My brother Kirk got the new Canon Rebel T1i over the weekend and it looks like it’s working out quite well for him. He used Sigma 70-300 lens in macro for his first video tests (above, wait for the ant!) and as you can see, the detail is incredible (albeit slimy). I’d like to see some more tests in different lighting situations and with different subject matter, but so far the performance looks great. Although, after seeing what Will Calcutt did with the 5D MKII in Detroit I am not sure I could settle for the T1i, but it seems like a close second for the budget-conscious. At any rate, I am pretty close to jumping ship from Nikon. Video Link
Update: Kirk added a short clip of Forrest skimboarding in Sacramento:
Wow, that is pretty good. I’m looking for a nice dslr/hdcam and this might be what I’m looking for. Thanks!
Very cool. Impressive video quality.
Not sure exactly what the split-personality snail was up to, but it didn’t seem sane. 😉
I really want to get that camera, and no, i don’t want to spend more than $1k on a camera if i can help it. i’ve got too many other tech needs, so this one seems like a perfect fit with many bells and whistles.
Thanks for linking!
pretty impressive footy!
whoa, that ant was like “HOLY SHIIIIITTTTTT!!!!!!!”
wow, I want a video camera now, I like that the ant was mentioned!
watch out for little *gotchas* with the T1i. Mine had a dead/hot pixel; only the official canon battery grip will work and something to do with enabling/disabling the hot shoe played havoc with my cybersync flash transmitter and I could not get it to work. Had to send her back and opted for the 5dmkII (bonus, I guess) 🙂
thanks, Scott. [m]
I just bought a T1i, actually.
I had my Sigma 70-300 lens left over from when I was shooting on Canon XS body.
No dead/hot pixels here, and I use official canon gear anyways (when I can’t hack or build my own (cough, timelapse timer DIY, cough))
I really love it.
Definitely recommend. Also, I have a feeling that it will be under the $1K mark soon, I bought mine for $1039.98 at Future Shop.
That’s pretty awesome. I just saw a video shot with Nikon’s D5000 that looked pretty rad too.
I’m still saving my pennies for a MKII. I was gonna go with the older 5D but… I think having HD video capabilities could be super fun and open a lot of doors creatively. With 21mp I plan on making prints the size of Canada.
I’d love to have the MKII for my Mongolia trip but… I’d feel a lot better if Uzbekistan police confiscated my 30D over my 5D haha.
My 2¢ to help with the decision Scott:
I got myself a Nikon D90 at the beginning of the year and am extremely happy with it, the video is a great bonus and I’ve had some fun shooting some live music performances with interesting results. The D90 is a great camera for personal use.
At my job, we’ve got a 5D MKII. That camera is amazing. The sharpness of the images is stunning, it’s a pleasure to use. If you are looking for a camera for professional use, you have to get the 5D MKII, I just can’t see the new Rebel coming close. If you are commited to Nikon, you can wait a while and I’m sure that they will catch up with their new releases if you want the video.
The rolling shutter in the video is a little bit of an issue on both cameras, but it’s an SLR that takes video, just be happy with that, if you need the video to be perfect, you need to get a video camera instead.
Yeah, i’m a very amateur hobbyist at best so i obviously am nowhere near willing to spend the huge bucks on the 5D (which is AMAZING)
I upgraded from the xTi (huge leap) and have been using the same lenses i had with that.
Canon EF-S 18-200 IS
Tokina 10-17 Fisheye
Sigma 70-300
I am rather curious about the $1k remark by Brennan,
are other people finding it hard to purchase a T1i under $1k?
I got my T1i for much under $1k, add the kit lens (18-55 IS) and a 16G memory card and i was about exactly $1k
Probably an unwise purchase as i will not be using the kit lens but the kit was all they had in stock and i was eager. Probably be posting the xTi and the kit lens on ebay soon.
Wow that’s some serious quality and some kickass skimming. Where in Sac is that?
Thanks for posting these! They look really good. I keep telling myself to hold out for the 5D MkII, but i imagine this camera with the Sigma 30mm f1.4 or 50mm f1.4 would give you some great results. And you’d have plenty of money for nice lenses with the savings. It’s a tough decision.
We skim at Bannister park in Fair Oaks in a creek that runs next to a bike trail
no lie. that snail was highly erotic.
I’ve had the new 5d MKII for about 5 months and it is hands down the most impressive dslr that I have shot with.and this is not even to mention the video/video quality.
Where’s the flip? 😀