10D.... Has it got problems?

[Squeaky]

I have been using my G2 for well over a year and must say that I am very happy with it.
Now, wishing to upgrade, I have been looking at the various reports about the 10D and must say that reading the many reports of problems with its 'autofocusing' I am more than a little put off.... comments please!

[J.A.F. Doorhof]

Hi,

Most of the time it's a problem of the person operating the camera.

I had also some focus issues, but than I checked and found very quickly that the 7 point AF is not the way to go, it alway's select the object the nearest to the camera, and believe me that's most of the time NOT what you want sharp :D.

I switched to one point AF and since than everything works perfectly.

The AF is perfect however, but it cannot mindread.

The backfocus and frontfocus issue is another story, I tested mine with a very simple setup, being 3 bottles from near to far, I focused on the middle one and checked my focus, surprise, surprise it was dead on, even could read the barcode :D.

If you use AF you WILL have back or front focus, being the simple fact that one of the bottles is nearer or one is farther.

Go out and buy the 10D, you will love it :D.

Greetings,
Frank

[petiot]

I can t help answering this one!

i had the g2 too, i was very happy too, dont buy the 10D!!! no, i am joking. As JAF said part of the problem came from the users or the lens or something else.

But dont worry from G2 to 10D you cant be wrong and if your do have a focusing problem, still it is not a big issue since canon service are quite ok.

Anyway your message sound like "please convince me to buy a 10D" ahahah ;). what else that the 10D would you buy anyway, Nikon? come on! ;) (joking again)

dan

[Squeaky]

Thanks Frank!

I had wondered myself if the problem was, what I call, 'finger problems' .... operator not machinery

[Andy_T]

Sqeaky,

which lenses do you plan to buy with your new D10?

Regards,
Andy

[Squeaky]

Andy... I need a bit of help, or reassurance, with the question of len choice also.

Most of the pleasure I get from my photography is going to 'Living History' reenactments... taking close up candid portraits.

The people who go to these events are always more than happy to have their photographs taken so I do not feel that a powerful zoom is needed.... I am getting the sort of photographs I like with my G2.... but getting very close up.

At the moment I feel I want just one 'good' lens to start with.... I would love some advice on this.... I am in England and feel I can afford approx £500 for a lens.

[abwhitt]

Squeaky, I'm in UK and I've just bit the bullet, bought a 10D. At best, I would describe myself as an "enthusiastic amateur", just sold my Fuji 602, so this is my first venture into DSLR. Like you, I hesitated about buying the 10D after so much bad press. However, if I can get, what to me at least, are reasonable photos, anyone can. I have simply read as much as I could in groups like this, and I'm well pleased with the camera.
There are some shots here, nothing fantastic, just trying to get to grips with the camera. The close ups are taken with a humble Sigma, with a £500 lens you'll get much better!
http://www.pbase.com/abwhitt/10d
First time writing in this group, by the way!

[lightandlife]

Squeaky wrote:

At the moment I feel I want just one 'good' lens to start with.... I would love some advice on this.... I am in England and feel I can afford approx £500 for a lens.

For candid shots indoors, I hear 35mm 1.4L is excellent, especially for low light conditions, but it costs about USD1200. If you are young and buy something else, you may buy it later and end up with two lenses for the same purpose. If you are old, the money may be better spent elsewhere. If you cannot move freely indoors, get a wide angle zoom.

Oh, "autofocus" problem may be a hysteria. If you are afraid of it, you would not fly either. Go to a shop, and test autofocusing before buying it.

lightandlife

[Andy_T]

Squeaky,

first of all ... I'm currently in the process of figuring out a good excuse for my wife she allows me to get the D10 as well ... in the meantime I'm happy with my G2:)

I raised the issue because you definitely need to plan *some* budget for lenses to go with your body.

Now - don't get me wrong, I'm not urging you to stick with the G2, but rather to give the choice of lenses for the 10D the required consideration. Most likely you won't get very happy with a great camera and crappy lenses to go with it.

As you're using the G2 (maybe even with wide/teleconverter), you're used to a zoom range of at least 35 to 100 mm (35 mm equivalent). On the D10 with its 1.6 crop factor, that translates roughly to lenses in the range of 22 - 62 mm. Maybe it doesn't strike you at the moment, but going to a fixed lens will most likely be some limitation. (You could try to simulate this by setting your G2 to the calculated value and follow one of your enactments without zooming :))

So ... which lenses will people with 10D's advise you to get? From me you can get the theory, as I'm currently also making up my choices for the lucky day, should it come anytime soon:). From them you can get the hands-on experience.

