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9
stars
A great digital SLR for semi-serious to serious photographers.
by dhoule
on
May 22, 2006
Pros: Camera presets, fast auto-focus, and burst mode are great.
Cons: None, that I could find.
Summary: I spent hours (20+) researching and playing with several different dSLR's. The 30D's features and performance won me over. And even at the price I'm happy that ...
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Summary: I spent hours (20+) researching and playing with several different dSLR's. The 30D's features and performance won me over. And even at the price I'm happy that I purchased it.
I put the camera through its paces at a youth soccer game and party this past weekend. Over the course of the weekend we took over 850 pictures on one battery. These were about 90% outdoors without flash at the soccer game and 10% indoors with the flash. Toss in a healthy dose of viewing the pictures on the wonderful 2.5in screen and leaving the camera on for about two hours continuously, and I give it a Thumbs Up for battery life.
I've not really played with the Manual settings much as the presets do a very, very nice job. All of the action pictures from the soccer game came out great. The camera's burst photos (9 at a time) are incredible at about 4 or 5 per second, with a very fast recovery time while it writes to the CF card. You'll never miss the perfect shot due to shutter lag, or shot timing with this speed.
Indoors with the normal Auto mode I got equally stunning shots... the flash is very effective, almost too much with distances less than 7 or 8 feet, and was good out to about 20-22 feet with nice balance and brightness.
I handed over the camera to my 12 year old son for a while and his pictures were very good as well. He did say that the camera got heavy after shooting several pictures. (At this point the camera had the 75-300 Cannon lens which does add additional weight.)
This camera is a very strong buy! It has great presets, very fast auto focus, an awesome 2.5" screen, a very good feel in your hand, very good battery life and much, much more.
I've seen several other reviews that spoke of shadows using the built in flash... but I did not experience this with either the 18-55 or the 75-300 lenses.
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38 out
of 39 users found this user opinion helpful.
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10
stars
Lori, Please do not decieve people with your review
by Philscbx
on
December 8, 2006
Pros: Of course it's a 10, I have one
Cons: Lori's review showing camera with RED banded lens
Summary: Pay Attention Folks, I'm only going to tell you this one time.
The lens Lori is displaying with this camera has a RED band near the front ring. This ...
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Summary: Pay Attention Folks, I'm only going to tell you this one time.
The lens Lori is displaying with this camera has a RED band near the front ring. This is a highly specialized Pro Series lens costing $1500.oo minimum. This is completely wrong to display this lens in this report when in fact, Canon supplies this camera with a $30.00 18-55mm standard lens which I also received with mine. This cheaper lens will work OK to get a handle of how the camera works. One will have to explore this camera on a daily basis to understand all the features.
Most of you have XP Pro on your computers, but never use 1/10 of it. Well wait till you open this baby up to all what's inside. This is a gadget freaks delight. But a perfect upgrade to those who want to move up from the more advanced point and shoot pocket marvels.
One more point about the lens she used. This lens is for full frame cameras which this camera is not.
Canon has made a special lens just for this series labeled
EF S series. Your camera shop will clue you in further on this.
Lets get one thing clear here, and thats the battery. I think Lori should take a break and charge the battery correctly first before making the comment rating she left.
I just returned from a holiday 3 day weekend and everyone there got a turn to scan through all the photo's 10 times over plus the fact I had it out everyday shooting. This is not to say I didn't bring extra batteries with, it's just that I was blown away that I never had to change it.
Here's a serious tip if your ready to move up, and want to save even more. Take a look at the newer XTi model 10MP. It's a little bit smaller body is quite sexy. I would get one in a heart beat as a second loaded and mounted system.
Heres Why I purchased this system.
One, it has a great Flash, and again Lori made a comment here that she never tested it herself of blocked flash with some lenses. Of course if you have a $5000 dollar Tele lens with front outer ring so huge to block the flash, you would not be using the flash anyway. The bears don't take kindly to blinding light. And now your a crunchy snack.
This is the new upgrade from the 20D that is basically the same thing but with a major larger screen for us older crew that use reading glasses.
The key is don't try to learn the whole manual over night.
Pilots can't fly a new plane either without a lot of playing around in the simulator. So just do what seems logical and it will work. The cool thing when it's in Manual mode is you can release the flash to pop up and regardless what you have for settings it will do magic with the flash.
So when you go to the shop, bring your own Compact Flash card with so you can bring back a few shots to process on your computer. You will scream with amazement when it's displayed on the screen of 20 inch.
The detail of your pet on the screen will make you want to reach out to see if you can feel the hair.
Here's another very cool process it can do. Some of you have tried RAW and I just recently have since I have owned this one. It's not all that complicated that people make it out to. BUT, you can have your cake and eat it to with this guy. The menu settings can be set too shoot both RAW and normal JPEG at the same time. How cool is that?
