Canon Rebel T6s, T6i unveiled, offering advanced enthusiast-level features at affordable prices

posted Thursday, February 5, 2015 at 11:59 PM EDT

Despite the Rebel family constituting Canon's consumer-line of DSLRs, the just-announced Canon Rebel T6s starts to cross the border into definite enthusiast-level territory. Superseding the "Txi" model name as the flagship Rebel camera, the new T6s introduces and incorporates some technology and features from the Canon 70D.

Starting with the exterior design, it's evident that the Canon T6s takes design cues from Canon's enthusiast DSLRs -- it's the first Rebel camera with a top-deck LCD info panel. And on the back deck is another Rebel first -- the rear-panel four-way controller is replaced by Canon's Control Dial interface, a nice commonality that will make it easier for the T6s to serve as a second body alongside a higher-end Canon model.

Under the hood, the T6s houses a brand new 24.2-megapixel APS-C image sensor -- the highest resolution sensor ever featured in a Rebel camera. Surpassing the 70D in processing horsepower, the Rebel T6s uses the DIGIC 6 image processor -- another first for the Rebel lineup. Together, the pairing provide the same ISO 100-12,800 (plus 25,600 boost) sensitivity range and five frames per second burst rate as in the earlier Rebel T5i, despite a one-third increase in the total pixel count.

The same image sensor and processor are also shared with the simultaneously announced Canon Rebel T6i, which serves as a more affordable model that shaves off some of the T6s' features in the quest for a lower pricetag. Despite following the naming convention of the Rebel T5i, Canon states that the T5i will stick around for a while longer.

Both new Rebel cameras share some similarities, including ISO range -- 100-12,800 (native), built-in Wi-Fi and active NFC -- with compatibility with the new Connect Station CS100 -- and a vari-angle LCD screen.

While both models offer Full HD video recording, the higher-end model includes digital zoom and HDR movies.

The Canon Rebel T6s and Canon Rebel T6i are scheduled to be available at the end of April 2015. The estimated retail price of the T6s is US$849.99 for the body only, and US$1,199 bundled with an EF-S 18-135 STM lens. The T6i has an estimated retail price of US$749.99 for the body only, US$899.99 bundled with an EF-S 18-55 STM lens, and US$1,099 bundled with an EF-S 18-135 STM lens.

Head over to our Canon T6s First Impression Review and Canon T6i First Impressions Review for all the nitty-gritty details of Canon's latest Rebel DSLRs.

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