As with past Digital Rebel models, carrying the T1i around while shooting our sample images was a blast. This camera has a good size and weight, especially when you compare the features of this little tike to other, larger dSLR models. I found the build quality was excellent, giving the camera a nice “well worth it” feel. The ergonomics are also quite good. All of the various camera controls are laid out in a comfortable manner, falling naturally under your thumb or index fingers.
I was glad to see that Canon still uses rubber around the hand-grip as well as on the thumb rest. Many models in this price range do not offer this “small” feature. I feel this adds superior “grip” to the camera, ensuring you have a good hold on it.
The Rebel T1i offers the same pentamirror type viewfinder found on the XSi. This eye-level viewfinder provides a larger overall view, and increased brightness and clarity. Viewfinder quality is one of the distinct advantages a dSLR has over high-end point-n-shoot cameras with electronic viewfinders. This optical viewfinder covers approx. 95% of the captured image, and is not subject to the blanking effect of electronic units.
