Canon Rebel SL2

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Katie at camp, 14 August 2017. Canon SL2, FLASH ON, Canon 18-55mm f/4-5.6 STM IS at 34mm at f/5.6 at 1/200 at Auto ISO 400, Perfectly Clear. bigger.

Zoey and Sofie riding in the back seat, 14 January 2018. Canon SL2, Canon 18-135mm USM IS at 35mm at f/4.5 at 1/50 at Auto ISO 400, Perfectly Clear. bigger.

Instant autofocus: Ryan's orange drone, 31 December 2017. Canon SL2, Canon 18-135mm USM IS at 91mm at f/5.6 at 1/250 at Auto ISO 160, Perfectly Clear. bigger or camera-original © file.

Spanish Tile, 01 January 2018. Canon SL2, Canon 18-135mm USM IS at 62mm at f/8 at 1/200 at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger or full-resolution or camera-original © file.

Cactus, 14 January 2018. Canon SL2, Canon 18-135mm USM IS at 79mm at f/16 at 1/50 at Auto ISO 100, as shot. bigger or camera-original © file.

Sky Mural, 14 January 2018. Canon SL2, Canon 18-135mm USM IS at 18mm at f/3.5 at 1/13 at ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger or full-resolution or camera-original © file.

Note that there is very little in focus at this large (f/3.5) aperture.

Golf Clubhouse, 14 January 2018. Canon SL2, Canon 18-135mm USM IS at 50mm at f/8 at 1/200 at Auto ISO 100, as shot. bigger or camera-original © file.

Palm Trunk, 18 January 2018. Canon SL2, Canon 18-135mm USM IS at 59mm at f/11 at 1/100 at ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger or full-resolution or camera-original © file.

Sharp enough?

Yellow VW Bug, 17 August 2017. Canon SL2, Canon 18-55mm f/4-5.6 STM IS at 35mm at f/9 at 1/200 at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger or camera-original © file.

Introduction

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New Good Bad Missing

B&H Photo - Video - Pro Audio

The Canon Rebel SL2 is a tiny ultralight DSLR that can create professional DSLR-quality images in the hands of a professional photographer. Unfortunately some of the people-picture technology we take for granted in today's mirrorless cameras like the Sony A6000 and in the iPhone X aren't in this basic DSLR, so it's not as good for casual people pictures as these other cameras. This SL2 is ideal for backpackers and serious photographers who want the lightest possible DSLR for awesome travel, nature and landscape photos, but not the best idea for casual people photos.

Specifically, this SL2, like many other inexpensive DSLRs, lacks facial recognition for regular viewfinder shooting. More exotic DSLRs like Canon's 5DSR and most mirrorless cameras like iPhones the basic Sony A6000 automatically recognize faces today, which is how they are able to autofocus magically on people's eyeballs and usually get perfect exposure under most conditions. This SL2 has no facial recognition for regular viewfinder shooting, and therefore its people pictures aren't always in focus or perfectly exposed unless you sometimes manipulate focus and exposure settings.

This new Canon Rebel SL2 is an update of 2013's superb Canon Rebel SL1, which was the world's smallest and lightest DSLR. This new SL2 adds quite a few features like a flipping LCD screen and a bigger battery with 35% more life over the SL1, but weighs 1¾ oz (50g) more. This SL2 is better than 2013's SL1, but mirrorless cameras and iPhones have improved remarkably since 2013, so this SL2 can pale in comparison.

The SL2 has slightly better color rendition than Sony for nature and landscape photography.

This SL2 offers automatic lens correction for common defects of falloff (peripheral illumination), lateral color fringes (chromatic aberration), distortion and diffraction. You can turn each of these ON or OFF.

This SL2 is a superb instrument, delivering magnificent technical quality in a tiny package — but you may need to pay more attention to exposure and focus than you do with other modern camera types. For nature and landscape photos, it's magnificent. With 24 megapixels its images look fantastic even printed 6 feet wide!

I'd get mine used at eBay (How to Win at eBay).

New flipping screen perfect for self-portraits. bigger.

New

New since 2013's Canon Rebel SL1:

● 24 MP, up from 18 MP.

● ISO 51,200, up from ISO 25,600.

● 5 FPS, up from 4 FPS.

● As-shot 4:3, 1:1 square and 16:9 crop modes, but only in Live View (even the 5D Mk IV doesn't have these!).

● Bigger LP-E17 battery rated 650 shots, up from 480 shots of the LP-12 battery in the SL1.

