Canon Rebel T3

We struggled to see the point of the close-up mode though, as the quality of one's close-up shots depends more on the use of the right kinds of accessory - such as a macro lens and possibly a ring flash - than any camera setting.

It's basically a hand-holding form of aperture priority mode as the user can select whether they wish to have a blurred background, or everything in focus and the camera will select the best setting it can for the conditions.

Pair this camera up with a fast-aperture prime lens and you'll have an ideal compact solution for low light street photography for example.

The usual range of automatic scene programs are available such as Portrait, Landscape, Sports, etcetera, but with a twist.

As an easy-to-use creative mode it’s certainly useful, although we can’t really see how it helps beginners to learn the fundamentals of photography other than getting them to think about depth-of-field.

The Canon EOS 1100D's maximum shutter speed is 30 seconds and there's a Bulb mode for even longer exposures, which is excellent news if you're seriously interested in night photography.

If you turn the mode dial to the position denoted by the movie camera icon, the camera will enter Live View automatically.

Note that the available frame rates are also dependent on what you have set in the menu under "Video system": NTSC or PAL.

It’s possible to record high definition movies with the 1100D although you are limited to just two settings: 1280 x 720 at 30fps, or 1280 x 720 at 25fps – there’s no way to record movies at non-HD quality.

By ISO 1600 there's no doubt that noise intrusion has begun to eat into detail in shadow areas, although overall the image is still perfectly usable.

The flash button can be programmed to change ISO and the SET button can take over various functions including depth-of-field preview.

This camera produces noise-free images at ISO 100 all the way up to ISO 1600, with some noise appearing at ISO 3200 and more at the fastest setting of 6400.

Considering the features added to improve ease of use, this camera should find a home in many a beginner's kit bag, and even maybe in the camera kits of some more advanced photographers.

With the features added to improve ease of use taken into account, this camera should find a home in many a beginner's kit bag, and even maybe in the camera kits of some more advanced photographers.