Handling is fine on the camera, most of what you want is quick to access, even exposure compensation is quite intuitive and since I have drifted into using “Aperture Priority” so much and using exposure compensation for fine adjustments that’s important to me. I used to have a 400D and so it feels just like that, very Canon, very straightforward. The only missing quick button for me is metering mode which is a menu item; at least you can put it on your “my menu” list which allows you to access your own favourite menu items really easily and quickly. So all is rosy for usability, but the right hand-grip is small. If like me you are used to a 40D or a 50D hand-grip, an you have big hands, then you will find it annoying. This is a travel and spare SLR for me however, so I am getting used to that grip and it’s far from a show-stopper. If you haven’t used a larger SLR, I doubt whether you’ll even notice this.

I have played a little with the movie mode, but truthfully I can’t see me getting into that stuff. It’s not all that easy to use, and I think you would have to use a tripod, as well as a separate sound recorder to mix the sound and video together later as the handling noise and the focus noise (even if manually focussed) are seriously obtrusive. It is fun to do video with awesome “depth of field” control unlike any camcorder, but don’t kid yourself into thinking you would use it casually, you won’t. Anyway, I’m a photographer, so I really don’t care.

So I have a nice little SLR with me at all times now, my work backpack even has a little compartment for it and it fits so much better than my beloved 40D, so I’ll enjoy that luxury, and I’ll keep you updated on my findings as I go along.

Oh, it has video too, that will help it to win market share, but It wouldn’t swing the choice for me.