300D, who will switch?

[GeertDD]

Just announced:
http://www.canon-europe.com/EOS300D
price just over 1000 euro/dollar, including a 18-55mm lens.

Btw, I'll keep my G3. I use mine as a small alternative for my (film) SLR and the 300D is still a lot bigger and heavier than the G3.
Geert.

[dtrayers]

I might. I'm considering a 10D to complement my G3 (not replace) sometime early next year (when I get my company bonus), but reviewing the specs on the 300D, and if the price point is indeed about $1000 with a lens, I might get it instead.

I really don't care for the color, though...

[jglisson73]

The price is certainly attractive. I don't see anything about the camera on canon's US site yet. I've been drooling over the 10D for a while now. I finally got to handle one in a camera shop that had a display unit. It's been selling so fast you don't see many stores with a demo unit.

The 300D has a plastic body. Also, it has an AF Assist light on the camera. It makes me wonder about the compatability with speedlite flashes (hopefully they didn't go the route with the G series)

First person to get one MUST TELL ALL!!!!

John

[jpmccormac]

Yes, I will eventually switch or add the 300D to my arsenal, though I hate the body color (there's always gaffer tape) and would not buy the new lens if I could avoid it (it's just too slow for me).

I like the 95% viewfinder coverage, but will miss the swiveling LCD. And, the 1.6x magnification is okay - I feared it might be 2x.

I already have 7 EF lenses, ranging from 20mm to 200mm, so the 300D will give me the opportunity to shoot animals and birds more closely in digital format, which I can't do now with the G3. I'm glad I haven't bought a wide-angle or teleconverter for my G3.

[psk4363]

Typical - just laid out £540 for the G5 and only a couple of weeks later Canon announce a 6 million true SLR, complete with, albeit slow, a zoom lens for only an expected £160 more!

What with the Canadian Rockies holiday coming in April/May next year I have to say that the 300D is very tempting. It would go nicely with my 420EX (hopefully) and my 2 x 1GB Microdrives. Oh decisions, decisions, decisions!

Barry

[PacAce]

Switch? No thanks, I'll keep my G3 since my wife uses it more than I do. However, I definitely will consider getting it as a backup body to my 10D if the price is right (in US dollars).

[John_T]

Ummpf. A mixed bag. A few things that are missing in the G5, things missing on it the G5 has, but otherwise some kind of strange compromise. Being a SLR alone doesn't do it.

Looks to me more like a fill for a market hole between consumer and pro. Sort of a Pro-er-Prosumer. The silver is to attract the consumer and at the same time delineate the would-be from the real pro line so as not to PO the pros.

I don't like fence riders. But I wouldn't fully make up my mind until I'd handled one.

...actually, after my G5, I wouldn't want anything less than a 10D... famous last words...

[getg3]

It's "Digital Rebel" in the US:
http://www.canoneos.com/digitalrebel/index.html

It is very attractive, but I only have my G3 for less than a year and it is still a very good camera. I don't want to spend too much money for two camreas in a year. My next upgrade would be at least in a year or two. By then, I will get a better and cheaper DSLR.

[12345Michael54321]

I'll probably buy a 10D, rather than a 300D, although I suppose if the 300D is priced (actual retail price, not MSRP) at $799, it'd be hard to pass up.

Won't be "switching" from the G3, however. I'll keep the G3, and will continue to use it in various situations.

It occurs to be that if the 300D, with lens, winds up selling for well under $1000, it may mean that the G5 is the last model in Canon's "G" line. I mean, I'm not sure Canon will come out with a G6 selling for $750, if that price point is already addressed by the 300D. More likely, Canon will concentrate on their very compact digital p&s line (the S200/S230/S400 family of cameras).

Oh, the 300D also means that next spring will see the introduction of the 600D. Then 6 months after that will be the 800D. And so on.

x00D = digital Rebel line
x0D = digital Elan line
xD = digital EOS-1 line

[John_T]

Well... the way I see it, if you already have the lenses from your old film SLRs, the 300D makes some sense. But if you have to go out and buy them all, you're talking big bucks.

I think the G series and the EOS series are very different animals, both in size, weight and function. I think both will continue to run parallel in that they are different markets with some overlap.

There are things with the G5 that have grown on me, such as the flip LCD for example, which makes all kinds of shots possible, say stretched out, up, down, over on a monopod using the remote. You can't do that with any EOS. I just got a Tenba P415 camera bag and all my G5 gear, including light tripod and monopod fits perfectly in one handy, light and narrow package. The same EOS gear would be a truck full in comparison.