● Flipping LCD.

● Wi-Fi.

● Bluetooth.

● NFC.

● Can record copyright info in file data.

● Dual-pixel phase-detection CMOS AF.

● 1,080/59.94p, up from 720/59.94p or 1,080/29.97p.

● Built-in S - T - E - R - E - O microphone system.

● 3.5mm mic-in jack.

● New power switch design, grip and buttons.

Good

● Superb technical image quality.

● Great built-in flash.

● Super low price.

● Super small.

● Super light weight.

● Flipping touch screen.

● Works flawlessly with all Canon EF and EF-S lenses made for the past 30 years; never any incompatibilities which are a growing sore spot with the once-great Nikon system.

● Quiet shutter mode.

● 100% USA-based high-quality technical support at (800) OK-CANON.

Bad

● No facial recognition for regular DSLR viewfinder shooting leads to poorer autofocus and autoexposure performance than better cameras for people pictures.

● The camera locks-up and won't take a picture for a few seconds after each flash picture as the excellent built-in flash recycles. You'll see a "buSy" warning in the finder.

Missing

● No facial recognition for regular DSLR viewfinder shooting.

● Slowest shutter speed in Auto ISO only shoots at 1/focal length with no way to set it faster, making Auto ISO less useful for people and action pictures.

● No C1, C2 etc. camera-state presets.

● No rear thumb-nubbin controller.

● No second card slot.

● No electronic level.

● Offers as-shot crops, but only in Live View mode.

● No automatic LCD brightness control.

● No battery percentage indicator; just a 4-level icon.

● No 4K video.

● No GPS.

● No infra-red remote receiver like the SL1, but instead works with the new Canon BR-E1 Bluetooth remote and a free phone app that the SL1 doesn't.

Canon EOS Rebel SL2 with Canon 18-55mm IS STM. bigger.

Canon EOS Rebel SL2. bigger.

Lens Compatibility

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Canon EOS Rebel SL2. bigger.

The Rebel SL2 works flawlessly with all Canon EF and EF-S lenses made since 1987.

It won't work with EF-M lenses, which are for Canon's mirrorless cameras.

Specifications

LP-E17 rechargeable Li-Ion battery.

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I'd get mine used at eBay (How to Win at eBay).

Image Sensor

24 MP.

14.9 × 22.3 mm CMOS.

3.72 µm pixel pitch.

3:2 aspect ratio.

1.61× crop factor.

Ultrasonic cleaner.

ISO

Stills

ISO 100 ～ 25,600 in normal modes.

To ISO 51,200 in expanded mode (enabled in a menu).

Video

ISO 100 ～ 12,800.

To ISO 25,600 in expanded mode (enabled in a menu).

Auto ISO

Yes, should be very flexible.

Image Sizes

6,000 × 4,000 pixels native (24 MP).

Native 3:2

JPG

6,000 × 4,000 pixels Large (native, 24 MP).

3,984 × 2,656 pixels Medium (10.6 MP).

2,976 × 1,984 pixels Small 1 (5.9 MP).

2,400 × 1,600 pixels Small 2 (3.8 MP).

Raw

6,000 × 4,000 pixels (24 MP), same for all crops below:

4:3 crops (Live View only)

JPG

5,328 × 4,000 pixels Large (21 MP).

3,552 × 2,656 pixels Medium (9.4 MP).

2,656 × 1,984 pixels Small 1 (5.3 MP).

2,112 × 1,600 pixels Small 2 (3.4 MP).

Square (1:1) crops (Live View only)

JPG

4,000 × 4,000 pixels Large (16 MP).

2,656 × 2,656 pixels Medium (7 MP).

1,984 × 1,984 pixels Small 1 (3.9 MP).

1,600 × 1,600 pixels Small 2 (2.6 MP).

16:9 crops (Live View only)

JPG

6,000 × 3,368 pixels Large (20 MP).

3,984 × 2,240 pixels Medium (8.9 MP).

2,976 × 1,680 pixels Small 1 (5.000 MP).

2,400 × 1,344 pixels Small 2 (3.2 MP).

Still Formats & Color Spaces

JPG and/or 14-bit raw.

sRGB and Adobe RGB.

Video

File Format

MP4 file holding MPEG-4 AVC / H.264 video and AAC audio.

Frame Sizes and Rates

1,920 × 1,080 at 59.94, 50, 29.97, 25 or 23.976 fps.

