Canon EOS Rebel SL1 / 100D

The Canon EOS Rebel SL1, released in 2013, is an APS-C DSLR small enough to carry anywhere. It measures 117 x 91 x 69 mm and weighs 407 g, light enough for a compact bag rather than a dedicated camera case.

It suits someone learning photography or travelling light who still wants an optical viewfinder and interchangeable lenses instead of a fixed-lens compact.

Ownership runs on the EF-S lens mount, SD cards and a small LP-E12 battery, so the whole kit stays easy to pack. Everything about the design favours portability, and the sections below show where that trade-off appears.

The 18 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor works alongside a Digic 5 processor, providing resolution that covers prints and web sharing with room for modest crops. Our optics score of 40 rates the stills specification as modest.

Autofocus uses 9 points, and the camera can shoot at up to 4 fps in burst mode. That burst figure is a maximum rate, not a promise of sustained shooting.

There is no in-body stabilisation, so shake control depends on your technique, a tripod or a stabilised lens. The ISO range runs from 100 to 12800, and the shutter tops out at 1/4000 of a second.

The EF-S mount gives access to Canon's APS-C lens range, and lens choice will shape what the camera can do. Even so, it sits in the bottom 6% of cameras in our database for Optics, so the appeal is size and lens access rather than headline specifications.

The SL1 records video at up to Full HD resolution, with a maximum frame rate of 30 fps, and saves files in MOV format. That is enough for family clips and web uploads. Our video score of 43 is modest, with the resolution ceiling and frame rate maximum among the factors counting against it.

The screen does not tilt or flip, so framing at low or high angles means crouching or working blind. Most handheld video happens at eye level anyway, and the rear LCD in live view gives you a usable composition display.

Full HD is the ceiling, with no higher resolution on offer, so footage suits straightforward playback and light editing rather than heavy cropping in post.

There is also no built-in timelapse mode, so interval shooting is absent from the movie features.

A 3 inch LCD with just over a million dots gives a clear, detailed display, and touch control makes changing settings quicker than digging through menus. Live view on the same screen rounds out a straightforward shooting experience. Our features score of 57 is modest, but the core handling tools are present.

A built-in flash gives you fill light for backlit portraits without carrying extra gear, and support for an external flash leaves a path to stronger lighting later.

There is no weather sealing, so rain and dust call for care. There is also no GPS, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, so photos leave the camera through the memory card rather than over a wireless link.

The single card slot accepts SD, SDHC and SDXC, so high-capacity cards work fine for long days out. There is no second slot, so there is no in-camera backup and capacity planning is yours to manage.

The LP-E12 battery is rated at 380 shots, though no test standard or measurement conditions accompany that figure. Treat it as a guide rather than a promise for every situation, and a spare battery covers longer shoots.

There is no USB charging, so the battery cannot be topped up from a laptop or power bank. Our storage and battery score of 21 is limited, and those three gaps, one slot, modest endurance and no USB charging, account for most of it.