New from Canon
Theo Boshoff
For aspiring photographers and novice videographers, news of Canon's new EOS 550D will sound like angles' song from heaven.
The EOS 550D is a lightweight and easy to understand and use digital SLR camera, which not only captures still photographs, but HD video as well. It has an 18-megapixel resolution and a nine-point Auto Focus (AF) system, with a powerful DIGIC 4 processor - meaning there is little to worry about regarding speed and picture quality on this gadget.

The ISO range is huge, from 100 to 6 400, but can even be extended beyond that if need be for very low light situations, without the use of a flash, to 12 800. This is for people who struggle with flash photography and need an easier way of shooting in darker situations.

For the videographers, the EOS 550D also shoots HD video in full 1 080p resolution. Now your videos of the kids sprinting down the track or of your boy on his way to score his first try in a rugby match don't have to be blurred anymore. The camera also features a new Movie Crop function. This means you can increase or magnify focal length by seven times, making long-range video possible, never having to change the lens.

It also features a three-inch LCD screen, easy button layout and an HDMI port to connect to your HD-ready TV for super-cool video playback.

Once we have it in our hands, we'll give you a more detailed review.