First and foremost for your requirements, a 50 mm fixed lens. This should be a perfect portrait lens (80 mm equivalent - your G2 not completely zoomed in), and as Canon produces lots of these, they are great values for money. The f/1.8 50 mm is great value for money, if you don't need the extra f-stop for the 1.4 or the macro ability of the macro lens, you can save some money here.

Second, and this is where it tends to get a bit more expensive, a wide angle zoom lens (something like 17-40). This would allow you be flexible enough for most interior scenes and landscapes.

Another supposedly great lens would be the 28-135 IS (effective on D10: 45 - 215) with the image stabilizer allowing you to get shots under low light conditions.


So ... hope this helps you a bit ...

Regards,
Andy

[martcol]

I had my G2 - happy with it.

I've now got a 10D, big money problems and heart full of joy. The 10D may have caused some people, some problems but it is wonderful! It's a fabulous peice of kit, well thought through and produces beautiful images.

I seem to remember loads of people writing off the G2 cos of a crack in the case? Not even Canon denied the problem, and my G2 still worked really well.

Get one! :D

Martin

[Tonique]

I've been using nikon (non-afs) for many years. I just switch to canon because of the 10D. Man, the focus is way better in the canon. USM lenses rock!!
I would say that exposure is less accurate than my nikon, specially when using a flash.

Bottom line, I love the AF of my 10D!

[ldivinag]

so this SPOT METERING thing is a non-issue for a semi-pro-sumer shooter like me?

[justme_dc]

Some of them do have problems other than "User Error". My camera is one of them. When I came to this board seeking advice and help I was ridiculed and my skill and ability were questioned. I got a lot of "you must be doing something wrong" and "Oh yeah? Prove it!"

It's sad really to see people so blinded by brand loyalty that they'll defend a product to the point of questioning the skill level of anyone that claims to have problems. But that is a rant for another time.

From personal experience, my 10D went to canon repair Irvine 2 times before I finally got the okay to send it to customer relations where surprize!!! they found a LEGITIMATE ( that's not a typo) back focus issue that they agknowleged, repaired and sent back to me. I am going to put up a full post about my experiences but I haven't had the time yet.

The bottom line is yes some units have problems, you won't know if it does until you buy it and try it. Yes canon will fix it eventually but it may take upwards of 30 days and several trips to the shop and volumes of angry emails. Is it worth buying? Well I wouldn't buy another one but others have had great sucess with theirs. It is the only really affordable option to someone looking to get into the world of DSLRs. It has problems but if you get a good one out of the box them you'll probably be really happy with it. My horrible experience with the camera has really taken the shine out of it for me. I hope you have better luck.

Good luck to on your purchase.

[msvirick]

It seems to me those units that have focus problem, are owned by well knowledgable people, so the problems are real. But yet there are many of us folks, who seem to be quite happy with the focus issues. May be we dont know much about the quality.
I have to go by a Kodak 4800 camera, in itself a nice unit, but the 10D out shines my old camera by leaps.

[J.A.F. Doorhof]

@just_me,

Hi,

I stated in my post that there are some camera's with issues. But most of the reports on the net are from people who are fooled with the AF selection, I was one of them, the first two day's were terrible.

Greetings,
Frank

[RichardtheSane]

Squeaky, I have photographed similar events, so I am sure they are oudoor events - meaning a 1.4 lens may be overkill.
For versitility in a first lens I recommend the 28-135 IS as a good starter. With the 10D 1.6 crop you get a starting lengh of 45mm and it goes right up to 210mm.
When I photographed similar events on film I used a 55-200mm lens which was great for portraits (55-80mm) and you could also photograph any action at 200mm without getting in the way.
Hope this helps.
BTW. Don't worry about the back/front focus issue. There are a few cameras out there that have a problem, but the numbers are actually very low. Also from what I can gather it is only a problem on earlier models, so if you get one now you should be fine.
Good luck :)

[mkaplan]

I too will give my vote for the 28-135. It is a great lens, nice and sharp when stopped down a bit and the IS really works well. Once you have IS (image stabilization) you won't want to be without it. I started with the other end; I had bought a cheap lens just to start with the 10D to be able to have something to shoot with. I bought from the same dealer a 75-300 USM III. It is certainly not the sharpest of the lot but still took nice pictures. Examples:
http://www.pbase.com/image/16037625
http://www.pbase.com/image/16126089

Once I bought my first good lens (the 70-200 F2.8L IS) which has IS I know which normal zoom to buy. You will absolutely love the IS and that lens. And on top of it all the price is good as well as it can be found for under $400 USD. I bought mine used from B&H. It ended up being brand new but reconditioned and it is a great lens.

