Canon T3i Specs Decoded
LCD Screen
The 3-inch LCD screen found on the T3i can flip and rotate for better viewing angles. The resolution of the screen is approximately 1,040,000 pixels which is on par with the T2i and 60D and slightly better than the D5100 (921k pixels).
Optical Viewfinder
The T3i has an average sized pentamirror optical viewfinder with 95% frame coverage and 0.85x magnification. This means that your final shot will actually be slightly larger than the image seen through the viewfinder. To get 100% coverage, you can use ‘Live View’ and compose shots with the LCD screen.
Built-in Flash
The built-in flash has a guide number of 13/43 (m/ft) and a recycling rate around 3 seconds before you can take the next shot. In terms of flash power, you can properly illuminate subjects approximately 12 feet away while using an aperture of f/3.5 at an ISO of 100.
Image Sensor
The T3i sports an 18 megapixel CMOS sensor, the same one found in the Canon T2i and 60D. It can capture images as large as 5184×3456 pixels. The sensor also comes with a self-cleaning filter that will shake off dust automatically everytime you power up the camera.
Crop Factor
The T3i has a crop factor of 1.6x, which results in a narrower field of view. As an example, if you were to attach a 50mm lens to the T3i and look through the viewfinder, it would have the same field of view as an 80mm lens mounted to a full frame DSLR (like the Canon 5D) or a film SLR.
Processor
The T3i is equipped with a Digic 4 processor, the same processor found in the T2i and 60D. Camera processors are very similar to computer processors, contributing to overall performance and speed.
ISO Range
The ISO (digital film speed) range is between 100 and 6400, however, you can go as high as 12800 with ISO expansion enabled.
Shutter Speed Range
The shutter speed range is between 30 seconds to 1/4000 of a second. The fastest shutter speed you can use with flash is 1/200 of a second.
Auto-Focus System
The auto-focus system is comprised of a 9-point cross-type AF system (also found in the T2i and 60D).
Metering
Metering is evaluated using a through-the-lens (TTL) full aperture 63-zone metering system (also found in the T2i and 60D.
Burst Mode
Continuous shooting clocks in at 3.7 frames per second (fps), which is equal to the T2i. The maximum number of images you can capture in a single burst is 34 JPEG images or 6 RAW images.
| Comparable cameras | Frames Per Second | # of JPEG’s/burst | # of RAW’s/burst |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canon T3i | 3.7 | 34 | 6 |
| Canon T2i | 3.7 | 34 | 6 |
| Canon 60D | 5.3 | 58 | 16 |
| Nikon D5100 | 4 | 100 | 15 |
White Balance
There are seven preset white balance settings; Auto, Daylight, Shade, Cloudy, Tungsten, Fluorescent and Flash which will help you obtain correct color hues in different lighting situations.
Picture styles
There are six preset picture styles; Standard, Portrait, Landscape, Neutral, Faithful and Monochrome which allow you to control the saturation, contrast and sharpness for different shooting modes.
Video Recording
The T3i comes equipped with 1920×1080 (1080p) HD video recording. The built-in mic can only record mono sound, however, there’s an available mic input jack which allows for higher quality stereo sound. Videos are saved in .MOV format and the maximum clip length for each video segment is 30 minutes or 4GB of data…whichever comes first.
Post-processing & Editing
The T3i comes with a few basic controls for resizing, colorizing and post-processing images in-camera. It also comes equipped with a basic video editor that will allow you trim the first and last scenes of your movies.
Size & Weight
The T3i measures 5.24″ wide x 3.94″ tall x 3.15″ deep and weighs 1.26 lbs. This makes it slightly larger than the Nikon D5100, Canon T2i and smaller than the Canon 60D.
| Comparable cameras | Width | Height | Depth | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canon T3i | 5.24″ | 3.94″ | 3.15″ | 1.26 lbs |
| Canon T2i | 5.08″ | 3.86″ | 2.44″ | 1.17 lbs |
| Canon 60D | 5.71″ | 4.17″ | 3.11″ | 1.66 lbs |
| Nikon D5100 | 5.04″ | 3.82″ | 3.11″ | 1.23 lbs |
Build Materials
The exterior is made of polycarbonate resin, reinforced with glass fiber and housed on a stainless steel structure.