[shuttertalk]

Canon have announced the Rebel T1i / EOS 500D, which goes head to head with Nikon's D90. Major features include 15MP, 14bit analog to digital conversion (apparently the same used in the 50D) and HD recording, up to 1080P @ 20FPS. Other goodies include a 3.0 inch 920,000 pixel LCD, ISO 100-3200 plus high speed ISO 6400 and 12800 as well.

http://www.photographybay.com/2009/01/18...-t1i-500d/

[Kombisaurus]

Very nice Jules! Great to see this stuff in an entry-level DSLR.

Considering that most 500D users won't be using particularly good lenses though (ie slow max aperture and not particularly sharp) I think high-iso performance is even more important than resolution in a camera like this when compared to say, the 5D Mk2. I would've liked to have seen even better high-iso performance at the cost of a few megapixels. But still, on paper at least the ISO performance looks great for the market segment it's in, and I guess 15mpix is becoming a bit of a standard for Canon like 8mpix used to be.

From a marketing point of view I guess they have to keep most of the specs a notch lower than the more expensive models in order to keep selling them. It's a clever marketing trick to make the video 1080p resolution but limit it to 20fps. That effectively means video will look great on a computer, but prevents any broadcast-quality video being made with this camera. I wonder if it can shoot 720p at 24 and 30fps?

I'll be interested to see how much manual control over the video aspects of this camera there will be. I read a rumour that Canon had to cut their software development short on the video functions of the 5D Mk2 in order to meet release deadlines, and certainly the 5D Mk2 video controls have a feel of being a bit half-baked. With the extra months in between they might have managed something a bit more polished with the 500D video controls (which could end up in a firmware update for the 5D Mk2).

There is one thing that Canon REALLY need to do though, and that is lose the stupid multiple names for these entry-level DSLRs!!!!! :mad:
Not only are "Rebel" and "Kiss" really dumb names for a camera, but all the "XT", "T1i", XSi" stuff is complete rubbish that does nothing but confuse and annoy people. Names like 300D, 350D, 400D, 450D, 500D might not be quite as emotive as a "Rebel", but they make complete sense and in an instant you can work out where it fits in the Canon family. The only emotion "Rebel T1i" makes me feel is anger!

[Kombisaurus]

Just found a good little examination of the video functions of the 500D (compared mainly to the 5D Mk2) on Rob Gailbraith.

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_p...-9973-9976

It seems the 500D does a great job of 720p video at 30fps, but the 20fps limit of 1080p video makes it not particularly useful. While they've added a few little functions, it looks like they haven't changed things a lot from the 5D Mk2 implementation. The 500D audio also seems to be of lesser quality compared to the 5D Mk2 (I was really surprised how good the audio capture from the 5D Mk2 was for a built-in mic).
No real surprises anywhere there.

[adam]

Time to retire the 30d and get a 500D for me!

[shuttertalk]

@Kombi - yeah, I'm not surprised they "crippled" the video capability a little. Also, I would expect that the video controls would be still a bit first gen - although I'm not sure why as Canon make camcorders so surely they would know a thing or two about it by now.

Apparently the Nikon D90 exhibits a bit of "skew" when panning the camera - something to do with the vertical scan rate. I wonder if the 20 FPS on the 500D might cause something similar.

p.s. Rebel is the North American naming, I think... Kiss is Japanese. But yeah, I reckon the numbers do it for me...

[matthew]

Tea-One-Eye? Seriously? Are they trying to make their camera names impossible to say without embarrassment? The "XS" choice was bad enough, sounding like it was being marketed to high-school-aged boys and aging rockers - with respect and apologies to those who are either - but at least it had a logical evolution through the XT/XTi/XSi. The only advantage to the T1I is that it'll be distinctive in Google searches - after all, there's already something called a Canon 500D on the market.

Was this camera not ready to be shown at PMA a few weeks ago, or did the event organizers ban it because they didn't want the name announced in a crowded room?

Kombi, I appreciate that you've already gotten this point covered, but it was my first reaction and is still my strongest one. I'm going to have to say this stupid name, and have people say it to me, for the next year or more.

There may be some interesting incremental improvements, even though some of them look like buzzword marketing. (Does a 14-bit ADC really make a difference on a Rebel when the 12/14-bit settings on a D3/D700 are barely perceptible to skilled observers under certain situations?) So far I haven't seen much interest in movie modes from people who are actually buying an SLR, but I have to admit that it's something that people do ask about when they have no idea about cameras.

At least we now know that the 60D will have a movie mode, be over 15MP, and be announced some time this summer.

[shuttertalk]

@matthew - agreed regarding movie mode - however, soon it will become standard and people will consider it a negative not to have it. Just think of live view about 2 years ago compared to now...

Found some hands on previews:
http://www.dpreview.com/previews/canoneos500d/
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/T1I/T1IA.HTM

In the 2nd one, the image quality findings are quite surprising. They compared it to the 50D, Nikon D700 and Nikon D90, at both ISO100 and ISO3200, and the IQ was comparable to the 50D:

Analysis. So it's pretty clear, if the Beta unit's quality holds up, that the Canon Rebel T1i's image quality is at least as good as the Canon 50D, delivering more detail than most of the 12-megapixel cameras on the market for less money. Noise suppression is a bigger factor, but you can also turn that noise reduction down or off completely, or shoot 14-bit RAW, something we'll explore in greater depth when we get a shipping version of the Canon T1i.

Nice...