Camera influence

My buddy Matt wrote to me asking:

Tell me why I should or shouldn't buy the Canon EOS T1i kit for $800 from Costco. The HD video is captivating.

(I also was curious to see how the attached image would be handled by Blogger via an email post- not bad- not bad at all!)

I will be the first to admit, I am a Canon user. I like their products. Why though? It was the make of the first point and shoot I bought, and have stuck with them ever since. I am invested in time, money, and interest now. I like what they produce- simple as that. I am not technical enough to tell you why Nikon or Sony or any other manufacturers as better or worse. I just don't have the time or energy!

Lets get the big elephant out of the room shall we?

HD video.

Canon introduced HD video recording in their digital SLR cameras with the Canon 5D Mark II. (they were the first if I recall) The 5D line is the only Canon which has a full frame sensor, which is fantastic for a more true 35mm film photo taking.

Phil's take: The HD video can be a wonderful thing. However, I am not one for spending a ton of time editing video. That is another beast to me entirely. It took me a long while to understand the value of editing images afterward. (I do love Adobe Lightroom)
If you like taking video, and don't mind the tasks involved in processing it- then I say this is a great feature. I am not patient enough yet to tackle this beast.

Otherwise, the camera itself is a great introduction level camera. I don't know why anyone would need more than 10MP images, but Canon has bumped up the size to 15MP in this version. It has the similar sensor as the 50D. I am going to default to people who review these things full time for a much better in-dept analysis of the camera that I could ever provide. See DPreview's review.

Phil's take: I've found the Rebel line body to be a bit small in my hands. The navigation on the back is a bit hampered by the button layout in my opinion, which hasn't changed since I had my Rebel XT.
It takes SD memory now, which is a switch from what I am used to in the XT days of CF cards. However more and more cameras are going that way. However, memory is so darn cheap I don't think most people care. It is an almost after thought!


So Matt, to answer your question- yes, I could recommend it. It is small enough to pack in a bag and not worry about it. However, you could learn and buy a lens or two and go from there. It is a slippery slope once you start on the DSLR level... The response between button pushed and image taken is highly addicting- and at that price it is a gateway drug.

Why I wouldn't buy it- the time it would take to handle the video on top of the images. I also would want to do more with it- more lenses, more gear. It gets expensive and time consuming. If all you want is video of your kids at holidays I would stick with a purposed video device.

So the question is- do you want to take photography to the next level past just tourist snaps? Or are you challenged by the limitations of your current setup? Or do you just want to do HD video? I throw it back to you- what do you want?