Sounds like you bought a dead one. Time to return it and squawk loudly if they give you trouble.
Bob
I bought a T1i off of ebay.
I opened the package today and once I turned it on the lcd instantly started to twitch and invert in color.
Now this is my first dslr but I am pretty sure this is not a feature.
It still records and it still takes pictures as it should.

Chowhound
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