My New Toy/Hobby - Canon T1i aka 500D

I've been hemming & hawing over when to pull the trigger on a DSLR for waaaaay too long now. I think it has been about 3 years and 8,000+ photos since I bought my first point and shoot. Initially, I met the digital photo hobby with great excitement and passion, but as the years went on and the yield rate of quality photos remained at less than 5%, I grew frustrated and more and more yearned for a nice DSLR. 

Well, I finally stepped up to the big boy league and got myself in to a mid range/prosumer Canon T1i, touting a:

• 15.1 MP censor*
• 3.0 inch super crisp live view LCD
• ISO at 3,200 and beyond (mmmmm, low light shooting is a dream)
• and a sweet bonus --- 720p HD vid at 30fps (h.264). I'm still trying to make sense of how and when I'll use this feature since it isn't really that robust in the HD vid department. For instance, there isn't a mic in and the autofocus in this mode is quite weak. Regardless, it makes for some crispy clips for Youtube . BTW, it also shoots 1080p, but at 20fps, which makes for some jerky footage. This spec is pretty much a marketing gimmick.

Stay tuned for more photos as I get accustomed to all of the advanced settings that I haven't been exposed to in prior digi models.

Check her out for yourself at CNET's Rebel T1i review.

*I know, I know...megapixels aren't everything, but if she takes a nice photo it sure does make for nice big prints or quality crops.