EOS 300D - Ordered

[billhercus]

I must stop reading this forum! Just ordered 300D for mid Setember UK delivery after reading about it here. Not saying how much I'm gonna pay. Don't want anyone telling me how they bought it for 150 UK pounds less - I don't want to know.

How much for my G3 + Tiffen lenses etc? Forget it!!

No way am I selling it. Wouldn't be a legit member of this excellent forum where I have learned so much (and because of it spent a fortune) without it.

But digital SLR of this likely quality at this (even UK rip off) price is more tempting than I think a lot of you will be able to resist.

[Biko]

billhercus wrote:
I must stop reading this forum! Just ordered 300D for mid Setember UK delivery after reading about it here. Not saying how much I'm gonna pay. Don't want anyone telling me how they bought it for 150 UK pounds less - I don't want to know.

Good luck with your new camera looks like a nice choice :) I wouldn't care what people say about price and how cheap they got it. My G3 is now selling £150 less than when I bought it last March, but I have got some excelent shots money can't buy.

I am in UK and been looking at choices - bit early at the mo might be upgrading in new year, it looks like the rebel is pitched at a grand with lens which looks a great deal

[dtsang831]

Congrad! With 6.3 MP, you might need more CF cards and a bigger harddrive! Those files are big!! For myself, I would like to feel it in my hand before I invest $1000. (At least a little test drive.) Well, I have faith in Canon products. Best of luck with the new camera!

[12345Michael54321]

Congrats on your 300D purchase.

I'd still rather buy a 10D, than a 300D (the differences aren't huge, but a couple of them are important to me), so I'm hoping that pressure from the 300D drives 10D prices down by a couple of hundred dollars.

If not, well... the 300D is still a decent camera, and I do have these Canon EF lenses sitting around largely unused these days...

When all is said and done, probably the best thing about the 300D is what it clearly signifies - that there will be reasonable quality sub-$1000 digital SLRs. And not 5-10 years down the road, but in the immediate future. As recently as last year, many people would have doubted that.

Oh, and with the 300D's 1.6x conversion factor for EF lenses, I'd urge you to run out and buy yourself a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 lens. The lens is dirt cheap, and while it's not built to the very highest of Canon's quality standards, its optical performance is outstanding. 50mm x 1.6 = 80mm. An 80mm f/1.8 lens with great performance, for about $80, is a steal. Zooms are handy and all, but they can't touch this lens for speed or performance. Not even the L-series zooms - although some of them come fairly close, albeit at 20x the cost of the lowly 50mm f/1.8.

[billhercus]

What super positive replies! Thanks guys. I hear what you say re lenses 12345Michael54321 and I am looking forward to the choice of 60 Canon lenses that go with the camera.

One thing troubles me. Nearly a thousand years ago (or so it seems) I traded a 35mm SLR and various lenses for a quality compact. I never took the 35mm et al anywhere - too cumbersome. The number of photos I took immediately multiplied tenfold.

I find the G3 a good comprimise between quality and portability but am coming down with this photographic bug more and more. The ability to take hundreds of pictures, experiment freely etc. at no extra cost means digital will eventually rule the world - although some niche requirements will survive.

For the moment, can't wait. This is what Xmas was like 50+ years ago!

[Andy_T]

Bill,

Did you order the 18-55 lens together with the camera?

Seems to be a decent lens at a more than attractive price (100$ extra in the package).

If not, you might give it some consideration!

Regards,
Andy

[12345Michael54321]

Seems to be a decent lens
Has someone published a review of the lens' performance already?

While it does seem to cover a somewhat useful range, it's slow as molasses at its long end (f/5.6, if memory serves). Slap a polarizer on it, and can the 300D even autofocus? I'm thinking that f/5.6 + 1-2 stops due to the filter, brings us down past an effective f/8, which is where a lot of autofocus sensors reach their limit.

[jjoejr]

Bill I'm in the same boat as you. I'm really interested in the 300D myself. I've got a G5 and accessories but don't know if I want to sell. The predicament of whether to get a 300D or 10D has been settled. Rather get the 300D and invest in finer lenses than pay more for the 10D and settle for mediocre lenses. Here's a few links that I like on lense reviews. The reviews are written by users like us and may give a better insight as to what to purchase.

http://photographyreview.com/Lenses/PSC_3787crx.aspx

http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/

[billhercus]

Yes, I have ordered the EFS 18-55 which, I know is slow, 3.5/5.6

For 100 quid you ain't going to get a fast quality zoom from Canon so compromise is essential.

Subsequent lenses will be the 'full monty" in due course, but that I feel is a good 'starter for ten'.

As for my G3. I'm really keen to keep it. It is a superb compromise between quality and mobility. I sold a 35mm SLR + 'n' lenses about 20 years ago because I never took the camera out and about v much - too heavy. With a quality compact, I was at least taking pictures - more important than we sometimes seem to think!

But my broke 31yr old son is desperate for a decent digital camera .....

[Bascule]

I'll agree that this is a great step forward. An affordable digital SLR. Definitely the the way to go. But at the moment it's twice the price of a G3 and I'm not sure it's twice the camera? Or am I in denial because I've just bought a G3?

[12345Michael54321]

But at the moment it's twice the price of a G3 and I'm not sure it's twice the camera? Or am I in denial because I've just bought a G3?
Yes, you're in denial. It's precisely 3.207 times the camera the G3 is. This is a matter of quantifiable and objective fact, not subject to any dispute. :)

Seriously, it all depends on what you want to do with the camera, and whether you already have an investment in Canon EF lenses. Some people won't be any better off with the 300D than with the G3, while others will find it to be an incomparably superior camera.

Then again, many people will buy the 300D and never make use of any of its advantages over the G3. But they'll own the more advanced techno-gadget, which is all they really want.

[CyberDyneSystems]

12345Michael54321 wrote:
But at the moment it's twice the price of a G3 and I'm not sure it's twice the camera? Or am I in denial because I've just bought a G3?

Yes, you're in denial. It's precisely 3.207 times the camera the G3 is. This is a matter of quantifiable and objective fact, not subject to any dispute. :)



I went back and looked at my calculations and saw that I had divided Vs. multiplied the "Gee Whiz" factor by Plancks Constant,. and thus my error,. having now re-checked my math I must concur with the numbers above :D