Camera test 49
Photography News | Issue 50 | photographynews.co.uk
Performance: ISO
Picture quality at ISO 100 and 200 is excellent and images are very clean and totally noise free. Noise starts appearing from ISO 400 onwards but even here image quality is high with detail-packed pictures. Critically good images are produced at ISO 800 and 1600, too, with the usual incremental increase in noise levels. But fine detail remains nicely rendered
and there’s no issue at all getting big prints from shots taken at the higher of the two speeds. The quality gap between ISO 1600 and 3200 seems quite wide though, and from ISO 3200 onwards colour noise levels climb significantly and as a consequence quality falls away. That said, with some good processing, there’s no problem getting quality prints from
ISO 3200 if you need that speed to get sharp shots but it’s probably the highest speed to use for good results. From ISO 6400 onwards, colour noise rises and detail is greatly affected. The Canon EOS 200D turns in an ISO performance of a level you’d expect to see in a contemporary APS-C format DSLR and good for a camera at this price level.
ISO 100
ISO 800
ISO 1600
ISO 3200
Original image
ISO 6400
ISO 12,800
ISO 51,200
ISO 25,600
Above This night scene needed an exposure of 8sec at f/8 at ISO 100. The Raw files were processed in Adobe Lightroom Classic with default noise reduction.
them. The on/off/video control is firmly click-stopped so unintentional use is unikely. I favour on/off controls on the right side purely on the basis that I can bring the camera up to my eye while turning it on in one swift, fluid movement, so there’s no lost time. However, I found you couldn’t do that on the EOS 200D as the control is designed for thumb rather than forefinger use. Asmall point but worth noting. One control I found very handy, and I used it regularly, was the ISO button. Although it is perhaps strange that this control is so prominent given that it seems more likely that inexperienced users will stick with auto ISO rather than manual, fine-tunng when needed. The ISO button can’t be re-assigned to another function. I like the flexibility of adjustable monitors and the type that swings out, as here on the EOS 200D, are my favourite. It gives the option for shooting upright and horizontal format images from low and high viewpoints and it is handy for selfies too – of course you can turn the screen inwards for more of a film photographer’s experience. The monitor performs very well and its touch functionality is very useful – it can be switched off and there are standard or sensitive settings. The EOS 200 does not offer too much customisation potential. There are 11 custom functions and you can do things like vary what the *
so it’s not a large AF working space. By the way, the viewfinder provides a bright but rather small image. You can have the nine AF points working automatically and the active ones show up as red dots. If you prefer, all AF points can be selected to work as single points by using the AF button and the input dial, so you can do this while the camera is up to the eye. If you want a particular AF point you have to scroll through the nine AF points if you are using the input dial. Slightly quicker access to the AF points selection is possible with the multi-way thumb pad. Viewfinder AF was generally accurate, sensitive in a wide range of conditions and quiet too. Live view AF uses Canon’s Dual Pixel system and has more working points than optical AF. There are 49 points in a 7x7 grid with the options of single point or 3x3 nine point grid. Live view AF proved responsive and sensitive in a broad range of shooting situations. Overall, I found the EOS 200D delivered high quality pictures in a fuss-free manner, and certainly had enoughversatilityand controllability for Canon’s intended market of DSLR newcomers. Yet, there were plenty of control and creative options for image makers a little further along their photographic journey so, for those experienced users looking for a lighter DSLR rather than going mirrorless, the EOS 200D is an option to consider.
button does. So, you can have it as an exposure lock which is its default function or used as a live view AF magnifier. You can also change what the Set button does and there are seven options including using it to bring up the menu or turning the LCDmonitor on or off. Overall, I found the EOS 200D a fine camera to use and had no serious misgivings about it. Its exposure system delivered well-exposed pictures time after time. Actually, and maybe surprisingly, looking through the Lightroom catalogue of test pictures, exposure consistency and the ability to deal with tricky lighting was better than with some more expensive cameras I have used recently. That is a good selling point.
White-balance performance, too, proved consistently accurate and produced natural-looking results in various outdoor lighting conditions. The AF system worked well too. I had the EF-S 18-55mm f/4-5.6 kit lens and thought that should really tax the AF system. It didn’t. I also tried it with Tamron’s latest superzoom for APS-C cameras, the 18-400mm. This lens ismore demanding of a camera’s AF system, but the camera still fared reasonably well, although it was less impressive when contrast levels were low. The viewfinder autofocus system has nine AF points – a central one and then eight arranged around it in a diamond formation taking up about one-third of the image area,
I like the flexibility of adjustable monitors and the type that swings out, as here on the EOS 200D, are my favourite
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