Digital Camera Information

Phil Askey from Dpreview has an excellent review on the Canon 30D with the final rating being the “Highly Recommended”

Here’s what he concludes.

” Maybe Canon do listen, with the i EOS 30D they have addressed no less than five of the ‘Cons’ from my EOS 20D review; Lack of spot metering, Fixed continuous shooting rate, Limited range of image parameter adjustment, Small LCD monitor and ISO sensitivity not displayed on viewfinder status bar while being changed. Of course everyone has different priorities and some of these changes may seem insignificant however it’s fair to say we’ve seen all of these issues discussed at one time or another on our forums.

Nobody should then be too surprised that the EOS 30D, despite its relatively minor range of updates still deserves our Highly Recommended rating. It’s a great camera to shoot with, image quality is excellent and the high sensitivity performance is still notably better than the competition, the EOS 30D inspires confidence and delivers shot after shot. “

Click here for the full review.

Jeff Keller from Dcresource has an excellent review on the much anticipated Canon 30D. Although the Canon 30D is an upgraded 20D, the improvements are not as large as the Nikon D200 is to the Nikon D100. Beside the softer images and a less bright LCD, the Canon 30D still gets a top rating from Jeff. Here’s a conclusion of his review.

“The Canon EOS-30D is an excellent midrange digital SLR. While it’s new features aren’t exciting enough to get this 20D owner to run out and upgrade, those who are moving up from point-and-shoot or entry-level D-SLRs should definitely give the 30D a look.

As always, I strongly recommend trying the EOS-30D and its competitors before you drop the big bucks on a digital SLR! “

Click here for the full review.

Norwegian website www.digit.no has a first impression review of the new Canon 30D. This is what he has to say.

“After having used the camera for nearly two weeks and taken some 400 pictures, my first impression is very good. I liked the EOS 20D and I love the EOS 30D. My equipment was quite large and heavy (slightly above 1.5 kg) but the camera lies exceptionally well in the hand and the operation is generally intuitive and comfortable.

All published images were made with “Standard” Picture Style and in both JPEG Fine and RAW file formats. Unfortunately, no compatible software for RAW conversion were supplied with the camera and Adobe has not yet updated their Camera RAW for EOS 30D, so I had no option but to evaluate the JPEG images only for the time being.”

Click here for the first impression review

Although, the Canon 30D has been annouced, there is a lot more reading in the 30 page Canon 30D white paper brochure. Here is a quick overview of what Canon says about the new Canon 30D…

“The new Canon EOS 30D digital SLR is a meaningful upgrade of the widely admired and immensely successful EOS 20D model. The EOS 20D was among the first mid-priced DSLRs to gain broad support, not just from advanced amateurs and serious photo hobbyists, but from a wide range of working professionals: wedding and portrait photographers, journalists, sports shooters, press organizations and newspapers. It was number one in its category virtually from start to finish over its 18-month market life, an outstanding accomplishment for any digital SLR in this highly competitive time. Its biggest rivals turned out to be other EOS cameras, first the Digital Rebel XT, which was priced below it, and then the more expensive EOS 5D. Now, new adversaries have emerged and the time has come for Canon to move on.

The reasons for the EOS 20D’s success are not hard to figure out. First, it produced exceptionally high quality images, particularly at ISO 400 and above. The EOS 20D delivered accurate color and excellent detail with speed and precision, even in adverse
lighting conditions. Without this, obviously, nothing else would matter. Next, it was both compact and rugged. Its handling was fast and easy, with logical controls and many custom functions for tailoring the camera to particular situations and tastes. Finally, the price was right. At $1,499, its introductory price was sensible for the many pros who have to pay for their own equipment and for the equipment pool managers who have to stay within budgetary limits. Many EOS 20Ds have been “ridden hard and put away wet,” only to serve loyally the next day. The EOS 30D is a thoughtfully conceived and meticulous “rev up,” an exciting new model that retains the best core features of the 20D while improving virtually all other camera functions.”

Click here for the pdf file.

It seems the banding issue is not just related to the Nikon D200 but also with Canon, Especially the 5D. This is the comment on the Canon 5D banding issue by Chuck Westfall, Director/Media & Customer Relationship Camera Marketing Group/Canon U.S.A., Inc.

“Hi, Folks:

That is all the information we have at present. If there is anything else, we will pass it along.”

It’s great to see Canon admitting to the problem.

Source

It looks like the Canon 20D replacement will be the Canon 30D. Although I was expecting the specifications to be closer to the Nikon D200, it appears as a minor upgrade. A bit disappointing, especially when you have higher expectations. Although it’s a great camera, I’m glad it has a larger 2.5 inch LCD monitor and yes, it has spot metering.

