Canon EOS Rebel T4i First Impressions Review

Design & Appearance

The design of the T4i is going to feel instantly familiar to those who have picked up a Rebel in recent years. It's small, lightweight, with a compact form factor and large buttons. It's a standard DSLR design, with a single control dial on the front and a four-way control pad on the back. The T4i includes the same 1.04m-dot resolution vari-angle articulated screen as the T3i, but it now offers very accurate touch controls, letting you move through the menu or quick control panel with ease.

Despite the headline-grabbing addition of touchscreen controls, the T4i's menu interface is exactly as you've come to expect it, with no real visible changes from last year's model. The only difference is now the panels and sections that were already there light up when you touch them, indicating that they've been selected.

In terms of size the T4i is just a tenth of an ounce heavier, with a primarily plastic body. It doesn't feel like it would survive too many drops onto hard surfaces, but at 18.3 ounces it won't feel terrible if it's slung over your shoulder for a few hours. The control design is nearly identical to the T3i, with a button layout that is simple to use, with buttons that are legible and offer a nice haptic response when engaged, so it's easy to operate as long as there's enough light to read the labels.

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