Canon EOS Rebel T1i

	Video: Low Light Performance Summary
Comprehensive video testing and analysis by Jeremy Stamas and the staff of
• Very poor low light sensitivity when shooting both 20p and 30p footage. • Low light color accuracy was good, colors appeared deep and vivid • Noise levels in low light were better than your average HD camcorder, but worse than the Nikon D5000.
	Video: Motion & Sharpness	Page 14 of 21	Video Features

Video: Low Light Sensitivity (0.55)

The Canon T1i had a surprisingly difficult time with low light sensitivity and the numbers weren't pretty—the camera required 26 lux of light to reach 50 IRE on our waveform monitor. This is more than twice the amount of light than the Nikon D5000 required (11 lux) and it is significantly worse than your average HD camcorder. Keep in mind, however, that all our video testing on the T1i was done with its kit lens, which has a maximum aperture of f/3.5. Using a faster lens with a wider aperture setting will likely produce better low light sensitivity results. Click here for more on how CamcorderInfo.com tests low light sensitivity.

The T1i's poor performance in this test is shocking for a number of reasons. For starters, the camera includes a huge CMOS sensor that is far larger than what would be found in a regular camcorder. Generally speaking, a larger sensor means better low light sensitivity, but this was clearly not the case with the Canon T1i. We also expected the T1i to do well with this test because it records at such a slow frame rate (20p) when shooting full HD video. Interestingly, the camera showed no difference in low light sensitivity when we shot at 720/30p. This suggests that Canon has somehow programmed the T1i to stop boosting low light performance at around 26 lux or so. Since ISO, aperture, and shutter speed are all automated in video mode, there isn't much leeway for you to boost the brightness on the T1i yourself. You can do a basic exposure adjustment, however, which we go over in more detail in the Manual Controls section of this review.

As you'll see in the comparison images in the following sections, the Nikon D5000 consistently produced a brighter image than the Canon T1i. Unsurprisingly, it also had a much better low light sensitivity.

Video: Low Light Color Performance (9.57)

The T1i managed a color error of 3.06 with a saturation level of 104.9% in our low light testing. These are quite good scores and the color accuracy is actually better here than it was in the bright light testing. The Canon T1i produced a dark image in low light, but its colors appeared deep and very vivid. Just as it did in bright light, the camera had trouble with the darkest parts of our color test chart (the black corners of the grayscale). Click here for more on how CamcorderInfo.com tests low light color performance.

Video: Low Light Color Performance
Color Test Chart (above), Color Error Map (right)
The Canon Rebel T1i produced a color error of 3.06 and a saturation level of 104.9% in our low light video testing. (The map on the right is a diagram of the color error. The length and direction of each line indicates how the camera processed each particular color while capturing video.)

The T1i continued to have the most problems with red colors, as you can see from the Color Error Map above. Overall, the camera did very well with low light color accuracy, and it earned a better score than the Nikon D5000 and Canon HF S100. The Sanyo VPC-HD2000 also produced very vivid colors in low light and it managed a slightly better color accuracy in our test.

Video: Low Light Comparison
Canon Rebel T1i	Nikon D5000
Canon HF S100	Sanyo VPC-HD200

The main thing to notice from the comparisons above is how much darker the T1i's image is compared to the Nikon D5000. The D5000's video is so bright that many colors appear a bit washed out and the image lacks a strong amount of contrast. The Canon T1i offers a stark opposite. Colors are deep, contrast is very strong, and the image is probably a bit too dark. Whether you like the D5000 or the T1i's color reproduction better really comes down to personal preference.

Video: Low Light Color Score Comparison

Video: Low Light Noise Performance (10.16)

The T1i averaged 1.08% noise in our low light testing. This score is better than the noise levels we commonly get from HD camcorders, but it is worse than what the Nikon D5000 produced. This melds with the Canon T1i's bright light noise performance, which also was a bit higher than the D5000, but ranked better than the average score from a consumer HD camcorder. Click here for more on how CamcorderInfo.com tests low light noise performance.

Video: Noise at 60 lux Auto
Canon T1i 100% Crop	Nikon D5000 100% Crop	Canon HF S100 100% Crop	Sanyo VPC-HD2000 100% Crop

Notice how well the Canon T1i maintained a sharp image even in low light. The overall brightness of its image closely resembles that of the Canon HF S100. The Nikon D5000 is much brighter, but it has nowhere near the sharpness of the T1i because of its maximum video resolution of 1280 x 720. The Sanyo VPC-HD2000 has similar vivid colors like the T1i, but its image is not as sharp and appears blurred, with patches of discoloration.

Video: Low Light Noise Score Comparison