| In February 2015, the Canon 750D and Canon 760D were announced. With a 24-megapixel sensor, these new Canon SLR cameras offer more pixels than the more expensive, recently released (and reviewed by us) Canon 70D and Canon 7D MK2, which have a 20-megapixel sensor. The predecessor of the Canon 750D, the Canon 700D, has “only” 18 megapixels. Finally, the Canon 750D and 760D are for sale. We start with a review of the Canon 750D; the less expensive of the two cameras, with suggested retail prices of just under and above 750 euros—in both cases for the body only. |
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Canon 750D: What’s in the box? |
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| The Canon 750D is designed for the starting photographer, who relies on the automatic settings of his or her first (SLR) camera with interchangeable lenses. The Canon 750D is available as a body and as a kit with a Canon 18-55 mm STM or a Canon 18-135 mm STM lens. In all cases, a battery, battery loader, camera strap and a USB cable are included. The software that is included is very comprehensive and comes on three DVDs: a DVD Portrait & Landscape Photography, a DVD with the manual in several languages, and a DVD with various software (solution disk v30.1), including Canon’s RAW software and a picture style editor. |
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Canon 750D vs Canon 700D |
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Although the Canon 700D will not immediately disappear from the market and can certainly become an interesting camera for bargain hunters, we consider the Canon 750D as the successor to the Canon 700D, which appeared nearly two years ago. The Canon 750D is markedly more expensive, but also has more to offer:
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Canon 750D versus Canon 760D |
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As far as the specifications are concerned. The Canon 750D and the Canon 760D have a lot in common. They have the same 24-megapixel sensor and the same video performance (Full-HD @ 30p). The Canon 760D weighs 10 grams more than the Canon 750D, because there is an extra LCD screen on top of the camera. Because of that LCD screen, the Canon 760D is 10 grams heavier. The suggested retail price of the two models differs by fifty euros. Even so, the two cameras are designed for different target audiences. The Canon 750D is for beginning amateur photographers who make a lot of use of automatic programs for photos and video. The Canon 760D offers more ease of use and options, which will appeal to a more experienced amateur photographer who more often adjusts the camera settings when making photos and videos. The screen on top of the camera and Quick Control Dial (which you also find on many more expensive EOS models) on the back of the camera are easier to use when you want to adjust the settings. The Canon 760D has an electronic level, which is missing on the Canon 750D. With this, you prevent a crooked horizon. That is just the kind of feature that many starting photographers would have benefited from if it were on the 750D.
Both cameras have a DIGIC 6 image processor, with which you can make 5 shots per second (in RAW, in jpg that is dozens) with an ISO range of 100—12,800 (expandable to 25,600). Flicker Detection-technology, first applied in the Canon 7D Mark II, ensures consistently exposed recordings under fluorescent light or of a screen. In contrast with incandescent lights, fluorescent lights do not emit light continuously, so that with a short shutter time, you run the risk of an improperly exposed shot. Flicker detection is not on as a standard, but it is one of the many menu options that this camera offers. |
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Canon 750D:
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Canon 750D vs Nikon D5500/D3300 |
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The Canon 750D, in terms of price and specifications, is comparable with multiple cameras, both SLR and mirrorless system cameras. The Nikon D3300 and the Nikon D5500 (which also most resembles the 760D where price is concerned) seem to us to be the most obvious SLR camera competitors, which have much in common with the Canon 750D, including a 24-megapixel sensor.
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Canon 750D vs Olympus OM-D E-M10 vs Samsung NX500 |
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Although there are still more SLR cameras sold than mirrorless system cameras, the compact system cameras are winning ground. The Canon 750D is, as far as price and specifications are concerned, comparable with multiple mirrorless system cameras, including the Panasonic G6, the Olympus OM-D E-M10 and the Samsung NX500. We briefly point out a couple of differences here.