1,280 × 720 at 59.94, 50, 29.97 and 25 FPS.

640 × 480 at 29.97 or 25 FPS.

Time-Lapse Movies

MOS (no sound).

1,080/29.97: All I-frame.

Audio

Recorded only along with video.

Stereo microphones built in.

Mic-in jack with plug-in power overrides built-in mic.

Autofocus

Canon's PR image. Note incorrect yellow, as opposed to green, data. bigger.

Actual view through viewfinder of a dark wall. bigger.

9 points.

All are cross-type, work down to LV+½ and work with lenses not slower than f/5.6.

The center point offers extra precision (seeing vertically only) with lenses not slower than f/2.8, and works down to LV -½.

No AF assist beam, but the flash will fire randomly as needed to help focus unless you deactivate it.

Light Meter

63 zones (7 × 9).

1.) Evaluative, linked to chosen AF points.

2.) 9% Partial.

3.) 4% spot.

4.) Center-weighted.

Rated to work from LV +1 ～ LV +20, but they usually work well beyond this.

Finder

Ultralight pentamirror.

95% coverage.

0.87× magnification with 50mm lens.

24.5º apparent angle.

19mm eyepoint.

-3 ～ +1 diopters.

Fixed focus screen.

Shutter

1/4,000 ～ 30 seconds, Bulb.

Vertical metal focal plane.

2- or 10-second self timer, one to ten shots each time.

Shutter delay rated 75 milliseconds.

Power-on: 200 milliseconds.

Remote Releases

WiFi Remotes

Phone app.

The Remote app will count exposure time for time exposures.

Bluetooth Remotes

Canon BR-E1 Wireless Remote. bigger.

This new Canon BR-E1 Wireless Remote has a 16-foot range.

Canon BR-E1. bigger.

Wired Remotes

2.5mm remote control jack for RS-60E3, Remote Controller BR-E1 or Timer Remote Controller TC-80N3 via Remote Controller Adapter RA-E3.

Frame Rates

5 FPS, viewfinder shooting with tracking autofocus.

2½ FPS in Continuous Quiet shooting.

Buffer (Burst) Sizes

Unlimited in JPG.

5 frames raw.

Flash

1/200 sync speed.

E-TTL II system, which has been Canon's standard for years.

Built-in Flash

Canon EOS Rebel SL2 with Canon 18-55mm IS STM. bigger.

Yes, pops up.

GN 32'/10m at ISO 100.

Covers 18mm lens on APS-C.

3-second recycle time.

While I can use it in Manual mode to trigger my manual studio strobes, it doesn't work as a commander for advanced external Canon flash.

External Flash

Dedicated hot shoe.

No Prontor-Compur (PC) terminal; use the built-in flash to trigger your slaves or use a hot-shoe adapter for corded sync.

Live View

For video and for stills.

29.97 FPS.

5× and 10× magnifiers.

AF works from LV -2 ～ LV +18.

LCD Monitor

Canon EOS Rebel SL2. bigger.

3" (77mm) diagonal.

170º viewing.

1,040,000 dots.

3:2 aspect ratio.

Swivels all around.

No anti-smudge coating.

No anti-reflection coating.

Perfect for self-portraits! Ryan and Dad at City Wok, 28 December 2017. Canon SL2, Canon 18-135mm USM IS at 22mm at f/3.5 at 1/40 at Auto ISO 1,250, Perfectly Clear. bigger.

Connectors

USB 2.0.

HDMI-CEC Mini type C.

3.5mm mic-in.

WiFi

For remote control and image transfer.

50'/15m rated range.

IEEE 802.11b/g/n.

2,412 ～ 2.462 GHz.

Channels 1 ～ 11.

DS-SS modulation (IEEE 802.11b).

OFDM modulation (IEEE 802.11g/n).

Camera Access Point and Infrastructure modes.

Authentication method: Open system, Shared key, WPA/WPA2-PSK .

Encryption: WEP, TKIP, AES.

NFC

NFC Forum Type 3/4 Tag compliant (dynamic).

Bluetooth

4.1 Low Energy.

GFSK.

GPS

None.

Storage

One slot for an SD, SDHC or SDXC (UHS Speed Class 1 compatible) card.

Power & Battery

Battery

Rated 650 shots (620 shots at 32ºF/0ºC; 260 shots Live View, 240 shots Live View at 32ºF/0ºC), CIPA with flash half the time.

