# T3 vs t1i



## Danny_511 (Mar 4, 2013)

Recently I posted asking if anyone could give me advice on the canon t3. Its my first dslr and its within my budget. However, curiousity got the best of me and I started searching for other canon dslrs in my price range. Then, I found the canon t1i. On paper it seems better but everyone knows better on paper doesnt generally translate into better real world usage. The t1I has a bigger clearer screen, higher megapixel count ( but the same size sensor I believe), 1080p recording but its older so im not sure if canons technology was the same. 

I shoot mainly street photography, portraits and I want to get into video. I understand 1080p is better than 720p but the 1080p is at 20fps :/. Uuuuugh, help!?!?! Im looking for educated answers, not "get the t1i because it has more megapixels" blah blah blah. 

Thanks in advance


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## MarksterLew (Mar 4, 2013)

Here is what I found..
Canon T3 vs T1i - Our Analysis

I personally own the T2i (550D), and its amazing! Same senor as in a 7D but isnt built like a professional camera.
I would go with the T1i, because of better IQ and senor size is a bit larger.

That's just my 0.02 cents.


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## 07Vios (Mar 4, 2013)

Was going to post the snapsort comparison as well. It's a toss up, imo, between the T3 and T1i. The T3 has a slightly better lower acceptable ISO figure, but the T1i has a slightly better image quality figure. 

As for video, are you planning on ever doing videos? Like I suggested in your other thread, I'd get the T2i. Just a matter of trying to find them at a lower price again. And just to show you video from a T2i, here's a video (the only video I've ever done) I made for kicks of my car (best viewed at 1080). I'm no videographer. lol


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## Danny_511 (Mar 4, 2013)

07Vios said:


> Was going to post the snapsort comparison as well. It's a toss up, imo, between the T3 and T1i. The T3 has a slightly better lower acceptable ISO figure, but the T1i has a slightly better image quality figure.
> 
> As for video, are you planning on ever doing videos? Like I suggested in your other thread, I'd get the T2i. Just a matter of trying to find them at a lower price again. And just to show you video from a T2i, here's a video (the only video I've ever done) I made for kicks of my car (best viewed at 1080). I'm no videographer. lol



1. Gooooorgeous car. 2. I wish I could get the t2i but im being rushed. :/


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## 07Vios (Mar 4, 2013)

I did not follow the shutter speed rule of thumb (double the speed of your fps, so for my case it should have been 1/60). However, I wanted to shoot at lower f-stops, and didn't have an ND filter at the time.


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## 07Vios (Mar 4, 2013)

Danny_511 said:


> 07Vios said:
> 
> 
> > Was going to post the snapsort comparison as well. It's a toss up, imo, between the T3 and T1i. The T3 has a slightly better lower acceptable ISO figure, but the T1i has a slightly better image quality figure.
> ...



Thanks! Let me try looking again for you, but I'm guessing the T2i refurb market is still the same =(


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## 07Vios (Mar 4, 2013)

Yeah, unfortunately, I don't see anymore refurbed T2i's from the places I would shop at. Canon has a refurbed T3i with a kit lens tho.

Canon Direct Store- EOS Rebel T3i EF-S 18-55mm IS II Lens Kit Refurbished


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## 07Vios (Mar 4, 2013)

Tried looking for a used one over at POTN and FM, with the lowest asking prices at 500 (had a bag, Nifty Fifty, and some other stuff, I think) plus shipping at POTN, and 425 (kit lens and SD card) plus shipping at FM.

I don't remember the rules, so I don't want to post private sales links.


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## Danny_511 (Mar 4, 2013)

07Vios said:


> Tried looking for a used one over at POTN and FM, with the lowest asking prices at 500 (had a bag, Nifty Fifty, and some other stuff, I think) plus shipping at POTN, and 425 (kit lens and SD card) plus shipping at FM.
> 
> I don't remember the rules, so I don't want to post private sales links.



You are honestly the most helpful person on this forum lol...I greatly appreciate it. Now, let me ask you this...if you were in a fire and you had to grab either the t1i or the t3...which would you grab?  (And no,..you dont own a t2i lol)


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## Danny_511 (Mar 4, 2013)

I checked canons website and they have a refurb t3 with a lens for 329 and both the t3 and t1i body are at 300 and 309. What should I do? I already have a kit 35-85 mm from my eos film camera.


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## 07Vios (Mar 5, 2013)

Danny_511 said:


> 07Vios said:
> 
> 
> > Tried looking for a used one over at POTN and FM, with the lowest asking prices at 500 (had a bag, Nifty Fifty, and some other stuff, I think) plus shipping at POTN, and 425 (kit lens and SD card) plus shipping at FM.
> ...



Thanks =)

I'm sure there are plenty of other helpful members here. I just try to help out if I can. haha

In a fire, eh? That is a very tough decision. I would probably grab the T1i. Photoshop/Lightroom may be able to make up for the slightly lower ISO performance compared to the T3, but I don't think you can increase image quality in post process. You can make the pic look more fancy, I suppose. Also, since I've been doing more macro pictures, sometimes if the subject is really small, I'd have to crop it to make it fill the frame more, so having a slightly higher MP count will be beneficial for that.

Also, you can have a better cinematography type (20 fps [cinematography videos are 24 fps, I believe]) videos with the T1i with 1080p. It matches the T3 at 720p. I'm sure I'd appreciate the better screen of the T1i as well. I don't really do a lot of burst shots, but having a higher burst speed would help if you are trying to photograph sports, I would assume.


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## 07Vios (Mar 5, 2013)

Danny_511 said:


> I checked canons website and they have a refurb t3 with a lens for 329 and both the t3 and t1i body are at 300 and 309. What should I do? I already have a kit 35-85 mm from my eos film camera.



For some reason, I'm not seeing any T1i's on the Canon refurbed site. Just get the body, no 18-55mm kit lens. I really dislike mine (maybe I just got a bad copy?). It lacks contrast and color for some reason. Pics I take with it are rather bland. My friend said the same thing with his kit lens, but I've had other friends tell me that their experiences with their 18-55 kit lenses were decent to good.


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## jaomul (Mar 5, 2013)

To the OP. The t1i has slightly better specs that you may wish you had when you get to know your camera. That is not to say that the t3 isn't a good option but you get what you pay for as they say.
The t1i has more metereing options, namely spot metering, which is very helpful when trying to expose for backlit subjects etc. It is also slightly better built and the screen is better. as you know it has the same size sensor with 15mp, but this is mostly sales pitch, mp dont always mean much, my 20d has 8mp and it takes great images.

If you can stretch to the t1i I would say its a better buy than the t3, however if you could go another step up to the t2i i would recommend this more. The t2i has 18mp, but I think even with this res it performs better in low light than the t1i. Its not a groundbreaking improvement but the price difference of these cameras is so close secondhand that a t2i would be a sound investment


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## Crollo (Mar 10, 2013)

Neither. The T3 is a bargain bin camera that is too closely priced to much better cameras to justify it's purchase, and the t1i is pretty obsolete.
Get either a t2i, t3i or t4i. All of them are superior cameras.


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## Danny_511 (Mar 10, 2013)

Crollo said:


> Neither. The T3 is a bargain bin camera that is too closely priced to much better cameras to justify it's purchase, and the t1i is pretty obsolete.
> Get either a t2i, t3i or t4i. All of them are superior cameras.



As i said, I was on a budget. I got a t1i for 300 with low clicks and a pristine body.


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