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stepheno
Pixalo Crew
Registered: July 2005
Posts: 6973
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Review Date: Fri August 4, 2006
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: £799.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Everything.
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Cons:
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No real-time histogram preview
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I’ve had my 30D for about 3 months since I upgraded from the 20D. The 20D is an awesome camera and the 30D is really a tweak but the tweaks are well worth it. I think that the bundled software is excellent with Zoombrowser and Photostitch holding their own. The EOS Digital Photo Professional software is pretty good for RAW conversion but doesn’t measure up to Rawshooter or CS2. However it’s one of the best bundles I’ve seen.
It has an alloy body, build quality is excellent and it is well constructed. On the exterior I like the way Canon have set out the controls and I don’t know what I would do without the rear control wheel. I can find and change settings more or less instantaneously and, importantly, they are all within reach of the right hand. When you get used to the functions of the rear and top wheels, changing settings is a doddle and importantly, you don’t need to remove your left hand from supporting the lens to change a shooting setting. Left hand controls are easy to use and I do like the menu screens with the “jump” facility to quickly move to a different section. One added button is for direct printing but, to me, it’s a waste of space.
As well as the usual modes it has a Picture Styles option where one can adjust sharpness, colour for landscape, portrait, mono etc to or use the default settings. Also it has the facility for three custom settings. This can be useful for people who do not shoot RAW. The 30D has an LCD screen increased to 2.5”. This is a welcome improvement but the screen is next to useless in bright sunlight - just as well I don’t chimp!
Using highest quality the 30D produces jpgs of about 2 to 2.5 mp and 8mp for a RAW file. File numbering in directories has been increased to 1000. Start-up time is immediate; I defy anyone to find a camera with a quicker time. Image quality is as good as the 20D eg superb, but then it uses the same sensor. The only setting I don’t use, yet, is to change WB but AWB seems to cope admirably well and I always have the option to change in the RAW file.
Another welcome addition is spot metering which completes the line-up of excellent metering modes. ISO goes up to 3200, which I have not used, but at 1600 I have yet to find any noise at 100%. Adjustments to ISO are now in 1/3 stop increments. The INFO button gives you the option to review the histogram in brightness or RGB but you can only view it post shot not before shot. The 30D has continuous shooting of 5fps maintained for up to 30 images in JPG or 11 images in RAW.
Battery consumption is excellent with one battery easily covering a day’s shoot. As is the case, Canon proprietary are expensive, at around £50, but I have two clone batteries (cost £13 for two) which are at least as good as Canon’s. I use the BG-E2 battery grip which takes two Lion cells or, for emergency can take six AA. This is good if you are away from a charge point as you can pop into a shop and buy some AAs.
As you will know from the specs the 30D teams up with Canon’s Speedlite range of flashguns for full ETTLII compatibility. I use the Sigma EF 500 Super and it works well with the 30D although, as is often the case, a little flash compensation needs to be set in the flashgun.
Ok - the bottom line. Nobody is going to buy a top-end camera and say it’s rubbish since you will have done your research first. But in my opinion Canon have taken the phenomenal 20D and added some useful extra features. The spot metering was enough for me to want to upgrade but whether others will regard the tweaks as being enough, well that’s your call. For me it is the ideal camera, it will keep me happy for many years. Do I have any gripes? Just one….. lack of a real-time histogram preview.
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daveyuk
Forum Regular
Registered: July 2005
Location: Berkshire
Posts: 1173
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Review Date: Wed September 27, 2006
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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3fps or 5fps, more options
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Cons:
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None that I can think of.
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Now that I've had some time with this new camera I have found the setp up from the 350D was a big jump please don't get me wrong the 350D is a cracking little camera. However the 30D is very much a step up to be with the big boys. The camera body is a little heavier than I first expected and a little larger than the old 300D, don't let this put you off as you soon get used to this extra weight and size becoming a reasurring feel in your hands. Couple this camera body to the battery grip give you that extra depth to the body really makes this camera very easy and oh so very comfortable to use all day long. With two fully charged batteries in the grip you have enough power for something around 1,400 hi res jpeg images with the drive set to 3fps. I find having the camera set to the 3fps continuous mode very handy as I can shoot a single shot or go for a continuous burst without having to change anything. 3fps is great for the club class motorsport events however I did find it to be a little to slow for the recent BTCC event I attended so ghanging up to the 5fps gave me that extra speed so I didn't miss to much of the action.