Now you have ready shots to use in JPEG, and a saved file as well in RAW that you can learn as you go with the software that comes with.
If you want true review of any aspect, then go to dpreview.
This group of people will help you any where you get stuck. They will now be your instant new friends. Go check it out before you buy one.
And by all means, take it with you everyday. You will be disappointed as soon as you leave the house without it.
Happy Holidays, you deserve a new tool.
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18 out
of 18 users found this user opinion helpful.
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9
stars
Great performance even in low light
by jsmurray
on
March 21, 2006
Pros: Larger view screen is easier on the eyes
Cons: none found yet
Summary: Moving up from the Digital Rbel (300D) to the 30D was a great move. The controls are logical and easy to find. ISO moves in smaller increments. The larger view ...
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Summary: Moving up from the Digital Rbel (300D) to the 30D was a great move. The controls are logical and easy to find. ISO moves in smaller increments. The larger view screen is great. Performs well in low light conditions with the kits lens and the 28-80mm L Lens that I have tried. Fast startup and reload.
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15 out
of 19 users found this user opinion helpful.
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9
stars
if you have the money, or even if you dont , get it!!!!!
by psysword
on
April 15, 2006
Pros: everything
Cons: cant think of them right now
Summary: buy buy!!
well i did alot of research and went in prepared since i hate the flash i needed a low light shooter and with these iso settings, its phennomenal....
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Summary: buy buy!!
well i did alot of research and went in prepared since i hate the flash i needed a low light shooter and with these iso settings, its phennomenal.
i got a sigma 18-200mm lenses. a battery grip, mark 1 imposter, look alike look!
and then the usual accessories, including the 2 gb card, 2 extra batteries, a spacious holster and i have to say that i have been snappping away like a pro after that and i feel that all the money that went into it, about 2000d is all worth it...
am thinking of opening up my own lil photo studio here.
well great cam and there is nothing wrong with it.
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10 out
of 15 users found this user opinion helpful.
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9
stars
Very hard to beat - just the kit lens lets it down.
by forensic_crypto_man
on
February 13, 2007
Pros: Superb image quality, very responsive, intuitive to any EOS user, effectively unlimited (nearly) 5fps continuous shooting (in JPEG) with a fast memory card
Cons: The kit lens lets the camera down. Battery life can be a little short - especially in cold weather.
Summary: I have owned an EOS 10D (still got it), a 350D, and now a 30D. Of them all, the 30D is most impressive, especially for the money. The detail and ...
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Summary: I have owned an EOS 10D (still got it), a 350D, and now a 30D. Of them all, the 30D is most impressive, especially for the money. The detail and dynamic range available from the sensor are second to none. Even at very high ISO noise is well controlled without the noise filter smudging out too much detail. The body is tough enough to stand up to life's little accidents, and - so far - isn't showing any signs of wear despite a fairly hard life in the last 6 months or so. The larger LCD on the rear is a great improvement over earlier models, and the addition of real spot metering is a bonus too.
Although I had an investment in Canon gear already, before I bought the 30D I took a long hard look at the competition, but still came down on the side of the EOS.
The down side - unless you have no choice, avoid the kit lens & buy some better quality glass. It just about does the job if you were buying a 350D (Rebel XT in the US?), but to get the best from the 30D, better optics are required.
The bottom line? Megapixels aren't everything. There are DSLRs out there now with many more megepixels on their sensors, but unless the sensor size increases in proportion to the number of pixels added, each pixel becomes smaller, so the signal from each point has to be amplified more (as the physical size has got smaller), so you get more noise, and in the worst case, a lower detail image than from a 'just' 8MP sensor.
Go get one - they're great!
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5 out
of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.
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9
stars
Awesome camera. Awesome build. High performance.
by Targethound
on
August 14, 2006
Pros: Excellent design and craftsmanship. Solid feel. User friendly. Intuitive placement of controls for eyes-on-target handling.
Cons: A little expensive. You need to know why you got it over something simpler. It requires some effort to get the best photos but is very capable.
Summary: After a lot of research and wanting to trade up (from Canon S-70), I recognized what it was I wanted when I saw it. I haven't been let down. ...
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Summary: After a lot of research and wanting to trade up (from Canon S-70), I recognized what it was I wanted when I saw it. I haven't been let down. Do yourself a favor and get a very good lens. I bought the L 24-70 f/2.8 zoom and I'm just as amazed with it as the camera. Also spend some quality time with the owners manual and get to know the features. The camera inspires confidence and it's a lot of fun. Worth the big bucks. The best part is my local Photorama dealer had the best deal I could find. Battery on first charge lasted approx. 500 pics using flash frequently. 2 GB card holds lots of photos.
