Canon EOS Rebel T1i

	Hardware Summary
• Large, bright, high-resolution LCD • Limited flash controls • Proximity sensor on viewfinder • Industry standard ports
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Sensor (3.00)

The T1i has a 15-megapixel 22.3x14.9mm CMOS sensor, with a built in sensor cleaning system that activates when the camera is turned off. If the cleaning doesn't successfully shake loose all the dust particles on the sensor, a photo can be taken of a white background in order for the camera to register the dust location, which can then be removed digitally with the Canon Digital Photo Professional software provided with the camera.

The Canon crop factors

The T1i has an APS-C sized sensor, which is significantly smaller than the 35mm full-frame sensor used on the likes of the Canon 5D Mark II, and slightly smaller than the APS-H format sensor which is found on the Canon 1D line. The smaller sensor creates a "crop factor,"  where you multiply the focal length of a lens by this factor to get the equivalent focal length for a 35mm sensor. With 15 megapixels squeezed into a small sensor, noise levels and dynamic range tend to be worse.

Viewfinder (9.00)

TheT1i viewfinder offers 95% field of view at 0.87x magnification and a diopter range of -3 to +1 m-1. A nice touch on the viewfinder is the small proximity sensor placed right beneath it, which turns off the LCD as you put your face up to  the camera.

Those two black rectangles are
the proximity sensors

The view through the eyepiece is shown below, with shooting information details noted.

		Spot metering circle		AF point

Flash exposure comp

Exposure level

ISO

WB correction

Flash

Focus confirmation

AE lock

High speed sync FE lock

Highlight tone priority

Max burst

Monochrome

Shutter speed

The T1i comes with a eyecup cover attached to the neck-strap, which is used to cover the viewfinder to prevent light leaks during tripod photography. It's nice that they include this on an entry-level model, but you have to remove the eye-cup to use the cover, which is a pain to remove, and it's something you want to avoid doing frequently.

LCD (6.10)

The T1i uses a 920,000-dot, three inch LCD, which offers excellent sharpness for playback, and makes manually focusing in Live View easier. Nikon's comparable model, the D5000, instead has a lower-resolution LCD (only 230,000-dots) but it is articulated, which means it can be folded out and viewed at different angles.

Exposure comp

ISO

Shutter speed

Aperture

Flash compensation

Shooting mode

White balance

Picture style

Metering

Image size

Focus mode

Speed/Timer

The LCD can be set to seven brightness levels, and the Quick Menu can be set to one of four color schemes: black on grey, white on brown, white on black or a rather hideous green on black.

Flash (8.25)

The T1i has a built-in pop-up flash, with a range of 43 feet (13 meters) at ISO 100.

The camera can shoot at variable power with EX-series Speedlites, at full power only with EZ/E/EG/ML/TL-series Speedlites and can sync with non-Canon flashes at shutter speeds of 1/200 of a second or slower.

As with many SLRs, the T1i can use its flash for autofocus assist by firing off a quick series of strobes. While this provides a substantial amount of light, it's incredibly distracting when shooting candids.

The flash, both up and down

The flash has a red-eye reduction tool, which will fire two flashes to help prevent crimson pupils from appearing. It can also be set to 2nd curtain, which fires the flash as the exposure is ending rather than right at the start, and makes objects look like they're leaving light trails. Oddly missing is a slow sync function, which is used to properly expose the background of an image in low light.

Lens Mount (10.00)

One of the major advantages to buying a Canon camera is access to the substantial range of Canon-format lenses, and the T1i can use all EF and EF-S series lenses. One of the disadvantages, however, is that Canon houses the autofocus motor and image stabilization units in the lens rather than the body of the camera (as Olympus and Pentax do), which generally means cheaper bodies but more expensive lenses.

The Rebel T1i can use all EF and EF-S series lenses

If vignetting occurs in the corners of your photos, the Rebel T1i can automatically adjust for it using the Lens Peripheral Illumination Correction setting, which has different correction data for different Canon lenses.

Zoom Ratio Examples
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Battery (6.00)

The T1i uses a LC-E5 battery, which is rated for approximately 500 shots per charge. However, using Live View will lower this to 190 shots, or an hour of video recording.

Battery life is good, but lowers in Live View and video modes.

Memory (3.00)

The T1i takes SDHC cards, which are easy to come by, and used in most entry-level SLRs. However, if you want to shoot movies, you need a Class 6 or faster card, to handle the required data transfer speed.

You'll need a class 6 SDHC card to handle video

Jacks, Ports & Plugs (4.50)

There are three ports on the T1i: mini-HDMI (cable sold separately), USB/AV out and a remote control terminal.

We like Canon's use of industry standard ports.

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Canon Rebel T1i Digital Camera Review Navigation
Intro	Product Tour	Color	Noise
Resolution	White Balance	Sample Photos	Playback
Hardware	Controls	Design & Handling	Video Color & Noise
Video Motion & Sharpness	Video Low Light	Video Features	Canon XS Comparison
Nikon D5000 Comparison	Nikon D90 Comparison	Pentax K2000 Comparison	Conclusion
Specs & Ratings