Strengths: Light and small. Lens is great for basic purposes, and is super sharp. Big LCD. Customizing functions to have more color control is very easy, and works great. Intuitive operation.

Weaknesses: Wish it took CF cards instead of SD cards.

Summary: Super camera. I "downgraded," so to speak, from a Canon 20D to the Rebel T1i, and I'm overall very happy with my decision. It's lighter and smaller than my old DSLR, and has a wonderful large LCD. I occasionally shoot portraits and small projects for clients, but I didn't feel like I needed a souped up pro body and definitely didn't want to shell out the cash for one. The T1i offers enough bells and whistles for a more seasoned photographer, and I also think it would be great for a beginning shooter - very easy to control.I was most impressed with the color settings - I use the neutral setting for portraits, and I find that I barely need to adjust my images in Photoshop. I feel like I get more accurate exposure and color with the T1i than I did with my 20D. I do wish it took CF cards. SD cards always feel flimsy to me, and are easier to lose. But that's my only complaint with the Canon T1i so far!

Strengths: LCD display, feel, performance, speed, low light picture quality

Weaknesses: size

Summary: I've only had the camera about a week, but have shot more than 2000 pictures with it - primarily of my daughter's dance performances. This camera was an upgrade from a Fuji S700. Dance performances have got to be one of the toughest shoots - low light, slow shutter speeds, subjects in constant motion, uneven lighting (spot lights, etc.). I shot over 800 pictures on a single battery charge - two nights in a row. The Sports setting gave me the best results. The continuous shooting mode was very nice - had to stop occasionally for about 30 seconds for the SD card to catch up. Feel and control are excellent. Camera is a bit large, but still fits in an expando briefcase. 3" LCD display is very nice.