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Design, build quality and ergonomics |
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| The Canon 750D is beautifully finished and sits well in the hand. The build quality is good. This is a solid camera that is simple to operate. All the buttons are in logical places. If you have your eye in front of the viewfinder, then it is more difficult to see which button you are pressing on top of the camera. Canon has therefore equipped the middle of the three buttons on top right of the camera, where you can adjust the ISO settings, with a line. Handy. | |
Tilting and rotating screen |
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| Because you can fold out the screen and then turn it, you can also make selfies with this camera, which you transfer simply with NFC to your smartphone. A tilting and rotating screen in handy in many situations where you hold the camera far above your head or where you are photographing close to the ground. In contrast with a mirrorless camera, you cannot use LiveView very long before taking a shot. The mirror soon folds back up, and then you have to put on the LiveView again. You can also fold the screen inwards, so that it is protected from scratches during transport. |
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“Intelligent” viewfinder |
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| Just like the Canon 70D, Canon 7D Mark II and the Canon 5D Mark III, the Canon 750D and Canon 760D are equipped with an “intelligent” viewfinder, on which extra information can be shown, such as a raster. When you look through the viewfinder, you can more easily see the focal point and any active AF areas. The shot information is also clearly displayed. Nikon cameras also have such options, although Nikon does not talk about an intelligent viewfinder. In comparison with an electronic viewfinder, I would not dare to talk about an intelligent viewfinder. With an electronic viewfinder, you can not only—even before you take a picture—get a warning in the frame against overexposure or underexposure. You can also see the effect of manual over- or underexposure or adjustments of the white balance in the viewfinder before you take the picture. An electronic level and a histogram can also be shown in the electronic viewfinder of a mirrorless system camera. In comparison with an electronic viewfinder, I would certainly not call this viewfinder intelligent. In the dark, an optical viewfinder is also much darker than an electronic viewfinder, so that it becomes difficult/impossible with an optical viewfinder to make a good composition in the dark. That is not a disadvantage of the Canon 750D. It applies to every SLR camera. And there are still many photographers who prefer an optical viewfinder. | |
Menu (with, among other things, automatic lens corrections) |
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| The menus of Canon cameras are clearly divided into a few tabs, which are very intuitively categorized. When you select an item, a short explanation appears (as in the illustration shown here). Certainly for starters, this is very handy. Even if you are not accustomed to a Canon camera, you will soon be able to find your way through this menu structure. It is worth the effort to go through such a menu—whether or not with the directions in hand—directly after purchase. Not only do you learn to get to know the camera that way, but you can also immediately turn on a number of options. The camera can thus correct for distortion, chromatic aberration and vignetting of Canon lenses. Every user who only photographs in jpg because they want to spend as little time as possible on photo editing should turn on these three options be default. If the camera does not recognize a lens, then it does not do any corrections. So it nearly can’t go wrong if you leave that option on by default. Undesired vignetting correction occurs very rarely. |
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More megapixels, unchanged dynamic range |
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| Canon 760D and 750D have the same AF system with “cross-type” focus points. That is double in comparison with the number of AF points of the Canon 700D. This seems to me to be a more important detail for the target audience of the Canon 760D than for the target audience of the 750D. | |
High resolution and image quality |
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| The Canon 750D is the first Canon camera with a 24-megapixel APS-C sensor that we have reviewed. Not surprising, then, that the Canon 750D achieves a higher score for resolution (comparable with the Nikon D3300, which also has a 24-megapixel sensor) than all other Canon cameras with an APS-C sensor that we have reviewed so far. You will not soon discover the difference in resolution between a 20-megapixel and a 24-megapixel sensor with the naked eye, and you will also only realize it with the use of a good lens. | |
Dynamic range |
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| More pixels on a sensor brings the risk of a lower dynamic range and a poorer signal-to-noise ratio. That turns out much better than expected in practice here. The difference in noise and dynamic range of the Canon 750D in comparison with the Canon 7D MK2 is measurable with Imatest, but in practice you will not notice it. | |
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Color reproduction |
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| With some cameras, we see that the saturation decreases as the ISO value increases, but with Canon cameras, the colors remain fairly unchanged, regardless of the level of the ISO setting. In daylight, the color reproduction is very good, both for RAW files and for jpg files with the Faithful picture style. In artificial light, the automatic white balance in our test set-up (incandescent light) is not flawless, but that applies for practically all cameras that we have reviewed so far. Short summary: The color reproduction of the Canon 750D is just as good as that of much more expensive cameras. If you do not work with RAW files or you choose another image style than Faithful, then the color deviation is much larger. But then you choose those other image styles because those colors appeal to you. The standard image style, for example, produces a bit more saturated colors with somewhat more emphasis on red and a higher contrasts, so that skin tones appear browner. |
