The EOS 650D is Canon's best entry-level dSLR to date, but with several interchangeable-lens compacts offering similar touchscreen features, higher resolutions and a healthy range of lenses, there are too many lower-priced alternatives to make it a no-questions-asked must-buy.

Responsive touchscreen; Impressive video performance; Punchy; accurate colours

Some colour fringing with 18-55m kit lens; Price undercut by rivals; No resolution enhancement over predecessor

The Canon 650D is the latest addition to Canon's mid-range DSLR lineup. For the time being it will sit alongside the 18-month-old 600D , though it's likely it will eventually replace it completely.

Touch-screen adds to user experience; Improved autofocus performance; Good image quality

Touch-screen icons a little small; Slow processing of digital filter effects

I love this camera. After owning it for about 2 months i can say that it does everything very well. I went back to using my old 500d and could not believe how useful the touch screen functionality is.

Almost everything

No double tap to zoom

This was an upgrade from my 1100D a big step in the right direction for me as I am on a tight budget. However i really tested it at my nieces wedding and I have to say that the images were brilliant,out and indoors.

High quality rugged feel; tilting touch screen LCD; high stills and video resolution; razor sharp images with image stabilised 18-135mm lens; good jack of all trades DSLR

High quality rugged feel; tilting touch screen LCD; high stills and video resolution; razor sharp images with image stabilised 18-135mm lens; good jack of all trades DSLR

Pricey for the beginners; no anti shake built into the camera body itself

The EOS 650D sits between the EOS 600D and the EOS 60D in Canon's digital SLR rage and it's classed as an entry-level model. There is nothing entry-level about its capabilities though: it's fast thanks to the inclusion of a DiG!

Fast performance; Good usability; Accurate focusing

Optical viewfinder leaves out some edge details; Slight over-exposure in auto modes; Touchscreen is unnecessary

This is the kit I recommend to the Mums and Dads who want an easy to use DSLR for everyday family photography but also have kids who play sport and need a camera capable of capturing there little ones in action.

The latest model in the EOS Rebel lineup offers a nice jump in functionality from it's predecessors, the T2i & the T3i, for a reasonable price. I bought the T4i as a backup for my 7D,, I mainly shoot youth field sports and motorsports.

Quicker & more sensitive AF; Speedy 5 frames-per second; Video Liveview AF

Digic5 processor throttled by small buffer; fiddly Touchscreen

There was a lot of excitement recently as Canon launched its EOS 5D Mark III, which answered many ‘wants' that arose from the previous Mark II model and, while not replacing the earlier camera, the newcomer still kept the excitement going.

This camera is an incredible machine with some qualities of higher-end professional cameras. The main difference between this camera and the 600d is the touch screen, which comes with the 650d for another almost 250 US dollars.

high megapixel sensor; nice grip; built in flash

pricey; poor autofocus system