Canon EOS Rebel T1i DSLR Shoots HD Video, Too

Released last year, the innovative Nikon D90 (currently our top-rated digital SLR) was the first DSLR camera with the ability to shoot HD video. Now it has some competition from Canon.

The just-announced Canon EOS Rebel T1i offers the option to shoot full 1080p HD video at 20 frames per second, as well as 720p HD video at 30 frames per second, both using the H.264 codec. The option to shoot standard-definition footage at 30 frames per second is also in the mix.

That's definitely great news for Canon fans, but as Martyn Williams explains in his story about the Rebel T1i announcement, the 20fps frame rate for 1080p full HD video sounds a bit low to offer smooth footage, and a very high-capacity, class 6 SDHC card will be needed to capture a decent amount of video.

The Rebel T1i's other specs are very much in line with Canon's well-rated EOS 50D: a Digic 4 image processor, an APS-C CMOS sensor with a 15.1-megapixel resolution that ups the ante compared to the Nikon D90's 12.3-megapixel sensor, ISO sensitivity up to 12800, and a 3-inch Live View LCD screen.

Canon is billing the Rebel T1i as an entry-level DSLR, and is pricing the camera to support that claim: when it becomes available in May, it will cost US$800 for the camera body and $900 as a kit bundled with Canon's EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS zoom lens.

The EOS Rebel T1i is part of a growing market in the realm of digital cameras: namely, interchangeable-lens models (that encompasses both true DSLRs and "hybrid" cameras) that offer less-intimidating features and prices for first-time buyers. Panasonic took square aim at that market last year with the release of the Lumix DMC-G1, its first Micro Four-Thirds system camera that offered the interchangeable lens of a DSLR, but a more-compact frame.

Two interchangeable-lens hybrid cameras were announced at this year's Photo Marketing Association (PMA) show in Las Vegas: Panasonic's Lumix DMC-GH1, an interchangeable lens Micro Four-Thirds System camera that shoots full HD video, and Samsung's NX line of cameras, which is a similar interchangeable-lens "hybrid" camera. Olympus has also announced that its first Micro Four-Thirds system camera will be released by the end of the year.

However, none of those cameras has been given an official release date or pricing information. The fact that two full-fledged DSLRs now offer HD video recording--for around $1000, to boot--may steal their thunder quite a bit.

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