Introduction to the great DSLRs

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 at 10:24 pm

By E. Esquivel

The T1i (500D to me and the rest of the world) is my first DSLR camera. My digital camera was Olympus ‘570UZ pre-500D, Canon PowerShot S70 and the (almost vintage!) Powershot S110. Given my lack of experience with DSLR, I obviously would have no real basis of the world, to compare the 500D DSLR others.

With that disclaimer out of the way, let me say unequivocally that I am absolutely thrilled with the quality of photos taken with the 500D, especially at night.

I love photography and the night was a continual source of frustration for me that point and-shoot, even advanced point-and-shoots like 570UZ or the S70, each have so-so performance night photography, even in manual mode in which allowed to choose the ISO, shutter speed and aperture. The 500D convincingly erased that frustration. In fully automatic mode, it takes absolutely goregous picture night at high ISO (usually 800 and, occasionally, @ 1600) and a shutter speed very fast, with even a hint of noise or blurring. (One guy I talked to on the ability of night photography of the 500D and Nikon D5000 said to have found the Canon one more capable shooter night. I took his word with a grain of salt. Now, I absolutely believe him!) If there is a problem with the capabilities of night 500D automatic is that it tends to illuminate the scene, which may not be what you want in certain situations. (For the types of photos, I recommend “manual”?)

(Note: I finally got around to posting pictures night sample taken during a recent trip to Madrid. Please do not view the pictures to see what I mean.)

I consider myself a mid-level amateur (I understand the concepts of shutter speed, ISO, aperture, white balance, etc.), but have not fully learned to manipulate the different variables of large (er) effect. The 500D, however, makes it easy to learn. The menu is (more or less) intuitive and clearly drawn (non-technical) English. The “Creative Auto” mode provides a good example of the use of simple, descriptive English.

The LCD screen (@ 920,000 pixels) is amazing. I compared the screen with the 500D in my 570UZ (@ 230,000 pixels) and the difference between the two are really two separate worlds.

The 500D, however, is not as comfortable as my first 570UZ. Furthermore, the purpose kit that comes with the 500D lacks the close-ups and zoom capability of my 570UZ. (The 570UZ can take sharp pictures with the lens of less than 1 cm from the edge of the object being photographed. Try that with the 500D kit equipped with the goal … it can not be.) That leads to a drawback of digital SLRs. .. having to buy separate lenses in order to make really close-up and / or Super zoom picture. Finally, the 500D is, of course, much heavier than an ordinary point and shoot.

I have not used the video mode (for video, I recommend buying a dedicated video recorder is not a DSLR).

To summarize, the two main reasons why I love this camera:

1. Stunning LCD
2. Equally stunning photography skills at night, even in full automatic!