LCD, viewfinder and video
The LCD touchscreen has a 1.04-million-dot resolution and features an ‘anti-smudge’ surface. It is impressively resistant to smudges, although grease from fingertips is inevitable and hinders clear viewing in bright light. Users who avoid touching the screen will appreciate just how naturally bright and clear it is. I did find it difficult to view the screen clearly in extreme conditions, such as bright light, with the camera at arm’s length overhead and the screen angled to view, but in most situations it is fine.
The EOS 650D has an identical pentamirror-type optical viewfinder to the 600D. This type of viewfinder is usually found on budget DSLRs, while more expensive models in Canon’s line-up, beginning with the 60D, feature a pentaprism type. The key differences are that the pentamirror type used here typically has a duller display and a 100% field of view is not possible. Indeed, the 650D has only a 95% field of view and 0.85x magnification, meaning it is smaller to the eye than the 60D’s costlier pentaprism viewfinder, and not quite as bright. Like most viewfinders, AF point information is available.
Amateur video users are well catered for with the 650D, and are an obvious target market for the camera. Video capture is possible in 1080p full HD at 30fps, 25fps or 24fps, and full-time AF during capture (see Autofocus for more). Stereo audio capture is possible, although the two microphones are very close to each other within the flash unit on top of the camera. An external microphone can be accommodated, which means that, all in all, the camera ticks all the right boxes for videographers.