Without using flash, rated 840 shots (770 shots at 32ºF/0ºC; 290 shots Live View, 260 shots Live View at 32ºF/0ºC).

7.2V, 1,040 mAh.

1.30 x 0.55 x 1.94."

33 x 14 x 49.4mm.

1.59 oz./45g.

Charger

Folding-plug external LC-E17 charger included in USA.

In other areas you may get the LC-E17E charger with a detachable cord.

2.65 x 1.09 x 3.63."

67.3 x 27.7 x 92.2 mm.

3 oz./85g.

Rated 2 hour charge time.

AC Adapter

Optional AC Adapter AC-E6N and DC Coupler DR-E18.

Clock Battery

Internal rechargeable battery for the clock: charges in 8 hours and then runs for three months if you take out the main battery.

Body

Chassis: Aluminum alloy and polycarbonate resin with glass fiber.

Exterior: Polycarbonate resin with glass fiber and special conductive fiber.

Size

3.65 × 4.82 × 2.75 inches HWD.

92.6 × 122.4 × 69.8 millimeters HWD.

Weight

15.923 oz. (451.4g) actual measured weight with battery and card.

Rated 16.0 oz. (453g) with battery and card.

Rated 14.32 oz. (406g) stripped.

Operating Environment

0 ～ 40º C (32 ～ 104º F).

To 85% RH.

Quality

Canon EOS Rebel SL2. bigger.

Made in Taiwan.

Announced

29 June 2017, 12:01 AM NYC time.

Promised for

Late July 2017.

Price, USA

September 2022

About $350 used with lens or $325 without if you know How to Win at eBay.

February 2018

$549, body only.

$649, kit with Canon 18-55mm IS STM.

It was at Adorama, at B&H and at Crutchfield. It came as a body-only or as a kit as shown with 18-55mm lens. It also came in white for the same price!

June 2017

$549, body only.

$699, kit with Canon 18-55mm IS STM.

Accessories

LP-E17 rechargeable Li-Ion battery.

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I'd get mine used at eBay (How to Win at eBay).

Included

Canon SL2, battery, charger, cord & strap. bigger.

Eyecup Ef

Strap

LC-E17 charger

Optional

Optional AC Adapter AC-E6N and DC Coupler DR-E18.

Rubber Frame Ef

E-series Dioptric Adjustment Lenses

Eyepiece Extender EP-EX15II

Magnifier MG-Ef

Angle Finder C

Remote Switch RS-60E3

Remote Controller BR-E1

Timer Remote Controller TC-80N3 via Remote Controller Adapter RA-E3.

Hand Strap E2, GP-E2.

Directional Stereo Microphone DM-E1.

Protecting Cloth PC-E1, PC-E2.

HDMI Cable HTC-100.

Interface Cable IFC400PCU, IFC-200U/500U.

Performance

Overall Finder Autofocus Manual Focus

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Ergonomics Exposure Flash High ISOs

Auto ISO Lens Corrections Mechanical Quality

Quiet Mode LCD Playback Data

Remote App Power & Battery

I'd get mine used at eBay (How to Win at eBay).

Overall

The Canon SL2 is a marvelous performer technically, but can require more fiddling to get perfect exposure and focus compared to more advanced cameras.

Finder

Actual view through viewfinder. bigger.

The finder is typical for an ultralight DSLR. It's sharp and informative, but not as big as heavier DSLRs that use glass, as opposed to lightweight mirror, prisms.

The AF areas are the 9 boxes. The dots inside each box are pinpoint red LEDs that light when any of them is active.

The diopter control is very good; it's easy to set and stays set.

Autofocus

Autofocus is the same 9-zone system Canon has been using for over 10 years.

It was state-of-the-art a long time ago, but today with no facial recognition and few AF zones it too often takes out-of-focus pictures for regular viewfinder shooting.

For best results select just one zone at a time. It's not very good at selecting the correct zone for people pictures; it just focuses on whatever's closest.

Manual Focus

performance top

Each AF zone will blip in red as you get perfect focus at each. Just turn the focus ring until the zone you want in focus blinks, and/or look for the big green dot at the bottom right of the finder.

Ergonomics

There are no C1 or C2 memory settings to help swap quickly between your favorite settings, so it can be slow to reset to other kinds of photos unless you use Canon's own canned Scene modes.

Some buttons, like MENU, are still on the left, requiring a second hand to use.

The battery goes in most ways, even if they are wrong. It take a little longer to get the battery in the right way.

