Introduction

According to Canon "every side of your story comes alive" with the new EOS 500D (Rebel T1i in North America) and this refers to the "stunning" 15.1 Mega-pixel CMOS sensor as well as the "pin-sharp" Full HD movie recording.

The fifth version of Canon’s most favourite consumer DSLR shows only a few changes compared to its predecessor model (EOS 450D). The primary new feature is certainly the new Full High Definition movie mode - this is the new "in" feature although a debatable one with respect to the manual zooming and stepped aperture control. The compact and light-weight body features a big 15.1 MP CMOS sensor, a 3.0” LCD with Live View mode and a 9-point wide-area AF.
The latest DIGIC 4 processor manages to process 3.4 frames per second with up to 170 JPEGs. "Advanced Noise Reduction" is applied to high ISO shots within an ISO range of up to 3200 (expandable to 12800). Finally, the EOS Integrated-Cleaning-System continues to ensure clean shots without dust and debris on the sensor.
The Canon EOS 500D is available for around ~700€ (body only) or ~800€ combined with the EF-S 18-55mm IS kit lens.

Let's check the key features of the Canon EOS 500D comparing to the Nikon D5000, as well as the Olympus E-620.

... and if you want to play around with a virtual shadow of the camera ... here we go ...