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After looking at Canon's new Ixus and PowerShot cameras yesterday, let's take a look at the successor to its EOS 500D SLR, the EOS 550D.  The new camera looks very much like its predecessor, and Canon doesn't seem too keen to tinker with a winning formula: this new version mostly consists of a series of incremental improvements.

Although we had expected the manufacturer to replace the expert-level EOS 50D, or the entry-level EOS 1000D, both over a year and a half old, Canon has instead updated the EOS 500D, which was only launched ten months ago.  As usual with Canon, the 550D doesn't replace the 500D, it just pushes it one level down the range; as a result, the 450D will no longer be available after September.

This rolling strategy has been in place for a while now, and gives Canon the chance to have two different options for enthusiasts without needing to produce two new cameras with every generation.  It's worth pointing out that this particular segment, in between entry-level SLRs and those for more experienced amateurs, is the biggest part of the SLR market: it makes up three quarters of all SLRs sold and grew 22% in 2009.

The new EOS 550D looks a lot like its older brother, but there are a few new features:

• the sensor has been upgraded to 18 Megapixels, making it comparable to the semi-professional EOS 7D, thought with a different manufacturing process.
• you can choose a framerate of 24, 25 or 30 fps for Full HD video; manual exposure is available while filming, as is zoom without cropping in VGA resolution.
• a stereo mic input has been added.
• the screen has a slightly higher resolution, now that it's at 1 040 000 pixels, instead of 920 000, and is in the wider 3:2 aspect ratio.  A few other changes have been made to the buttons around it to accommodate this.
• finally, the exposure module has been adjusted to make it more accurate with reds, another innovation borrowed from the 7D; there's also an extension of exposure correction to ±5 EV.

When we tried it out quickly, we thought it felt like a solid SLR and very much a member of the family.  There has been some general improvement in the handling, but it's far from revolutionary.

Live view with autofocus on the display, for a long time something of a stumbling block for SLRs, has been improved a little: the SLR is now quicker at making the image out if it is very blurry.  However, once that's done, honing in on getting exactly the right focus is slow and nothing like as good as on the GH1 for instance.

> Product Survey: Digital SLRs and Cameras with Interchangeable Lenses

> Buyer's Guides: Our Pick of The Best Products

The MP640 is a high-end printer, in that it combines a colour screen (albeit without touch-sensitive controls), WiFi, double-sided printing and five separate cartridges: as well as the usual cyan, magenta and yellow, there are two types of black ink, one for photos and the other for documents.  Using separate cartridges for each colour ink can represent a saving of between 20% and 25% compared to entry-level models with just one cartridge.

This printer has got amateur photographers filmy in its sights, with ink droplets of just 1 picolitre, the smallest possible size and invisible to the naked eye in your photo prints.  The built-in scanner has a higher resolution than normal at 2400 dpi.

> Test: Canon Pixma MP640

> Product Survey: Multifunction Printers

> Buyer's Guides: Our Pick of The Best Products

Announced in December, this high-end Sony-Ericsson Android phone will be on sale in version 1.6, but will get an update of the OS in version 2.1.



The Xperia X10 (that we received for testing today) is the new flagship Sony Ericsson for the Google Phone segment. Expected on the shelves in the coming weeks, the X10 will get an Android update for version 2.1 (already on the Nexus One). This is what the manufacturer's blog tells us and Sony-Ericsson have confirmed this to us themselves.

Recap of the main aspects of the spec: 4-inch touch screen, 8 Mpixel sensor, 1 Ghz Snapdragon processor.

We don't yet know if the Robyn, a mini-Xperia X10, equipped with a 2.6 inch screen and a 5 Mpixel sensor, will be on sale at the same time. Sony-Ericsson should be giving information on this on February 14th, when they will be giving a press conference in Barcelona at the Mobile World Congress.

> Buyer's Guides: Our Pick of The Best Products

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We’ve added ATI’s latest to our graphics card survey, the Radeon HD 5670 1 GB. On the programme: a low cost DirectX11 and low energy consumption card.

With the Radeon HD 5670, ATI is attacking the occasional player segment, those looking to set themselves up at under the £80 mark. It has DirectX 11 compatibility, but how does the card do in gaming? Is it powerful enough to run the latest 3D titles or not?

> Test: ATI Radeon HD 5670

> Product survey: graphics cards

> Buyer's Guides: Our Pick of The Best Products

On Monday, our first ever duel saw two monitors, the Dell U2410 and the Samsung F2380M.  The former took the lead thanks to its raw power, but the latter won out in terms of value for money.  But since then, a reader has been in touch to suggest we didn't do the Dell justice.

Bonjour,

I'm always interested to read your tests, which are fair and balanced and useful for consumers.  But I wanted to say that in your duel comparing Samsung and Dell monitors, you missed a couple of important things (at least for users who need an excellent image quality):

1. The Dell 2410 uses 10 bit colour (rather than the usual 8 bits)

2. The Dell should almost be able to display the whole Adobe RGB colour space.

It's hard to compare it with the Samsung.  Please let your readers know about these two points.

Thanks,

Here's our response:

1 - "10 bit colour" : we are going to have to a series of in-depth tests on this subject.  Last time, we didn't find this argument particularly convincing: when we couldn't tell the difference between 8 bit screens and those with more, we invited manufacturer Eizo to come and show off their hardware in our lab.  We had the chance to try a professional display: a black-and-white screen for looking at ultra high resolution medical imaging.  This model is fitted to medical scanners, extremely accurate and produced in a special lab.  We put a good quality TN-based screen with 8 bit colour up against 10 and 14 bit screens.  Neither we nor Eizo's representatives could tell the difference, either far away or zoomed in.  Perhaps with a Display Port and some professional-level graphics cards, but we only had our standard test equipment, which nevertheless includes a high-end 10 bit output.

2 - "Adobe RGB" : we mention this in the conclusion, and you're right: some imaging professionals will need to go for the Dell every time, especially if they need to use an extended colour space.  So, if it wasn't clear before, it is now.

Dell U2410		Samsung F2380M
MARCHANDS €     Buy.com  510.99  Pcnation  534.65  Compare prices		Prices unavailable Recommended alternatives Editor's Choice Asus PA246Q Our Top Active 3D Monitor Asus VG278H Affordable 28'' Display HannsG HZ281
IPS		PVA
1920 x 1200 pixels		1920 x 1080 pixels
6 ms		8 ms
DP + HDMI + 2 DVI + VGA + Component		HDMI + DVI + VGA
178° / 178°		178° / 178°

> Duel : Dell U2410 vs Samsung F2380M

> Buyer's Guides: Our Pick of The Best Products