Build quality 600D

[BartL]

Dear all,

Yesterday I bought my very first DSLR, a 600D, meant mainly for shooting video.
Here in the Netherlands you can get it for $430 now, which seemed like a bargain to me!
I was very excited about it, until I got it out of the box.

The buttons are small and echo in the cheap plastic body.
The flip-out screen seems very weak.
Without exaggerating, it feels like a disposable camera!
The problem might be that my father has a 400D.
He's had it for more than six years now, and it feels like it can do another 10 years with ease.
The 600D feels like it will break down when I put it in a bag.

Are my concerns legitimate?
How come the build quality seems to have dropped that much from 400D -> 600D?
Why isn't this mentioned in any of the countless reviews I've seen and read?
Am I just a whiney bitch?

Thanks for your responses!

[scrax]

I had the same feeling, my 400D looks more robust. My 600D has already one point under the shutter button that is moving (something like that the screw isn't attached to the other part anymore)

[N/A]

I've had my 600D for two years now. Its been in the rain, fog, on windy, sandy beaches, hundred degree heat, knocked over multiple times onto the floor, even had it out while it was snowing.

Still works like a champ 

[thefix]

I personally love the camera and unless you abuse it heavily I don't think you will need to worry about it very much. With all you can do with a 600D the price makes this a great camera that you can get some pro results with. Sure it would be nice to have a 6D or 5D MIII but I also like to keep some cash in my pocket.

[Roman]

If they changed the 600D to what you want, it would be called a 60D and you wouldnt have bought it because something else was cheaper...

I've used my 600D on the end of a camera crane, and having something LIGHT makes a big difference to how much counterweight you need, makes the whole setup a lot less cumbersome.

No doubting that other things feel built a bit more solidly, but unless you're planning on throwing it down a set of stairs or something it's irrelevant in terms of reliability or longevity. Being light is one of the best things about the 600D, plastic ftw.

My 50D feels a lot more solidly built, but to what end? If I drop it, i'm more mindful that the extra weight is going to make it more likely to smash a lense. If I graze it it's still going to scrape the paint off... And not having a flip out screen is a pain.

If only the 60D had a CF card slot, it would be the best!

[scrax]

400D was the same entry level camera as 600D with a plastic body, but was more solid than the 600D.
Same goes for 40D/50D vs 60D.
That don't mean that 600D and 60D are easy to broke, just that with the older models was harder.

[BartL]

Totally forgot about this thread.
Thank you for your comments,  you gave me some peace of mind 

This is unrelated to the build quality, but apparently I got a faulty 600D so I had to return it.
It wouldn't write photos to the SD card, very strange issue.
Got a new one and it is working fine.
Very happy with it now.

Nevertheless I think I'd recommend a 400D to people who only use their DLSR for photos though.
It's ridiculously cheap now and has better (at least perceived) build quality.