Canon EOS 500D (EOS Kiss Digital X3 / EOS Rebel T1i) review

I won 1st place for Philadelphia (South) in the Adobe-sponsored Worldwide Photo
Walk with the T1i: http://worldwidephotowalk.com/south-philadelphia-pa-usa/

http://www2.russbrooks.com:8000/assets/2009/8/10/_MG_0253-2.jpg

The photo will go to the Internationals and compete against 913 other photos from 913 other locations
worldwide. 10 winners will be chosen and prizes range in value from a few hundred to $16,000. Here is it
amidst all the other winners from around the globe:

http://worldwidephotowalk.com/2009-photos/?sid=60

This photo, also with the T1i, won Honorable Mention for Philadelphia (Parkway / Center City). It is a picture of
the atrium inside city hall:

http://www2.russbrooks.com:8000/assets/2009/8/10/_MG_0384-2.jpg

Here are some other shots from the walk:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cbr1000/WorldwidePhotoWalk

I've had the T1i for over a month now, and it has performed flawlessly. The lens I used for the above shots was
the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L:

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-24-70mm-f-2.8-L-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

I went with the T1i over the 50D because it has identical specs to the 50D (aside from a 1/4000 max shutter
speed vs. 1/8000 on the 50D] and the latest hardware gadgetry like hi-def video. I wanted to spend to bulk of
my budget on glass. Down the road, when the 5D Mark III arrives, I will upgrade my body.

Coming off a number of digicams, the T1i is my first dSLR, and it has exceeded my expectations. On the
Worldwide Photo Walk, the camera did everything I needed it to and then some. Shots were in focus. White
balance was spot on. Clarity was great. Continuous mode was acceptably fast. The user-interface was intuitive
and transparent. Having received the camera mere days before from B&H, I expected some ramp-up time, but I
did not wrestle with it at all (hunting for features, etc.) I did read through the entire manual, though, naturally.

I know some of you will consider it sacrilege sticking a beautiful L lens on a Rebel, but again, I had a budget,
and my plan was/is to not skimp on glass and buy all EF-mount L lenses, so that when I upgrade my body to a
non-crop camera [5D], I can use my entire lens collection.

One thing I did miss a little on the shoot was not having a full 24mm at the wide end of the lens. Because of
the T1i's 1.6 FOV crop [or "Focal-Length multiplier" as marketing folks like to put it], the wide end of my lens
was actually 38.4mm, not 24mm. There were definitely a couple of shots were I really wished I had a true
24mm wide. The trade-off to that was getting some extra "zoom" on the zoom end of things [112mm instead
of 70], even if only "perceived zoom" due to cropping. Another benefit of this cropping is that it does eliminate
most of the vignetting that any lens will yield (even L's).

The solution to my wide-angle needs is clearly the EF-S 10-22mm, that has wide focal length that just doesn't
exist on any EF lens.
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-S-10-22mm-f-3.5-4.5-USM-Lens-Review.aspx
Yes, it's not an L, but some have called it a "borderline L" because of its 3 aspherical lens elements to correct
various distortions and a Super-UD (Ultra-low Dispersion) element.

If you have the budget for a 5D Mark II or a 50D, you may want to wait for an update to those cameras arrives
and buy a T1i in the meantime. Both of those cameras are about a year old and the 50D has essentially identical
specs to the T1i. I could see Canon putting out a 5D Mark III in 6 to 8 months.