[Cloudclipper]

Hi All, just discovered this site whilst browsing for comparisons between Canon 350D and the new 400D vs the 30D. I've the 350D and am looking for an upgrade, but want to know why I should skip the 400D (as the salesman suggests!) and go straight to the 30D. I'm a part-time photographer, but seem to be getting more and more weddings, so I need something hardy and trustworthy! ANy comments or suggestions as to why the one vs the other? Thanks a mil.

[Dave]

Hi Cloudclipper & welcome to Pixalo

Being a Nikon man I'm gonna hand this over to the Canon guys. What I do know though is the 30D with its metal body is going to withstand the physical knocks from your pro work a lot better than the 350D or 400D. Also to note, if someone is paying you to take their wedding photos, they expect you to have a more expensive camera than their relatives, who could be there with their 350D, 400D's

[Cloudclipper]

LOL thanks Dave . But when they see my L lens, that shuts them up, I know the body is tougher, but is that worth the extra bucks?Or should I spend it on more L IS lenses?

[Dave]

Well I'll chuck another spanner in the works for you .....how does your budget stand for having 2 camera bodies, as for weddings it's crucial to have spares ?

[Chris]

Hi Cloudclipper have to agree with Dave if you do weddings you'll need a back up body at some point - normally when the loving couple have said "I do"!

[daveyuk]

Hello Cloudclipper

[Sonsey]

Hi Cloudclipper, welcome along to the forums.

In regards to your upgrade question, as a 350D user myself the 400D doesn't look like too much of an upgrade to what we allready have, yes it has a few more nice features but no real "must have" extras IMHO. If your getting more wedding work then I would seriously consider the 30D with it's better build quality and features and keep the 350D as a back up. Dave's "spanner in the works" is a very valid comment as if you camera fails on you during the wedding shoot you cant exactly ask everyone to come back some other time when your camera's fixed!!.

One other thing is when you intend to buy, Canon is rumoured to be announcing some more new products at Photokina in a about a week or two, you never know what might be released

[Cloudclipper]

I have an EOS 300 film body as a back up, but need to know whether its really worth it to spend the extra bucks on the 30D vs the 400D. I'm getting pretty good pix out of my 350D - should I rather go for the 400 and the extra 10megapixels or the sturdier 30D which is still only 8mp?? PS Thanks for the welcome!

[Angela]

[Cloudclipper]

Thanks Angela

[Sonsey]

Originally Posted by Cloudclipper

I'm getting pretty good pix out of my 350D - should I rather go for the 400 and the extra 10megapixels or the sturdier 30D which is still only 8mp??

The jump from 8Mpix to 10Mpix is only a minor upgrade to be honest, there are allready reports of the camera having a bit more noise due to the extra pixels being crammed onto the same size sensor, allthough this is just from early testing by owners so dosn't really have any science to back it up. I still think the 30D would be the camera to get, especially for work purposes due to the build quality, but it's your choice in the end

[Cloudclipper]

Thanks Sonsey - why would more pixels create noise? Surely it would improve the quality? Sorry if I'm being stupid! It does sound though like the 30D is going to be the way to go, and my 350D will be my backup

[Sonsey]

Sorry for the delayed reply, I've been away for a few days

Your not being stupid at all, it all get's very technical regarding how all the extra pixels are squeezed onto the sensor, that and plenty of other related things that I don't understand myself can cause noise to the image's it captures. One thing I have realised since I started using digital cameras is that a camera's megapixel count is not an indicator to the quality of images it produces.