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4 out
of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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9
stars
Incredible speed!
by ramiske
on
July 12, 2006
Pros: Write speed to CF card, burst speed, and wake up speed, and the improved CMOS sensor
Cons: None yet that I have found
Summary: I needed to upgrade from my Dig Rebel because I was constanting waiting for the camera to write to the card (I do baby and children's portrait photography, so ...
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Summary: I needed to upgrade from my Dig Rebel because I was constanting waiting for the camera to write to the card (I do baby and children's portrait photography, so speed is a top priority). So I was debating between the 5D and 30D. I went to my local camera shop and tested them both---and the 30D is actually faster! After several test shots my decision was made. I LOVED my Rebel with a few exceptions, and the 30D has fixed all of those!!!
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4 out
of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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9
stars
Solid camera and easy to use
by CDex1
on
April 15, 2007
Pros: Durable, easy to use
Cons: Screen can be misleading
Summary: I wanted to give it an 8.5 but apparently it is not allowed and I am not really bothered by the 9. I lke the camera a lot.
I ...
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Summary: I wanted to give it an 8.5 but apparently it is not allowed and I am not really bothered by the 9. I lke the camera a lot.
I won't repeat the specs you can read them yourself. Suffice it to say that I have had this camera for almost a year and I am very pleased with it. For me the competiton was the Nikon D200. Nothing against the Nikon but this seemed to present me with the best value option.
PROS: I highly recommend this camera especially today as prices are dropping and you can get one for less than I paid a year ago. Without repeating the specs it pretty much does what it says.
CONS: I have noted that the on-board screen can be misleading both in terms of the picture looking better or worse than you think by looking at the camera screen. I try not to delete any pictures uless I can really see that I got absolutely nothing of value. I have gotten home and found some great shots embedded in what appeared on screen to be a very under exposed pictures. This has caused me to pay more attention to and learn how to use the histogram. I also tend to shoot additional pictures even when I think I have a good shot based on the scren view.
I have shot under all kinds of conditions and packed it with me on numerious trips (Bahamas, San Francisco, and just returned from South Africa) and still pleased. I did not buy the stock lens...I went for the 17 to 85mm which is what I mostly use. I have also purchased a 300mm zoom, and 2x extender, a wide angle, and some other goodies. Digital makes life much easier (shot 2600 shots in South Africa) but it does not make you a better photographer unless you still learn some basics and take a lot of shots and critique your results to understand why things don't always come out as intended.
Lastly unless you are really into photography you may want to go with a Rebel or one of the lesser Canon DSLR (or a lesser Nikon than the D200). There are a lot of features in this camera that will go unused if you don't study and practice with the camera. This is just my opinion and I offer it to save you money. Match your "real" intended use to your purchase and save some of your moeny to buy other great tech toys. Good luck and good shooting!
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3 out
of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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8
stars
Best electronic purchase in a long time
by BoredRobot
on
September 1, 2006
Pros: fast and takes great pictures
Cons: lense included not that great
Summary: I recently upgraded to the 30d after a disappointing run with a Nikon 5700, which malfunctioned on many levels after just under 2 years I considered moving to the Nikon ...
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Summary: I recently upgraded to the 30d after a disappointing run with a Nikon 5700, which malfunctioned on many levels after just under 2 years I considered moving to the Nikon D70 but after some research found too many complaints with it too. Decided to switch brands and moved to Canon. The rebel was the next choice, which aside from the cheap body was still a great camera and didn?t come across too many complaints; but changed my mind when I held the 30d in my hand. Twice the price but well worth it. I have also recently added a new flash to it and 70-300 lenses (macro included). The pictures look great without the added accessories but imagine the quality with the added accessories.I hope it will last me longer then 2yrs because I have had a string of disappointing purchases with new expensive electronics. Keep you posted if I encounter any problems with my 30d.
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3 out
of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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9
stars
Well built with all the features you need.
by John Fenger
on
September 22, 2006
Pros: ISO 3200, Excellent UI for Manual use, fast buffer for RAW
Cons: No Sensor cleaning Technology, No ISO adjustment while framing.
Summary: I truly love this camera, i had the Digital rebel, which after 1 month already hated, and loved all at the same time. For me an avid photographer, who usually ...
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Summary: I truly love this camera, i had the Digital rebel, which after 1 month already hated, and loved all at the same time. For me an avid photographer, who usually shoots in manual modes its perfect. The only cons i see are things that are not yet available. I would nice to see the sensor cleaning tech of the new Digital rebel added to the 30 and i would love to see ISO adjustment while light metering. I feel like it is a carry over from the film days, but with digital you adjust Aperture, Shutter and ISO while framing a shot. All 3 should be adjusting while light metering. but i don't think any cameras currently do that. The only real question is Cannon VS. Nikon lens set. then you should pick your camera base on what you want to do. I never use the pop up flash cause it wouldn't work with the lenses i own, and i wouldn't use the pop up flash even if it did.
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2 out
of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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