Comments about Canon Canon EOS Rebel T1i EF-S Digital SLR Camera - Black - 2 Lens Kit - with 18-55mm IS & 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS:

This is my first DSLR after a couple of years using a prosumer Canon P&S (S90). Like previous reviewers, I suspect my photos may suffer somewhat from the quality of the lenses included in this kit. As budget allows, I am likely to upgrade from the included lenses.

Comments about Canon Canon EOS Rebel T1i EF-S Digital SLR Camera - Black - 2 Lens Kit - with 18-55mm IS & 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS:

This was one of best deal I could digg out from web.[...]. This camera is superb for low light performance.It has very big LCd screen and live view works superb! I am still exploring its features but only thing is felt against this camera is that, autofocus is not so quick. But it is far too great camera for anyone who is switching from PnS cams to DSLR.

Comments about Canon Canon EOS Rebel T1i EF-S Digital SLR Camera - Black - 2 Lens Kit - with 18-55mm IS & 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS:

I have owned various Canons, including film Rebels, for many years. I've never felt the need to switch to another manufacturer because I've always found Canons to be great values and more than capable of taking great photos. Most of my photography is of landscapes and travel scenes, and I also use my cameras indoors and at family gatherings. I'm by no means an expert, but I have generally gotten positive feedback on most of my photos, due in part to the quality of the Canon cameras. I've always used Canon glass, for no other reasons than not wanting to spend too much on a lens, and that they were always adequate for my needs.

The T1i is the first DSLR I've owned. I'd been itching to get one for a few years, but I wanted to wait until there was a model solidly under $1000 that I wouldn't quickly outgrow and that would take digital pictures to rival film. I love the quality of my brother's Nikon D40 DSLR and the pictures it takes, but I'm loyal to brands that have worked for me in the past and after reading reviews of this camera - and convincing my wife that I really NEEDED a new camera - I took the plunge.

The controls and layout are intuitive and similar to other Canons I've owned so I was shooting in no time. The camera feels perfectly balanced and weighted for my large size hands and I've held it comfortably for hours. So far I've used the camera in the house taking pictures of my fish tank and dogs, for outside landscapes, taking pictures of my motorcycle on a cloudy day, and at an NFL game with both the 18-55 and 55-250 lenses. The only filters I used were UV filters, I didn't use any external flashes, and I used a Class 4 memory card (I bought it at the same time as the camera, not knowing that I needed at least a Class 6 to shoot video, which I haven't done yet).

Overall the camera is easy to operate and it takes decent photos in the auto modes. The pictures are not as crisp as the ones my brother gets with his Nikon D40 with similar lenses, and the color saturation is not as great, so I'm a little disappointed in that. I've started taking most of my photos in RAW + JPEG so I can mess around with the white balance and other settings a little more in 'the digital darkroom'. I am also getting away from the auto modes so I can experiment more with different apertures, shutter speeds, ISO, etc. which seems to be giving me better, though not necessarily sharper, results. Shutter speed seems fine and I like all the other aspects of the camera. I'd read that the battery life was poor with this camera but in my camera the battery still had plenty of juice after shooting about 1200 picture for 3.5 hours at the football game (I used the viewfinder and not Live View). I've used all the different preset scene options along with the other modes.

Overall I like the camera, and I think it's a good value for the price, but I think the lenses don't quite measure up as well as they could. I'm hoping that when I can afford better glass I will get better results. I guess my disappointment stems partly from the fact that my old film Canons took pictures that were far superior to this camera, but digital is certainly far more convenient. I hate to say it, but my Sony 7 megapixel point and shoot with its Carl Zeiss lens takes seems to take sharper pictures than this Canon, which is why I suspect I need to get better glass.