Canon 1100D review, aka my first camera
After 18 months I finally decided that I needed a (well deserved) step up in terms of gear and that I reached my limits on my old camera, continuing my digital work on a Canon 6D. This seems like a perfect time to appreciate and review my beloved 1100D, which firm is the reason I fell in love with photography and served as a perfect learning platform throughout all this time! I picked up this camera in late 2020 when it became clear to me that I want to try photography as a hobby, and expand my repertoire as an artist (I draw and paint quite a lot, and also played the violin for 13 years).
After a thorough search on the used market, I stumbled upon this exact camera, for a pretty good deal too. Let's see the specs, shall we? The 1100D has a 12MP - APS-C CMOS Sensor, 9 focus points and is capable of continuous shooting of 3.0 fps. The weight is a huge plus point, with “only” 495 grams, which is not a lot, especially if you carry your camera for an entire day in your backpack. The following images all come from the 1100D, mostly with the kit lens.
Obviously, you cant expect mind-bending technology from a camera released in 2011, which is especially visible in the autofocus, and the higher ISO settings above 1600, which I tried to avoid if possible by compensating with lower shutter speeds.
Even though I bought a 50 mm 1.8 last July, I actually quite enjoyed shooting with the kit lens, which is an 18-55 EFS zoom lens, only thing I missed is the absence of bokeh, which is understandable at a max aperture of 3.5 when at 18 mm. An additional benefit is the EF mount, for which you can buy many many lenses from Canon, and see what you like, or don't.
The in-built flash came in quite handy, which I will miss for sure on my 6D!
With all the pros, I have to mention some cons too, mainly low light performance. The sensor truly struggles above 800 ISO, and noise and damage to the files are inevitable. I tried to compensate with slower shutter speeds, shooting RAW, and underexpose by at least one stop, which I prefer anyway for my style of editing and moody/high contrast images.
Another one of my issues had to do with the inaccuracy of the focus points, therefore I used only the middle one, and the “focus and recompose” technique, which made my workflow just easier, and worry-free.
Honestly, I don't want to talk bad about this camera, since it wouldn't be fair for its age/pricing, and it really taught me a lot about photography, made me a better artist, and sparked my passion for this beautiful art form, which I will be forever grateful for! Is it the best camera ever? For sure not, but I honestly think that about 99 percent of people who consider buying a DSLR camera, would be fine with these specs, even if it isn't the fanciest priciest gear to brag about, I truly believe that if you can, you WILL create stunning images on this one, even without the million-megapixel sensor or frames per seconds (which honestly most people won't ever use, who are we kidding).
I see the uprising trend on numerous platforms, that it's seemingly normal to market the newest and quite expensive gear towards beginners, even though it's total nonsense. I also hear/see “experts” calling very expensive, and really good, but frankly a bit older gear, “beginner-friendly”, which boils my blood every time. Maybe we live in such a spoiled age, where its normal to think that a more expensive camera will make us a better photographer, but in my opinion (and as seen on any used market platform) these tremendously expensive bodies don't get the usage that they would be capable off, don't even let me start with those people who have their mode dial in A mode on their images.
Of course, if you have the spare change, go for the newest Leica, but I think for beginners an older camera, for a cheaper price is a much better, and fitting option! In the end, I would recommend this camera to everyone, honestly, professionals may be excluded. Hope you enjoyed this post, and take some great pictures!
