Canon Unveils EOS Rebel T1i D-SLR

T1i D-SLR records full 1080p HD Video at entry-level price

For a long time, the biggest problem facing many digital photographers who were moving from the point-and-shoot market to the D-SLR market was the inability to record video. Thankfully, Nikon changed that last summer.


In August 2008, Nikon introduced its D90 D-SLR that was capable of recording 720P HD video, a first for the D-SLR world. The D90 recorded at 24 FPS in 720p resolution and offered a Live View LCD. Shortly after the D90 broke cover, Canon unveiled a high-end D-SLR called the EOS 5D Mark II that offered full 1080p HD recording at 30 FPS. The big downside was that the 5D Mark II retailed for a hefty $2,699 for the body only putting it out of the beginners reach.

Canon has now announced a new entry-level D-SLR camera called the EOS Rebel T1i that is the first Rebel capable of recording HD video. The T1i can record in 1080p resolution at 20 FPS, dropping the resolution down to 720p gets you full 30 FPS recording and SD recording at 640 x 480 is supported as well. Video is recorded in .MOV format using MPEG-4 compression.

The camera has a 15.1-megapixel CMOS sensor and uses Canon's DIGIC 4 Imaging Processor. A 3-inch rear LCD offers Live View shooting and has a resolution of 920,000 dots. A wealth of automatic features makes using a D-SLR easy for first time users.

Automatic features of the T1i include Auto Lighting Optimizer and Creative Auto Mode. The Auto Lighting Optimizer helps ensure that the subject of each picture is well light and visible by analyzing the image brightness and automatically adjusting dark areas so they appear brighter.

Creative Auto Mode is a full auto setting on the camera that allows for automatic adjustments to exposure compensation, aperture, or shutter speed through a simple navigation menu on the LCD. The menus allow users to do things like blur the background of a shot or lighten or darken an image with automatic modes.

The Rebel T1i has an integrated cleaning system that cleans the sensor for crisp photos. ISO sensitivity for the camera is ISO 100 to ISO 3200 in whole stop increments and two additional high ISO settings are included with H1 offering ISO 6400 and H2 offering ISO 12800.

The camera is also capable of shooting continuously at 3.4 FPS for up to 170 shots in large/fine mode or up to nine RAW images. Three Live View shooting modes are offered including Quick, Live, and Face Detection mode. All the Live View modes can be used on images and video.

Canon's EOS Rebel T1i will be available in early May with a body only Kit selling for $799.99 including a battery pack, USB cable, a neck strap and other accessories. Those looking for a kit can get the T1i body along with an EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Zoom lens for $899.99.