Here are the specifications:

* A new 2.5-inch, 230,000 pixel rear LCD monitor with wide viewing angle
* Canon’s more flexible Picture Style menu, which replaces the Parameters menu of the 20D
* Sharpening of in-camera JPEGs can be turned off, which is a first for a Canon entry-level or midrange digital SLR
* ISO 100-1600 is now selectable in 1/3 stop increments
* ISO can be set without taking one’s eye away from the viewfinder
* Increased burst depth: 11 frames for RAW CR2 shooting, 30 for Large Fine JPEG and 9 for RAW+JPEG
* A more-durable shutter that’s rated for 100,000 cycles
* A slightly-shortened mirror blackout time of 110ms; Canon’s specification for shutter lag remains the same as the 20D at 65ms
* Viewfinder information now includes a dedicated Flash Exposure Lock (FEL) indicator
* Switchable High-Speed Continuous (5 fps) and Low-Speed Continuous (3 fps) frame rate settings are now included
* An Auto setting in the Long Exposure Noise Reduction Custom Function
* The ability, like several more-pricey Canon digital SLRs, to simultaneously apply long exposure noise processing to one picture while capturing another
* The addition of a 3.5% spot metering mode
* 0.15 second camera startup time
* A more-precise 4-increment battery charge indicator
* Reduced energy compensation, for a promised improvement of 10% more frames per charge
* No more new folders created every 100 photos; in the 30D, a folder can hold 9999 photos
* A new automatic rotation option that enables verticals to not be rotated on the rear display but appear rotated in compatible browser software on the computer
* The ability to zoom in on a photo in Quick Review mode
* During playback, the image+shooting data screen will display either an RGB or Brightness histogram, file size and will optionally display AF markings
* Improved Jump function
* Refined multicontroller operation
* More-detailed error code information, which now appears on the rear LCD monitor (in addition to the top LCD panel); the camera settings information screen will also display Images Failed to Transfer when the WFT-E1/E1A is in use and a transmit error occurs
* More ways to wake the camera up from an Auto Power Off snooze
* Direct image transfer from the camera to a computer using the PTP protocol
* A revamped software package that includes Digital Photo Professional (DPP) 2.1, EOS Utility 1.0 (a new image transfer, camera settings and camera control application), Image Browser 5.6 (Mac) and ZoomBrowser EX 5.6 (Windows); DPP adds user-settable noise reduction and support for RAW files from the Canon EOS D2000 and D6000
* New and potentially useful direct printing capabilities (plus a dedicated direct print/image transfer button)
* US $1399 price.

The saga of the Canon 20D successor continues. The latest news is it will be the Canon 30D. Anyhow, below is an image from the Spanish Canon website preparing for the announcement. I have seen both versions mentioning the 30D as well as the 35D; however the live version is the 30D. Click here for the live version. Click here for the latest scoop on the Canon 30D.

A Norwegian website http://www.fotografi.no claims that Canon will be announcing a new DSLR or DSLRs in OSLO Norway on the 21st February 2006. They claim that the details of the cameras are kept secret until that time (as expected) and it will most likely be competing against the Nikon D200. The same site also make the claim the camera could be the Canon 35D which was mentioned by us three weeks ago.

Below is the English translation using a Norwegian to English translator

“we” launch a number of new products; digital compact and speilreflekskameraer, the objectives, digital videokameraer, projektorer and fotoskrivere”, draw up Canon in invitation at press conference.
They big manufacturers assigning herself as circumstances about new products do be about is released, and facts happen to certainly at the same interval above entire the world. We becomes frequently presented for new products beforehand, under heave about that we no matter disclose any a prior lanseringsdagen.

Now know we consequently that Canon have a new digital speilreflekskamera at the slipway, but able only meditate in what kind of camera it is the. That is not implausible that facts new camera am in semiproff- bunch, and do be about compete antipode along with Nikon D200. Afterwards Canon herself say that camera am ” new”, goes we edged at that facts be bound to be feel any more than a upgrading at existing speilreflekser.”

As for the Canon 35D

“The invitation from Canon Norway to photo press journalists in Norway states though that Canon in fact will introduce a “new” DSLR. Canon will also present new lenses (they are not specific on the number), compact cameras, projectors, printers and multi purpose machines.

Two independent sources have now confirmed that the pictures we publish show the real camera”.

Source 1 and Source 2

Why was the model number of the Canon 20D successor in the spy photo picture (shown below) blurred? Is it because it was leaked by Canon just to create market hype or is it blurred to hide a fake? Just in case you haven’t heard, the original source of the spy photo image was removed because it was requested by Canon Hong Kong!!. And another thing, it is completely different from the Canon 20D as shown in the last image. Both images are taken at approximately the same angle to help compare the differences.

So far there has been numerous photoshopped images of the Canon 20D successor floating around ranging from the 2D, 25D, 2Di, 3D, 3Di, 30D and finally the 35D. Of all those images; the spy photo, the Canon 30D and the 35D appear real to me, especially the cover of the EOS Canon 35D booklet.

Check it out and decide for yourself.

Could the image shown below be the spy photo of the Canon 30D or even the 35D? Like most spy photo, it is usually taken with a camera phone and is off poor image quality.

The camera in the photo resembles the Canon 350D, however when you take a closer look, there are some differences that makes this phot0 very interesting. The differences are in the control dial where the edges are different, the space within the neck strap eyelids and the size for the usb/tv area is different. Also the body appears larger or chunkier.

Overall, I do not think the picture is that of the Canon 350D, 20D or even the 5D. Let’s wait and see if it becomes the direct competitor to the popular Nikon D200.

Source