The screen on top to the right of the camera gives you all the info you need although the three small buttons can be a little fiddly sometimes when you're in a bit of a rush to change your ISO or something like that. The large veiwing screen on the back does make a difference and checking you images a lot easier on the old eyes, the jog wheel is very easy to use and becomes second nature after a short while.
There is so much that this camera can do that I haven't even started to play around with, this will keep me going for some time to come. If you're thinking about making the jump from either the 300 or 350D all I can say is you'll be making a very good move as it will all that you ask and whole lot more.
I went for the 30D plus 17-85mm lens kit and have found this combination to be a very good walk about set up and with my 10-20 and 70-200mm in my camera this whole combination gives me a very good set up for all the photography I want to do.
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eurama
New here
Registered: April 2007
Posts: 40
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Review Date: Fri April 13, 2007
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: £1,855.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Ease of use.
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Cons:
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A bit heavy,when bush bashing for the perfect shot.
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: A great unite, easy to operate once you learn the operating menu. Goes from macro to full night delayed time shots with the greatest of easy, I have had this unite since Nov,06 and am a big fan of this unite.
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emmettleffel
Forum Regular
Registered: September 2006
Location: Banbury,Oxon
Posts: 777
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Review Date: Wed October 24, 2007
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: £459.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Solid build, good ergonomics, high spec
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Cons:
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doesn't make the tea
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Nice solid feel to camera, even better with the battery grip.
The command dial at the rear is a godsend for fast response work.
Picture quality is superb and I have printed some lovely A3 size prints from it.
I really like the viewing screen.
A lovely camera to use and very user friendly
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catchpole_11
New here
Registered: May 2008
Location: Kent, UK
Posts: 11
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Review Date: Tue May 6, 2008
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: £440.00
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Solid feel, Easy to use, battery life, amount of lenses available
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Cons:
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average picture quality, menus can be confusing, dusty sensor.
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Hello, I would just like to post a quick review for anyone interested in buying a second hand one of these.
I've had the camera for a year and generally have been completely solid and reliable. It has a nice feel to it, especially if, like me, you are upgrading from a smaller 350/400d or an equivalent nikon then you will appreciate the extra hold you can have on it.
The lens that comes with the camera (18-55mm) is horrible. Not very sharp, poor colours and generally slow and useless. I've since bought a 17-85mm IS usm lens which had pretty good reviews. It's certainly not an L lens, but is so much better than the standard and covers a pretty good focal range. Definately recommened. Anwyay, back to the camera.
I found all the buttons well placed and easy to use on the body. You have a big job wheel for changing aperture, and another wheel for shutter speed. However, the internal menus can be quite confusing. Once you know where the main options are then you're ok. But it could have been a lot better laid out in my opinion.
One strong point is the battery life. I have been doing a lot of shooting inside studios and have found that i can get through 2 memory cards (about 7-800 raw images) before the battery gives out. I have got a spare but i barely use it.
One down point is that i've found the sensor seems to attract dirt as if its positively charged. I have given it a couple of blows with a Giotto Rocket Blower which has seemed to do the trick. I hear the newer models have a sensor clean vibrate function with them built in, i'll be interested to hear if this is effective. Could be very handy.
The image quality is pretty good, though like all camera the photos need sharpening afterwards. The camera is a significant step up from the entry level slr's and i would definately recommend it. I would note that anyone looking for a 2nd hand one check the tidyness of the sensor and perhaps go for an upgraded lens.
Oh, one point i forgot to mention is that i've had one problem with it. The camera seemed to have a tendency a while ago to turn off and on at random, which was due to the connectors inside the battery compartment being squashed with a cheap unbranded battery grip (i've learnt to not do that again!) But that was totally my own fault. 
Ok, just a quick sum up. The camera has been reliable and solid, minus a couple of small issues from a years hard work. The photos it produces are pretty good but could benefit from some post production sharpening. i'd give this an 7.5 out of 10.
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