[rodbunn]

Do not buy a 10D ! They have problems... If you are not picky about focusing then they don't have problems, otherwise BEWARE!!!

Unhappy owner of a 10D.....

Rod

[Ratfink]

Hey Rod,
Is that your name or just what’s up your A$$! My 10D along with the majority of 10D owners works GREAT! For once I'd like to see a thread that start off with "My 10D works GREAT and I Love IT!!!"

Signed a very satisfied 10D owner

[EWMEvanita]

I say go for the 10D ^_^ I havent had any problems focusing what so ever.....I'm still puzzled as to why so many have mentioned this problem...The only problem I have had so far is a few weeks ago the button that pops up the flash isnt working anymore...I really need to get that fixed..but its not that big of a problem for me

[clos]

Did the Canon have 10D units that went out that had focus problems?

Yes.

Has Canon acknowledged this?

Yes.

Has the problem been corrected?

Yes.

Have other major and minor corporations put out out products with defects?

Yes.

Are we the consumer (here in US) protected from such products?

Yes.

When I bought my 10D from my local Canon dealer it indeed had the focus problem. I notified my dealer and requested a replacement or a refund for which I was legally entitled too. They immediately issued me a replacement that produced tack sharp photos.

Bottom line:

Canon 10D, for now, is the best value for digital SLRs. Do not be concerned with such propaganda the front/back focusing problems have been resolved. A matter of fact my 10D performs fantastically in low light situations with strong focusing and low noise at high ISO.

Keep in mind that if you are unfortunate enough to recieve a dud YOU ARE LEGALLY PROTECTED.

I am not sure how it is overseas but here in America you can't go wrong with the Canon 10D.

-Clos

[elmunyon]

I agree with J.A.F. Doorhof . The point is : forget about the 7 point autofocus!. When I bought my 10D and I took my first pictures, I said "dammed, I got one with the focus problem", but I worked on it and I found out that the problem was solved using one point autofocus. So far, the camera is fine and the IS device for those lenses is amazing. You will enjoy it.

[CyberDyneSystems]

Squeaky,

Welcome to Pekka's "CANON DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY FORUM" :D


I love my 10D,..

As others have said,. there are specimens that have had problems,. but the camera has sold more copies in its first year than any other Digital in this price league in history.... and of those thousands,. a small percentage has had problems. (read microscopic percentage)

I would not let this disuade you from buying the camera,. it is the best DSLR value out there.

Lenses;

First Prime: 50mm f/1.8
First Zoom: 28-135mm IS

1st Wide angle: 20mm Prime (inexpensive) or 17-40mm f/4 "L" (now we are in the big leagues)

Second Zoom: 70-200mm,.. (here you can go with any of 4 great lenses,. the two Canon f/2.8s,. the Canon f/4 or the excellent and affordable Sigma f/2.8)

[Squeaky]

I must thank ever person who has taken the trouble to answer my question.... I am now convinced that the 10D is for me.... next problem seems to be finding a dealer in the U.K. that has stock of them and the 28-135 lens that I have also decided to buy thanks to the 'forum'

[rodbunn]

Ratfink wrote:
Hey Rod,
Is that your name or just what’s up your A$$! My 10D along with the majority of 10D owners works GREAT! For once I'd like to see a thread that start off with "My 10D works GREAT and I Love IT!!!"

Signed a very satisfied 10D owner

Unless someone lies, you won't see that thread!

Hey, I wish I was the inventor of the bun-rod, I'd be rich ;-) It could be "medical" or "kinky".....

Have a great life !

Rod

[RichardtheSane]

Unless someone lies, you won't see that thread

Are you calling me a liar? I started that thread.
I don't like being called a liar.

[rodbunn]

RichardtheSane wrote:
Unless someone lies, you won't see that thread

Are you calling me a liar? I started that thread.
I don't like being called a liar.
Relax, it was a joke.....

[rodbunn]

Yours said "perfectly" not "great" anyway.

[RichardtheSane]

Sorry, my sense of humour is rather dry, I too was smirking whey I typed that :)

Isn't perfectly better than great....i mean, great is good, we all like thinkgs to be great. But perfectly is total perfection.....

Honestly though, it is a very good camera and I am sorry that you are having a bad experience with your 10D.