Around 1:30 today I got a knock on the door from our friendly UPS man, delivering my newest toy – the Canon Rebel T1i. Yes, the T2i is out, but I got an awesome deal on this thing and since both my girlfriend and I are fairly new to the digital photography scene so this camera should be plenty to get us going.

Shopping for a new camera online can be a harrowing experience. There’s actually too much information available, too many opinions to read. I spent hours and hours digging through forum posts and reviews. Hours reading every conflicting opinion about brand, lens-type, and model. And honestly, none of it was all that helpful.

The thing that was helpful was getting my hands on a bunch of different models and seeing which felt best, which I was able to adjust quickly and comfortably, and out of all that, what fit my budget. I landed on the T1i and I’m sure I’ll be happy.