Using a DSLR Camera in 2024 - Canon T7 Rebel Long Term Review
My Honest Thoughts on the Canon T7 Rebel DSLR Camera After 6 Years of Use - Can You Still Use a DSLR In 2024?
In the summer of 2018, I decided I wanted to get into photography and without doing much research, walked into my local store and purchased the Canon T7 Rebel (also known as the EOS 2000D). Little did I know that I would get into photography a lot more and it was all due to this camera. In 2024, most photographers have switched to mirrorless cameras, and DSLRs are considered “ancient technology”. After 6 long years of use, I still own and use my T7 Rebel as my main camera.
Cameras aren’t cheap, so maybe you’re looking for a budget-friendly camera to get started in photography. Here are my honest thoughts and review on the T7 Rebel so you can choose whether or not to spend your hard-earned money on an older camera or save up for a fancy newer model.
Older Camera vs Smartphone
Often enough, I hear people ask me, “Why not just use your phone instead of an older camera? It probably has better picture quality.” While smartphone technology is always being improved as well as the cameras on newer phones, the reason I choose to still use a DSLR camera instead is for a few reasons. Primarily on a camera, even an older one, you have full control over the settings so that you can make your pictures turn out exactly the way you want. Most phones, without third-party software, make the camera experience as easy as possible for the average user which means not having to mess around with settings to get a decent picture. If you want to get into photography, it’s crucial to understand the settings of your camera and I believe using an older camera will help you learn faster than one with newer technology due to having fewer bells and whistles.
Secondly, even when using an older DSLR-style camera, you can swap out the lenses to achieve better photo quality, and a different look such as wide angle, and even telephoto lenses to get longer reach for far away subjects. On most phones, these are all possible digitally but the picture quality really suffers.
Ultimately, if you can’t afford a camera you can use your phone to take some good photographs but whenever possible I would try to at least purchase an older camera so that you can start learning the basics of cameras and photography so that when/if you do decide to upgrade you will understand how to get the best possible shot.
Canon Rebel T7 Features & Specs
I often refer to the T7 as more of a “barebones” beginner camera due to it lacking a lot of features of new camera (especially in 2024). This may seem bad, but not at all! I actually think that for someone starting out, it’s a great camera and has enough features to make it enjoyable to use and take great pictures but not too many that overwhelm you and get in the way of the experience using it. Here are some of the key specs and features:
24 MP APS-C CMOS Sensor
Fixed Screen
Optical Viewfinder
3 FPS Continuous Shooting
9 Focus Points
Red Eye Correction Setting
Creative Auto, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Manual Modes
Face Tracking Auto Focus
What I Like About the Canon T7 Rebel
Although the Rebel T7 is definitely an older camera, I still use it to this day and it has some great things about it. All in all, being a budget friendly camera it does lack a lot of features that would be nice to have but I like that it is more of a “barebones” camera which is especially useful for beginners looking to better their photography skills.
Although it’s a budget friendly DSLR camera, the Rebel T7 can take some awesome photos if you know what you’re doing. Along your journey of learning more about photography you will probably want to pick up a few different lenses once you start understanding what they do. The great thing about the T7 is that it fits EF and EF-S lenses which are Canon’s older mount lenses and made for a crop sensor camera. Most of these lenses can be picked up for a fraction of the cost of newer lenses which makes it great if you aren’t sure if photography is your thing and you just want to experiment.
Since the camera lacks a lot of features that newer cameras have, I think that its actually better for those wanting to get better as it requires you to think and plan your shot before taking it teaching you composition, settings, and more. Without all of the features getting in your way, especially as a beginner photographer, you can focus more on the things that matter like ISO, aperture, shutter speed, etc which will ultimately make you a better photographer in the long run. If you’re starting out as someone who has never had a camera, it does feature a Creative Auto setting which works really well and even tells you the settings it’s using in real time to better help you understand what the settings do.
Last but not least, the Canon T7 Rebel can be picked up for a fraction of the cost of newer cameras and even less expensive if you buy a used model. This means if you aren’t sure if you want to pursue photography or you’re just wanting a camera to take pictures as a hobby, you won’t be out a lot of money if it sits on your shelf and you can resell it later on for at least half of what you paid. It also gives you some peace of mind if you take your camera places because you don’t have to worry a lot about accidentally damaging it like you would with a more expensive camera.
What I dislike About the Rebel T7
With all of that being said, the T7 does leave some things to be desired. Like I said, the Rebel T7 is more of a “barebones” camera that’s also a DSLR and an older model at that doesn’t have a lot of the functionality and features of newer models.
To start, my biggest complaint is the T7’s autofocus. The autofocus is pretty slow while using the live view screen which isn’t much of a problem if you’re doing things like landscape photography or taking photos of still objects. When you want to take action shots, this can be very limiting as it takes some time for the camera to focus on the subject. If you use the viewfinder, the autofocus is a bit faster which is what I tend to use if the subject is moving. It also only has 9 AF points and sometimes after a long day of shooting and pulling up the photos to edit, I notice that some of the photos are out of focus.
When it comes to low light photography, DSLR cameras aren’t that great especially when comparing them to the newer mirrorless cameras. On the T7, I notice the photos start to show noise around 800 ISO and anything higher than that they can sometimes even be unusable. This problem isn’t necessarily a T7 problem more so than it is a DSLR problem, but it is something to think about especially if you plan on taking photos in lower light or indoor settings.
All of the pictures I have taken on my Instagram and photography portfolio to this date (5/2/24) were shot using the Canon T7 Rebel. This may help you get a sense of how pictures turn out using it.