Exposure

It's easy to fool the autoexposure system for people photos. Since it doesn't recognize faces, people photographed against a black background are often too light, and backlit people photos often can be too dark.

No worries; just use the exposure compensation control for perfect results if needed — but this also means you can't just expect every shot to be perfect the first time.

Flash

The built-in flash works great, usually giving perfect fill-flash exposure for people photos:

Katie and Stella at Critter Camp, 18 August 2017. Canon SL2, FLASH ON, Canon 18-55mm f/4-5.6 STM IS at 32mm at f/9 at 1/200 at Auto ISO 400, Perfectly Clear. bigger.

The only bad part about the flash is that the camera locks-up and won't take a picture for a few seconds after each flash picture as the flash recycles. You'll see a "buSy" warning in the finder each time.

High ISO Performance

High ISO performance is superb; as good as much more expensive cameras. While the SL2 "only" goes up to ISO 51,200, it still looks quite usable at that crazy speed. While other APS-C cameras might go higher, they just look worse at those speeds. The differences are more marketing than actual performance differences.

ISO 4,000

Ryan and Katie play on Katie's iPhone 5, 18 August 2017. Canon SL2, Canon 18-55mm f/4-5.6 STM IS at 44mm at f/5 at 1/60 at Auto ISO 4,000, Perfectly Clear. bigger.

Complete Sample Images

Seen at normal sizes like below, the images look pretty much the same at every ISO, with only minor extra grittiness at ISO 51,200. This is superb performance.

Click any for the camera-original © files as above to explore on your computer; mobile devices rarely show the full resolution files properly:

Crops from above

These are 600 × 450 pixel crops that vary in size to fit your browser window. If they are about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, the complete images would print at 40 × 60" (1 × 1.5 meters) at this same high magnification. If they are about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, the complete images would print at 80 ×120" (2 × 3 meters) at this same high magnification.

As with all cameras, you'll see fine subject textures go away at higher settings, and sharpness drops at the highest settings. All cameras today use noise reduction, which softens the image as well as the noise as ISO climbs.

Click any for the same camera-original © files as above to explore on your computer; mobile devices rarely show the full resolution files properly:

Auto ISO

Auto ISO is primitive, only allowing the highest and lowest ISO of the range to be set.

It sets the minimum shutter speed to the focal length of the lens; there is no way to set or modify the minimum shutter speed, which greatly limits the usefulness of SL2's Auto ISO.

Lens Corrections

It corrects automatically for falloff (peripheral illumination), lateral color fringes (chromatic aberration), distortion and diffraction. You can turn each of these ON or OFF.

Mechanical Quality

It's an all plastic camera, except for the metal lens & strap mounts, hot shoe, tripod socket, maybe an internal frame and the glass inside. That's what helps make it so light.

Quiet ("Silent") Mode

The Silent mode isn't silent, but it is only about half as loud as the regular mode. It's also only half as fast; 2.5 FPS versus 5 FPS.

The great news is that even the regular mode is pretty quiet, so this is the next best thing to a camera with a genuinely silent mode like the Sony A6300.

Rear Touch LCD Monitor

The rear LCD is sharp, accurate and bright. It has no auto brightness control; you'll need to change its brightness manually to make it really bright outdoors.

It's only 3" diagonal; it can't get much bigger with this tiny camera and the frame needed to let it swivel.

The touch screen works great; you can tap and swipe, or just ignore that it's a touch screen.

It's much better than Sony's flip screens; the SL2's LCD flips to just about any angle up, down, left and right so you can use it for self -portraits.

Playback

Playback is the usual from Canon. The controls are locked out during Image Review until you hit the Play button.

Data

One very weird thing that happened only once in my SL2 is that when shooting a very, very detailed subject (a coco door mat close-up) with the image set to LARGE NORMAL JPG, I got an error message ("Err" flashing in the finder).

Apparently the camera's onboard computer systems ran out of scratch space to process the image. Setting the camera to raw, to a smaller JPG size or to LARGE FINE JPG worked just fine, but somehow it ran out of memory in one unusual case trying to create an extremely detailed NORMAL LARGE JPG. In this case, the LARGE FINE JPG was 30 MB due to all the image detail!

Remote Control App

The Remote app is a pain, like trying to configure a printer back in the 1970s. It loses the connection each time. It's like playing twenty questions. Like most Japanese camera-control apps, it's a long way from perfection.

