Canon T3 Performance

Good to slower than average speed for consumer digital SLR these days.

The Canon Rebel T3 turned in a very good startup time, and shutdown was super fast. The Canon Rebel T3's buffer clearing times were fast but buffers were quite shallow.

The Canon Rebel T3's mode switching times were pretty good.

The Canon Rebel T3's full autofocus shutter response was a touch slow using our standard single-point AF test, at 0.309 second. Interestingly, switching to Auto Selection AF and allowing the camera to choose the focus point reduced shutter lag to 0.190 second, which is very good. As expected, enabling the built-in flash increased full AF lag a bit, to 0.324 second. (The camera emits flash metering pulses and analyses the results before taking the final flash exposure.) In Continuous focus mode, shutter lag was 0.160 second, very good. Shutter lag in Manual focus was a bit faster, at 0.134 second. "Prefocusing" the camera by half-pressing and holding down the shutter button before the final exposure resulted in a lag time of 0.113 second which is fair for a SLR.

The Canon Rebel T3's AF lag time in Live View mode was longer than using the optical viewfinder (as expected). We measured 1.244 seconds using "Quick Mode" (phase-detect AF) which is a bit slow for PD AF. Surprisingly, Live Mode (contrast-detect) AF was faster at 0.927 second, but keep in mind we don't defocus the lens between trials, so phase-detect AF will likely be faster in most real-world situations. Prefocused, the Canon Rebel T3's shutter lag was pretty fast in Live View mode, at 0.099 second.

To minimize the effect of different lens' focusing speed, we test AF-active shutter lag with the lens already set to the correct focal distance. We also use the same Sigma 70mm f/2.8 macro with every camera (on all platforms except Four Thirds/Micro Four Thirds and Nikon consumer models lacking an in-body focus motor), to further reduce variation, and because our tests showed that focus-determination time with this lens was close to the fastest, across multiple camera bodies from different manufacturers. Being an older design with a non-ultrasonic motor, it wouldn't be the fastest at slewing from one focus setting to another, but that's exactly the reason we measure focus determination speed, which is primarily a function of the camera body, vs focus adjustment speed, which is primarily a function of the lens.

Shot-to-shot cycle times in the Canon T3's single-shot mode were about average for an SLR, at 0.42 second for large/fine JPEGs and RAW, but a bit sluggish at 0.76 second for RAW + large/fine JPEGs.

Continuous mode speeds are below average for a consumer SLR theses days, at about 2.94 frames-per-second for large/fine JPEGs. The Canon T3 slowed down quite a when RAW files were present, to 1.96 frames per second for RAWs, and only 1.35 frames-per-second for RAW + large/fine JPEGs. Measured buffer depths in continuous mode were good for large/fine JPEGs at 17 frames, but very shallow for RAW files at only 3 frames. When shooting RAW + large/fine JPEGs, the camera slowed down after only one frame. (Note that in our cycle time testing we shoot a target consisting of a fine-grained digital noise pattern, designed to be very hard to compress. This gives us worst-case buffer capacity numbers: You're likely to see greater buffer capacity when shooting more normal subjects.)

The Canon Rebel T3's flash took an average of 1.8 seconds to recharge after a full-power discharge, which is very fast.

Connected to a computer or printer with USB 2.0, the Canon Rebel T3's download speeds are quite fast.

Bottom line, the Canon Rebel T3's performance varies from good to slower than average for a consumer SLR. Power-up, mode switching, and autofocus speeds are pretty good for an entry-level SLR, but continuous mode speeds are a disappointment, as are the very shallow buffer depths when RAW files are present.

Battery
Very good battery life for a lithium-ion SLR design.

The Canon T3 uses a custom rechargeable lithium-ion battery for power, and ships with a charger. Battery life is very good for a compact consumer SLR when using the optical viewfinder, but of course Live View mode draws more power reducing battery life. We recommend you pick up a spare battery and keep it freshly charged and on-hand for extended outings, especially if you plan on using Live View mode a lot.

The table above shows the number of shots the Canon Rebel T3 is capable of (on a fully-charged rechargeable battery), based on CIPA battery-life and/or manufacturer standard test conditions.

(Interested readers can find an English translation of the CIPA DC-002 standards document here. (180K PDF document))

Storage
The Canon Rebel T3 accepts SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards, and does not ship with a card. Canon recommends a Class 6 card or faster for recording HD movies. UHS-I compliant cards are supported, but the camera does not take advantage of their increased transfer speeds.

We strongly recommend buying a fast, large capacity SDHC/SDXC memory card for the Canon Rebel T3: at least a 4GB card, preferably a 8 or 16GB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings, or when shooting RAW files or video. Check the shopping link above, cards are really cheap these days, so no reason to skimp.)