I just purchased a T1i earlier this week, my first SLR in 10 years. In fact, my last SLR (an EOS Elan IIe) was a 35mm film camera (that has been sitting locked in a Pelican case for the last 10 years!). So after a couple of point and shoot digital cameras, including the Panasonic DM20 most recently... it's good to be back!
Strangely, not much has actually changed in the 15 years since I purchased my Elan IIe (focus modes, metering modes, scene modes, etc.) yet, a couple of things have gone backwards. For example... What ever happened to eye controlled focus points? That was an amazingly helpful way to select a focus point back in 1996... it's shocking to me that even high-end Canon digital SLR's do not have that feature today!
I was pleasantly surprised to find that my old RC1 remote, not only worked with my new T1i, but it's batteries were still good! Less surprising is the fact that the old EF 28-105 f3.5-4.5 USM lens works perfectly fine with the T1i.
What I like about the T1i...
Nice size and weight: Although I lust for a 7D, I felt it was too hefty and I'd end up not carrying it around as much as a result. I don't know why it's soo heavy?! Anyway, the T1i is just right. I'm not abusive with my equipment so the fact that the case is plastic is just fine with me.
LCD display: Probably the most amazing display available on a camera!? It makes a huge difference for judging exposure of shots on the camera although it's still inadequate for gauging whether you really nailed a sharply focused shot. Slightly out of focus shots will still look deceivingly good on this tiny display. I also like the fact that it displays all the camera settings, the same info you'd see on the top LCD display of a bigger pro SLR. Toggling between live view and settings is easy as well. I find it helpful to use live view sometimes when framing a shot when the camera is low to the ground or on a tripod sometimes.
The Menus: Very easy to navigate and structured so you don't need to scroll vertically through menu items... well thought out.
Battery compartment: I like the plastic tab that holds the battery in place so that the battery compartment door is NOT what holds the battery.
Some ergonomic things that could be improved IMHO...
The wheel: To adjust some things like exposure compensation, you have to hold down a button while turning the wheel... this is just unnecessary. How about press the button to select that item, then turn the wheel and then press the button when done? I find myself accidentally not applying enough pressure to the button while turning the wheel sometimes and changing my Av or Tv setting unintentionally.
The placement of buttons: Why is the ISO button at the top - is that the most frequently used button for most people? (If so, I guess I better start using it!) Ideally, all the display mode buttons would be together... menu, disp, live view, playback/review.
The port cover: is a big rubber plug... why not use a hinged plastic door as they do for the SD slot door?
No Revert button: It would be nice to have a "revert to normal settings button" so, say you change focus modes or the focus point or the exposure compensation... with one button press, you can be back to your normal settings.
Cropped viewfinder: Why is the viewfinder in the lower end camera's cropped? Is it a lot more expensive to provide a full viewfinder?
That's all for now. I've only taken a few photos so far (see below), and I forgot what good photos an SLR can capture. Nice exposure, sharp focus, good color... I'm shocked how good the initial shots look compared to my old FZ20.
The following photos were taking using long exposures (3-4 seconds) at f11 on a tripod in Gastown (Vancouver, BC). No post processing except to crop the last photo a tiny bit.
Strangely, not much has actually changed in the 15 years since I purchased my Elan IIe (focus modes, metering modes, scene modes, etc.) yet, a couple of things have gone backwards. For example... What ever happened to eye controlled focus points? That was an amazingly helpful way to select a focus point back in 1996... it's shocking to me that even high-end Canon digital SLR's do not have that feature today!
I was pleasantly surprised to find that my old RC1 remote, not only worked with my new T1i, but it's batteries were still good!
Less surprising is the fact that the old EF 28-105 f3.5-4.5 USM lens works perfectly fine with the T1i.What I like about the T1i...
Nice size and weight: Although I lust for a 7D, I felt it was too hefty and I'd end up not carrying it around as much as a result. I don't know why it's soo heavy?! Anyway, the T1i is just right. I'm not abusive with my equipment so the fact that the case is plastic is just fine with me.
LCD display: Probably the most amazing display available on a camera!? It makes a huge difference for judging exposure of shots on the camera although it's still inadequate for gauging whether you really nailed a sharply focused shot. Slightly out of focus shots will still look deceivingly good on this tiny display. I also like the fact that it displays all the camera settings, the same info you'd see on the top LCD display of a bigger pro SLR. Toggling between live view and settings is easy as well. I find it helpful to use live view sometimes when framing a shot when the camera is low to the ground or on a tripod sometimes.
The Menus: Very easy to navigate and structured so you don't need to scroll vertically through menu items... well thought out.
Battery compartment: I like the plastic tab that holds the battery in place so that the battery compartment door is NOT what holds the battery.
Some ergonomic things that could be improved IMHO...
The wheel: To adjust some things like exposure compensation, you have to hold down a button while turning the wheel... this is just unnecessary. How about press the button to select that item, then turn the wheel and then press the button when done? I find myself accidentally not applying enough pressure to the button while turning the wheel sometimes and changing my Av or Tv setting unintentionally.
The placement of buttons: Why is the ISO button at the top - is that the most frequently used button for most people? (If so, I guess I better start using it!
) Ideally, all the display mode buttons would be together... menu, disp, live view, playback/review. The port cover: is a big rubber plug... why not use a hinged plastic door as they do for the SD slot door?
No Revert button: It would be nice to have a "revert to normal settings button" so, say you change focus modes or the focus point or the exposure compensation... with one button press, you can be back to your normal settings.
Cropped viewfinder: Why is the viewfinder in the lower end camera's cropped? Is it a lot more expensive to provide a full viewfinder?
That's all for now. I've only taken a few photos so far (see below), and I forgot what good photos an SLR can capture. Nice exposure, sharp focus, good color... I'm shocked how good the initial shots look compared to my old FZ20.
The following photos were taking using long exposures (3-4 seconds) at f11 on a tripod in Gastown (Vancouver, BC). No post processing except to crop the last photo a tiny bit.
