Canon EOS Rebel T1i

	Design & Handling Summary
• A bit on the light and small side, but well balanced • Many buttons serve multiple purposes • Menu system is very clear and well laid out • Manual confusingly laid out, but excellent additional materials
	Controls	Page 11 of 21	Video: Color & Noise

Handling (7.00)

The handling of the T1i is very similar to that of the other Rebel models, like the XS and XSi. The weight feels slightly more evenly distributed, and the grip a tiny bit bigger, but barely. The button layout is identical to models past, and this camera is definitely on the light side of things. This makes it a breeze to carry, but at the same time it lacks the solidity of a weightier body. Whether this is a good or bad thing is a matter of personal preference, and some people like the lightness of this sort of camera. We prefer one that has a bit more heft, as a camera as light as this can feel unstable due to its low weight.

The T1i is light, some might even think too much so.

Controls (9.25)

Back Controls
	Menu Takes you to the menu system.
	Disp. Changes the information shown on the LCD.
	Exposure Compensation Adjusts exposure compensation; in manual mode hold to set aperture.
	Live View Starts Live View. In movie mode, starts recording. In playback prints files.
	Playback Launches playback mode.
	Delete Erases files.
	White balance Accesses to the white balance menu, scrolls up menus.
	Drive mode Changes the drive mode; used to move left in menus.
	Picture style Accesses the Picture Style menu; also used to scroll down menus.
	Autofocus Brings up the autofocus menu; navigates right in menus.
	Set Okays menu choices; accesses the quick menu while shooting.
	Exposure lock Locks exposure; zooms out in playback mode; focuses in Live View.
	AF point select Lets you select which autofocus point to use.

Top Controls
	Mode dial Select a shooting or scene mode.
	Power In case you ever want to turn the camera on.
	ISO Accesses the ISO menu.
	Control dial The primary control for altering settings.

Menu (10.00)

Menus
	Overview The Canon menu systems are almost always bright, clear, easy to read, and only present one screen of options per tab, eliminating scrolling and hidden options, which we applaud.
	Shooting 1 Image quality, review time and flash controls.
	Shooting 2 Exposure compensation, metering, white balance, color space.
	Playback 1 Erase, rotate, print and protect images.
	Playback 2 Histogram, slide show and scrolling through large numbers of images with the control dial.
	Set-up 1 Formatting options for file names, the SD card and the screen.
	Set-up 2 Date, time, language and similar settings.
	Set-up 3 This menu holds the Custom Functions sub-menu, which holds the controls for the minutiae of the camera, where you can alter items like noise reduction and ISO expansion.
	My Menu A customizable menu, that allows you to gather your favorite options into a single place, and set between them quickly. Nikon auto-populates their version of this menu with recently used functions, if you haven't set it up yet. Canon, on the other hand, leaves it completely blank until you start adding items.
	Movie Only appears while in movie mode. Lets you select focus modes, turn sound recorded on or off, choose movie format and more.

Manual & Learning (8.00)

The T1i manual is written well, has very clear diagrams, and explains difficult terminology quite simply. However, the entire book is organized in order of least complex to most, which means that similar settings aren't lumped together, but can be scattered across the entire book. This means if you find a setting you want to know more about, you can't just read the pages around it, instead having to dig deeper and deeper in a seemingly random order. The index references the rest of the manual well, and looking for topics in it doesn't leave you feeling like anything is missing. While the table of contents is lengthy and mentions each sub-section, the problematic layout of the manual makes looking for subjects in it more difficult than it should be.

Canon Rebel T1i Manual

Canon also includes two additional booklets, one about macro photography, the other on image stabilization. The image stabilization is mostly advertorial, extolling the virtues of the Canon IS lenses. The macro booklet is actually pretty good, and includes some useful information and suggestions about how to shoot close-up.

Canon also offers a tutorial-based website, the Digital Learning Center, and while the lessons pertinent to the T1i are a bit thin right now, there are plenty for older Rebel models which are still applicable.