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| Color reproduction Canon 750D at 100 ISO (jpg, Faithful picture style) | Color reproduction Canon 750D at 6400 ISO (RAW) |
Noise |
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| The pictures above illustrate the difference in noise at 100 ISO or 12,800 ISO in RAW files without the application of noise suppression. Even without noise suppression, you do not see any noise at 100 ISO, not even with enlargement to 100%. Only when you go to edit the picture and make the dark parts lighter does noise appear. | |
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| Good news for those who do not photograph in RAW: the noise suppression in jpg files is very effective. Even at 12,800, there is little noise visible in this test shot, while the loss in sharpness due to the noise suppression is much less than one might expect. If the Canon 750D scores a bit lower for RAW files without noise suppression than the Canon 70D and Canon 7D MK2, with the jpg files, that difference disappears. | |
Video, WiFi & NFC |
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| Beginning filmmakers can record their memories with Full HD resolution as movies and use MP4 in order to easily share the image material online. With the advanced Hybrid CMOS AF III, subjects always remain sharp in frame, and it is possible to follow them or to quickly change subjects. The compatibility with STM lenses ensures superior precision and high speed next to silent and fluid focusing. The EOS 760D gives beginning filmmakers a series of creative film settings for recording unique image material in a simple way. Make attractive videos with the HDR movie mode that show all the details in both light and dark areas, or use Miniature Effect to directly create the effect of professional tilt-and-shift lenses. |
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Video |
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| In comparison with the Canon 700D, focusing for video is enormously improved: faster and more fluid. The Canon 750D has a new Hybrid CMOS AF III auto focus system, that, in combination with STM lenses, provides fluid focusing for Full HD video while following subjects. By touching the tilting and rotating touchscreen, you make a “focus pull” from one subject to another. The following of subjects in Liveview is remarkably good. With other brands, the following of subjects is only really good if the subject has an intense color, but the Canon 750D is also able to keep following subjects with few remarkable colors. The camera itself chooses a shutter time and aperture; you cannot adjust shutter time, aperture or ISO during video recording. For that, you have to opt for the Canon 760D, on which that is possible. |
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Wifi & NFC, no GPS |
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| The Canon 750D has—just like practically all cameras with interchangeable lenses—no built-in GPS. This was probably chosen because GPS puts a real load on the battery. If you want to save GPS information directly when making a picture, then you can purchase an optional GPS receiver, but that will cost you a couple hundred euros extra. Sharing images with friends via social media seems to becoming more popular than printing photos. That’s why all the camera manufacturers are starting to make wireless connections possible in their cameras. The Canon 750D is equipped with WiFi and NFC. In particular, NFC ensures an easy and fast connection for sending pictures to a smart device with NFC functionality. Most smartphones have NFC, so that you can send photos, immediately after making them, to the smartphone of a friend. There is no fussing with passwords; just hold your smartphone against the camera and make a connection. Because NFC only works from a very short distance, you don’t have to worry about others being able to make connections with your camera. |
Conclusion Canon 750D review |
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Conclusion Canon 750D review |
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| Compare Canon 750D with another camera:
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Pros
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Cons
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You might not immediately use the extra thumb controller with which you can adjust the camera settings as a starter. Even so, you will be happy with it when you are somewhat more advanced and do not have to go look for another camera. The extended video options and the electronic level (prevents a tilted horizon) are options that you will not initially find that important as a beginner, but that you will miss when you begin to work more seriously. The Canon 750D is the first Canon camera with a 24-megapixel APS-C sensor that we have reviewed. Not that surprising that the Canon 750D achieves a higher score for resolution (comparable with the Nikon D3300, which also has a 24-megapixel sensor) than all other Canon cameras with an APS-C sensor that we have reviewed so far. The difference in resolution between a 20-megapixel and a 24-megapixel sensor will not soon be spotted with the naked eye, and you will also only realize it with the use of a good lens. That does not have to be expensive, as Canon, for example, shows with the outstanding Canon 40 mm STM pancake lens. We reviewed the Canon 750D with the Canon EF-S 60 mm macro-lens. |
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