Prime Day may just be the perfect time to upgrade from smartphone snapshots. The Canon EOS Rebel SL2 camera, originally priced at nearly $700, can now be snapped up for less than $400 with a lens. Photographers updating a current Canon collection can also pick up the SL2 body only at a steep discount.
The Prime Day deal cuts 43% off the $549 body-only list price and 45% off the $699 bundle with an 18-55mm kit lens. That puts the kit at about $385 and the body-only at about $313. While discounts for the 24.2-megapixel DSLR aren’t uncommon, the Prime Day deal doubles the more common 20% discount on the camera.
Canon EOS Rebel SL2 Digital SLR Camera Body:
Canon EOS Rebel SL2 DSLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm STM Lens:
The deal makes the SL2 an even more accessible entry into DSLR photography. As one of Canon’s smallest DSLRs, the SL2 offers a large APS-C sensor as a serious step up from a smartphone camera, without adding a ton of bulk. While not as compact as a mirrorless camera, the lower price makes it easier to ignore what’s missing. Canon has since launched the 4K-enabled SL3, but the newer version has the same sensor and doesn’t see the same steep discount.
The 24-megapixel image sensor churns out solid images for the price point. The Digic 7 processor won’t win any races, but offers some nice speed for the entry-level category. Both are also an improvement over the predecessor, the SL1. Canon’s Dual Pixel autofocus technology makes the live view mode shooting from the articulating touchscreen one of the best in the class, though shooting through the viewfinder uses a more limited nine-point system.
Besides the size and image quality, the SL2 is designed for beginners with an easy-to-use interface. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are built-in to make sharing from the DSLR only a tad tougher than sharing a smartphone snapshot to social media.
Mirrorless cameras such as the Canon EOS M6 are coming of age, and plenty of features to get newbies hooked on photography in a smaller form factor. But, DSLRs remain among some of the best deals, considering you won’t notice a difference in image quality between options like the M6 and SL2. With the Prime Day deal, the SL2 is more than $200 less than Canon’s sleeker EOS M6.
The deal only lasts until 4:30 p.m. PT on Tuesday, July 16.
