a large coat pocket).

The touch screen is a nice feature. At first I thought it would be gimmicky but I've grown to love it and not think twice when using it.

The one thing I remember when I first got it was getting used to the small size. But the more you use it, the more comfortable it gets to handle it.

Oh, and it takes fantastic pictures.

I haven't used it for video yet but others can chime in on the video capabilities of this little machine.

So, I say get it - you won't regret it!

P Langham said:

I have the opportunity to get a new in box sl1 with the kit lens for $300. I'm not sure if this is a good price.

Click to expand...

Yes, very good price.

P Langham said:

The reviews of the SL1 are always a couple of years old. I do have a couple of Canon lenses laying about, and a 50mm prime, from my old rebel xs days.

Click to expand...

Not really a big deal since the Canon released a very cheap new 50mm STM which does focus quietly in video. Others have similar lenses at affordable prices.

P Langham said:

How is the video, the handling, and all that compared to mor recent cameras?

Click to expand...

Video? dated

Handling? good touchscreen UI. helps with the limited direct controls which come naturally with the small size.

More recent camera's that superceded the SL-1 can't be bought at that price.

I got a similar deal a little more than a year ago and am so happy with the camera, I use it instead of my 60D 90% of the time. The handling is superb. Can't say anything about the video as I use my G12 for video.

One thing I wanted to point out. You'd rather have the STM version of the kit lens if you can get it.