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A discussion of the photo quality of the Canon EOS Rebel T1i, with image samples.
Lori Grunin
I've been reviewing hardware and software, devising testing methodology and handed out buying advice for what seems like forever; I'm currently absorbed by computers and gaming hardware, but previously spent many years concentrating on cameras. I've also volunteered with a cat rescue for over 15 years doing adoptions, designing marketing materials, managing volunteers and, of course, photographing cats.
ISO 3,200 is about as high as I'd go unless absolutely necessary; above that and you seriously lose sharpness and dynamic range, and see a lot of noise artifacts.
The 18-55mm kit lens that ships with the T1i has been around for a while, and isn't bad for a consumer model. It's pretty sharp, with a reasonable amount of barrel distortion at its widest angle.
The higher resolution yields some nicely detailed shots; the relatively inexpensive lens is probably the constraining factor in getting better sharpness out of photos like these. It's still pretty good for the money, though.
Canon seems to be punching up the color a bit more with the T1i than it did with the XSi, and it's not quite as accurate (though it's well within the bounds of acceptability).
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