09Jun Canon Rebel t4i available for pre-order. Do you really need a touch screen?
Canon continues to milk the APS-C sensor originally designed for the EOS 7d with yet another installment in the rebel lineup. The 18 Megapixel sensor is no slouch, but do we really need a 5th camera (6th if you count the Canon 60Da) with the same sensor. I was hoping that some of the sensor technology used in the 5d mark III would be making its way into a brand new high ISO APS-C sensor or at the very least we would start to see the 19 point auto focus system of the 7d show up in the rebel line.
Instead we get the Canon EOS Rebel t4i, which is basically a Canon t3i with 3 notable improvements. First Canon has upgraded the DIGIC 4 to a DIGIC 5 processor. This gives the camera enough extra processor power to handle in camera noise reduction which effectively allows canon to increase high ISO performance. It also allows Canon to increase the burst rate from 3.7 to 5.0 frames per second.
Next Canon has added support for a new lens designation “STM” which is intended to offer smooth and quiet continuous auto focus while shooting. This feature works in conjunction with the new continuous auto focus tracking system that provides full time auto focus during filming and when using live view mode. This is a feature many have been asking for, but other manufactures have tried and failed to implement correctly. If Canon gets this feature working properly, it would make many people who want to shoot family events very happy, but it probably won’t be a must have feature for many film makers.
The last feature of note included in the Canon EOS Rebel t4i is a touch screen interface. I’m not sure why manufactures have insisted on moving to touch screens with these devices. Touching a screen that I’m trying to use to monitor video is annoying (in my opinion), you end up leaving smudges all over the screen. To make it worse manufactures end up adding features that can only be accessed through the touch screen menu, forcing you to fiddle around with the screen at the same time as your trying to view it. This was one of the most annoying things about the evolution of Canon’s Vixia line.
I don’t think the touch screen will be a major reason to upgrade, but the full time auto focus in video mode and better performance added by the DIGIC 5 processor might be enough for some. There is also no word yet on the HDMI output, if Canon were to add a clean HDMI output to the t4i, it would change from a lack luster upgrade to a must have for many, but I doubt we will see a feature like that before it was implemented the 5d mark III.
The Canon EOS Rebel t4i body is available for pre-order at B&H right now for $849. Frankly I’m a little disappointed, but I don’t think we’ll start seeing a new Canon APS-C sensor in the rebel lineup until at least 2013.
UPDATE: Tony Pointed out in the comment section that the t4i might have clean HDMI output. According to this post over at cinema5d, the Canon t4i does output clean HDMI, though it appears that it might be 1080i as apposed to 1080p. If this is the case, it could be that the hinted firmware upgrade for the 5d mark III might also include a clean HDMI output option as well.
June 9th, 2012 at 3:02 pm
I was thinking that the T4i would have the new APS-C sensor but from what you are saying it is the same one as my old T2i but with a better processor.
Perhaps the new APS-C will come in the new 60D or 7D.
June 9th, 2012 at 3:30 pm
As far as the spec sheet lists, the only difference between this sensor and the current lineup is the hybrid AF (for focus in record mode). No change to the sensor itself, just an extra layer of contrast detection over the normal sensor for live view auto focus.
Here is the quote from Canon on the t4i’s ISO performance:
From that quote and the sensor specs it looks as though all of the gain in ISO is done with a noise reduction algorithm in the DIGIC 5. For the price difference you could do the noise reduction in post.
With the firmware update coming for the 7d, I doubt we’ll be seeing a new sensor in the APS-C range this year.
June 10th, 2012 at 8:49 am
This looks promising if true, I found this on what is perhaps the first review of the t4i on http://www.digitalcamerainfo.com/content/Canon-Rebel-T4i-First-Impressions-Review.htm
“The Canon EOS Rebel T4i is the latest mid-level DSLR from Canon, with an upgraded image sensor, Digic 5 processor, improved live view and video autofocus, faster shot-to-shot rate, and high-resolution touchscreen interface.”
Perhaps it does have a new sensor.
June 10th, 2012 at 10:04 am
If you watch canon’s official video: http://youtu.be/_6iGyt4IcI0 At at 40 seconds they say that the upgrade to the sensor is a Hybrid auto focus system: “the first sensor to feature imaging and auto focus pixels in the same chip”, no larger individual photodiodes or backlight “HS SYSTEM” sensor mentioned and the photodiodes used are still 4.3 microns (as with the 7d).
Canon loves to add all of the “NEW FEATURES” to their description of a image sensors (see 5d mark III, G12, and 7d), but it’s possible they just forgot to mention anything in the press release or on their features list. I could be wrong about the sensor, but all facts point to more of the same.
June 10th, 2012 at 4:19 pm
Oh, I see what you are saying now. Bummer.
I was kind of hoping to see a new sensor.
June 9th, 2012 at 4:59 pm
really wish this announcement would have dragged the price of the t3i a little lower. oh well… 750 will have to do…
June 10th, 2012 at 8:18 am
The Canon T3i Body Only
on amazon is only $610 new and $530 used. So the price has come down quit a bit.
June 10th, 2012 at 3:12 am
This is the official video http://youtu.be/_6iGyt4IcI0
Seriously the touch screen is useless. Who is going to change the AF with his hand? Seriously??? Especially when you are at an event. Also touchscreens are much more sensitive. So you have to be more careful. Im still ok with my T2i i really want that articulating screen.
If this was shot with the T4i then the ISO performance is pretty good. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82IVYW7c8l8
June 10th, 2012 at 8:37 am
The sensor hasn’t changed (other then the built in Auto Focus layer), better noise performance comes from the DIGIC 5 running noise reduction on the footage. You can get the same results with the t2i, 7d, t3i, and 60d using software noise reduction in post. Neat Video ($49 to $99) is a very popular choice. Red Giant’s Denoiser was also very good but if I remember correctly Green Parrot Pictures (their partner on Denoiser) was picked up by google, so the only way to get a copy of that is to dig around the web.
Either software program will give you the same or better results at High ISO when used properly. The trade of is that the more noise reduction you use on an image the less resolution you will be left with.
June 10th, 2012 at 2:34 pm
Sorta cool, but it just makes it that much more likely that a really cool mirrorless canon is coming. The STM is obviously most helpful for live view and video.
June 19th, 2012 at 7:57 pm
Well you might want to update now. Seems a lot of people jump the gun thinking the t4i wouldn’t have clean hdmi out since the 5dM3 didn’t. Johnny says otherwise.
http://www.cinema5d.com/news/?p=12021
June 19th, 2012 at 8:44 pm
Thanks for the heads up! Update has been posted.