The EOS 550D is Canon’s top ‘amateur’ digital SLR and a significant step forward from the EOS 500D. It comes with the same 18-megapixel sensor as the professional EO 7D and can shoot full HD movies at 30fps. The EOS 500D has a 15-megapixel sensor, and while it too can shoot full HD, it’s only at 20fps.

The 550D offers auto and manual controls when shooting movies and, for the first time in a digital SLR, a digital zoom, though Canon calls this a ‘Movie Crop’ function. It captures 640 x 480 pixels from the centre of the image for an equivalent 7x magnification (or ‘crop’).

Superficially, the EOS 550D’s capabilities might seem to rival those of the EOS 7D, but in practice they’re quite different cameras. The 550D has a smaller, less robust body, it comes with Canon’s basic 18-55mm IS kit lens, and it can only shoot at 3.7fps, versus the EOS 7D’s 8fps. Nevertheless, it does significantly raise the stakes in the amateur digital SLR market.

Megapixels: 18.0 Sensor size: 22.3 x 14.9mm Movies: 1920 x 1080 at 30fps Continuous shooting: 3.7fps LCD display: 3-inch 1,040,000 pixels Live view: Yes Dust removal: Yes Body only weight: 530g