Nah, two different markets.

[12345Michael54321]

:
Well... the way I see it, if you already have the lenses from your old film SLRs, the 300D makes some sense. But if you have to go out and buy them all, you're talking big bucks.

Not all that big. Most camera buyers are perfectly happy with a single, slow, wide range zoom lens. The lens that Canon's going to package with the 300D will sell for... what?... maybe $139?

But I agree that for those of us who already have a bunch of EF lenses, buying the 300D becomes a very tempting proposition.

I think the G series and the EOS series are very different animals, both in size, weight and function.

They are very different animals. But do you honestly believe that the serious amateur (the G3 and G5's intended market - people looking for a digital camera a step up from the $300 Sony on sale at Staples) who is thinking of dropping $600 on a G5 won't frequently figure, "I'd rather spend an extra $350, and get the 300D?" More to the point, can you see Canon introducing a new G-series camera, presumably selling for more than the G5 (since it would be the improved successor to the G5), when the $1000 price point will already be occupied by the 300D?

In the 35mm world, the introduction of the inexpensive Canon Rebel line seriously hurt sales of Canon's most expensive p&s cameras (while helping Canon's bottom line, overall). Why do you think the same won't hold true for digital?

There are things with the G5 that have grown on me, such as the flip LCD

Oh, I love the flip LCD. No argument there.

I just got a Tenba P415 camera bag and all my G5 gear, including light tripod and monopod fits perfectly in one handy, light and narrow package. The same EOS gear would be a truck full in comparison.

Most EOS owners' gear consists of a single camera body w/zoom lens. The people who cart around 2 bodies, 5 lenses, flash equipment, and a Bogen 3036 are very much atypical.

And while a 300D w/zoom lens will be bigger than a G5, neither can honestly claim compactness as a selling point.

Now don't get me wrong - I intend to keep my G3, and I'm well aware of the advantages of the G3. I'm just saying that from a marketing standpoint, the inexpensive digital SLR severely impairs the viability of the expensive digital p&s camera. Just as the introduction of the inexpensive 35mm auto-focus SLR severely impaired the market viability of the expensive 35mm auto-focus p&s.

Will G-series cameras still sell well if they're $500 or less? Sure. But the closer you get to the 300D's street price ($899?), the more competitive the 300D becomes.

[John_T]

Good points. Personally, I am enjoying traveling light after all the years of heavy gear and gadgets, private and professional. Maybe in a year things will look different.

In any case, I think Canon know their business and how to slot things from camera to printer and scanner as well. I'm happy for the moment... but it will probably be only a moment 'til something else seduces me.

[Biko]

I am sticking with G3 for now, I might move up to the 10D when they bring out the next version which I reckon should be 8MP.

I hope it has a flip LCD then.

[dtrayers]

I'm inclined to agree with Micheal about the G5 being the last in the line. Have you read about the new A80 with the flip out screen? Very similar to the G3, with a different lens and no hot shoe, but the functionality and modes are quite similar. I wish it was available when I upgraded from my A40.

I think that the 300D with an inexpensive lens will cover the higher end of the "prosumer" line, with A80 covering the lower end of the line.

[PacAce]

dtrayers wrote:
I'm inclined to agree with Micheal about the G5 being the last in the line. Have you read about the new A80 with the flip out screen? Very similar to the G3, with a different lens and no hot shoe, but the functionality and modes are quite similar. I wish it was available when I upgraded from my A40.

I think that the 300D with an inexpensive lens will cover the higher end of the "prosumer" line, with A80 covering the lower end of the line.

I have my reservations. I think the G5 or its successor will still fill a niche that DSLRs can not fill. There are people who want (or need) to see what they are taking a picture of BEFORE they release the shutter. That is the one drawback of an SLR. In the film world, there was no such thing so a cheap SLR would have cut into the expensive P&S market. However, with digital where the previewing capability of the camera is a big factor for going digitial in the first place, that still may be very important...for some people.

I think what WILL happen (and this is just a guess) is the the different models will get integrated so that there aren't a dizzying slew of them. Canon has SOOOO many models to pick from that it's ridiculous. How is anybody (i.e. an average person who doesn't want to spend hours getting cross-eyed over an Excel spread sheet of the functions and capabilities of the different cameras for comparison) expected to make up his mind on which one to get without using a dart and bulls-eye technique at the end? :D