Power & Battery

Battery life is superb, as with most DSLRs.

I honestly have no idea how long a charge will last — I was never able to the battery all the way down!

Usage

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How to Take Better Pictures.

Canon's SL2 User Manual.

I'd get mine used at eBay (How to Win at eBay).

I always leave the power switch ON. It doesn't use battery power since the SL2 goes to sleep by itself if you're not using it, and wakes up just by pressing a button or taping the shutter. I only turn it to OFF if I'm putting it in a case where the buttons might get hit accidentally and run down the batteries.

As an experienced Canon shooter, I prefer to set Standard screens and menus, not the default of guided menus and screens. I set this at MENU > Display Level (Camera & person icon) > Shooting Screen > Standard and Menu Display > Standard.

I prefer to shoot in the P mode on the top mode dial.

I prefer JPG Staircase (NORMAL) for pictures of nature and landscapes, set at MENU > Camera 1 > Image Quality. I set Medium Staircase for people pictures. The quarter-circle options make bigger files that take up more space, but the pictures aren't any better.

I prefer wild colors for pictures of anything without people in them. I set these at MENU > Camera 4 > Picture Style > Standard > INFO > Sharpness Strength, Fineness and Threshold at 7, 5 and 5 respectively, and Saturation set to +4 (located just under Sharpness). For people pictures, I leave Picture Style at Standard and the same sharpness settings — or just leave it on AUTO.

Format Card is at MENU > Wrench 1 > Format Card.

I always turn off the beeps under Wrench 3.

You can see the battery charge and health under Wrench 4.

With most L lenses you just grab the focus ring for instant manual-focus override, but with the often included Canon 18-55mm f/4-5.6 STM IS and other common STM, as well as exotic older electronic-focus-only lenses like the 50mm f/1 L and original 300mm f/2.8 L, I set Lens electronic AF to Enable at MENU > Camera 1 > Lens electronic MF.

Recommendations

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I'd get mine used at eBay (How to Win at eBay).

The original Canon Rebel SL1 has always been one of my favorite cameras for its ultra-high quality images from a tiny package at a low price. This SL2 is an even better camera, however in the five years since the SL1 was introduced, mirrorless cameras and iPhones have advanced even more. Therefore the SL2 is a great choice for experienced photographers as an ultralight backpacking DSLR for nature, travel and landscape shots because of its superior color rendition and overall technical image quality, however for people pictures the SL2 lags behind most mirrorless cameras and iPhones because the SL2 doesn't recognize faces, often requiring manual fiddling with autofocus and autoexposure to get perfect pictures.

For a tiny camera for great people pictures, I'd look at the Sony A6000 or Sony A6300 instead, since the Sonys have marvelous facial recognition that just lets you take the picture. I'd get the tiny 16-50mm PZ lens to go with any of the APS-C Sonys.

I'd get mine used at eBay (How to Win at eBay).

Lens Suggestions

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The Canon 18-55mm IS STM is a good enough lens, and you can get your SL2 as a kit with it, but a much better lens is the 18-135mm USM. The 18-135mm is probably the only lens you'd ever need with the SL2; it does everything.

If you need a longer telephoto lens to bring things closer, the 55-250mm STM has great optics and is also small, light and inexpensive. It's perfect for the SL2.

If you want a wider lens than the 18-55mm, the Canon 10-18mm also has superb optics, and is small, light and inexpensive. It's also perfect for the SL2. (See How To Use Ultrawide Lenses.)

If you want a do-it-all lens, I love the 18-135mm IS USM, but be careful for what you wish, as this lens weighs more than the SL2 does!

For the absolute lightest weight, the Canon 24mm f/2.8 STM weighs only 4.2 oz./119g, and is also an excellent performer.

Flash Suggestions

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The built-in is all you should need.

Adding an external flash like the excellent 430EX III RT will weigh about as much as this camera! Just use the built-in; it works great. The only reason you might need an external flash is if you're shooting fast action and need the flash to recycle quickly. If this is you, only then consider adding a flash.

This all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Canon does not seal its boxes in any way, so never buy at retail or any other source not on my personally approved list since you'll have no way of knowing if you're missing accessories, getting a defective, damaged, returned, store demo or used camera. I use the stores I do because they ship from secure remote warehouses where no one gets to touch your new camera before you do. Buy only from the approved sources I use myself for the best prices, service, return policies and selection.

Thanks for helping me help you!

Ken, Mrs. Rockwell, Ryan and Katie.

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