Viability of 300D

[Canuck]

Hi!
I have a friend that it thinking of jumping into the photography world like we have. I'm kinda leaning towards recommending the 300D, instead of the 10D (which I have) for cost reasons and that way he can spend the $$$ on better lenses. If we were going film, I'd recommend the EOS Elan IIE/50E. I have a 50E as well. I have found, that I am just not happy w/ the way the film is developed. (A side bar, about 3 weeks after getting the 10D I went w/ that friend to Heathrow to check the 10D out and also let him use the 50E w/70-300 lens, and I had the 10D and 28-80 lens and 1.6x mulitplier. It was great! That's when I started to realise the power the 10D has. The RAW pics rocked, and with an $80 lens too!) I get the pic CD and the CD pics look a ton better than the prints, go figure! That said, I have gone almost 100% digital, and the 50E feels neglected. I have used the 50E just enough to keep it in good working order. That friend of mine is a beginner and I feel it would be (possibly) a good entry into the hobby. I also realise it is a cut down 10D in many ways. Nonetheless, the cool bit about digital is that you see the pic immediately. It is also worth mentioning that the camera would need to be able to keep up with aircraft at airshows as he (and I) go to them. I was able to keep up with Concorde this weekend both landing and taking off! Would the 300D do that? I could see the 300D being used for plane pics just slightly subsonic, maybe supersonic. You just never know! The other question is how well it does all-around? Is it anything like the 10D? I also would imagine that the battery grip would be a real good idea if they have it for the 300D, right? This is in the sense that it is a good idea for the 10D as well.

Just a thought, I appreciate the input!

Cheers from England,
Canuck

[Malaxos1]

I have a 300D and love it. It is a great camera if you are looking to learn on. From what I understand te 10D has a lot of custom settings that the 300D does not. Luckily for me I have not learned on a camera that had them, therefore I don't miss them. I am a semi pro in that I have done portraits and quite a fe weddings for money. As a matter of fact I had a girl come over to my house today that hired me for a wedding coming up, after that I received a call from a guy who makes custom axles for hot rods. I went to his place and took a ton of photos that he is planning on using for a Hot Rod magazine feature. I say all this because I have no problems using the 300D for these big jobs. One thing to note that the 300D does not have a spot meter nor does it have flash compensation, both of these I use to use all the time until now. Anyway you can learn how to work around these short comings. I have had the camera for around 3 weeks and have already figured it. It is an easy camera to get the hang of. One last thing; I am not that crazy about the lens that comes with it, even though I used it a ton today. First thing I did after getting the Rebel was buy a new lens. I hope this helps...Dean

[toastdk]

Malaxos1 wrote:
IOne last thing; I am not that crazy about the lens that comes with it, even though I used it a ton today. First thing I did after getting the Rebel was buy a new lens. I hope this helps...DeanWhat new lens did you buy, Dean?

[rockyc2]

Canuck, you mentioned about the 300D being able to take Plane pictures. I am planning on buying the 300D. Right now I am using the Pro90 IS with an Olympus TCON-17 Teleconversion Lens which gives me a total Optical zoom of 17X. I have no problems at all capturing Planes flying. So if the Pro90 can do it, then I sure don't see any problems with the 300D, or the 10D. I might just go ahead and buy the 10D. :D:D Haven't made up my mind yet.
Rocky

[CyberDyneSystems]

Cool! Rocky gonna get a DSLR! :D

[rockyc2]

CyberDyneSystems wrote:
Cool! Rocky gonna get a DSLR! :D
Haha! Fancy meetin you here, CDS.:D I ain't seen my Gator in a week now. Haha! maybe it went back down to Louisiana. :D:D:D:D Maybe the Planes picked it up. Hahahahahaha!!!!
Rocky

[Canuck]

Hi!
The reason I'm asking is that I'm wondering what the cut down is from the 10D (which I have) and the 300D which is brand new. I'm unsure about the capablilites of the 300D. There is another option here and that is going film, but I have the feeling on many levels that film is slowly dying. I'm waiting for the day that cameras can take pics like we see them and process it with the same way our brain sees things. We all know that it can take some guessing to get a pic right, and digital takes some of that sting out. I'm also concerned, at least from my point of view that for me the 300D wouldn't cut it. Although, I have a fair amount of experience in the 35mm area.
Would it make a good first DSLR camera? I guess that is the question at hand. I'm also concerned about him outgrowing it. I guess maybe the best bet, if he gets it is to have hime use the 300D and get used to it, then try my 10D and see what he recons. That will be the true test, IMHO. Then again, I'd jump for the D1S, if I had the money. Being that I don't, I the 10D works fine for what I do and we have all seen the wonderful pics anyone can take!

Quick question for CDS: Are you gonna post the 3rd pic I sent? If so, that's cool; if not that's cool too. I was just wondering.

Cheers from England,
Canuck

Long live Concorde!!!

[Guillermo Freige]

Canuck:

I've recently go to digital (SLR digital) from a EOS 5 to a Digital Rebel kit (not enough money for a 10D and a 17-40L), and I really miss only few things:

1.- Eye controlled focusing: There is no DSLR with this feature, so move on :)
2.- Second courtain flash sync: I've used 2nd courtain flash in the EOS 5 and in the S50, to a more pleasing motion blur, and I can't to that in the Rebel. Point to the 10D.
3.- Spot mettering: I've only partial metering, and only using AE lock. A good tradeoff, but not the best thing. But again the 10D has only partial mettering too.
4.- Flash compensation: not really disturbing, but I'll nice to have it. I've not used that very much in the EOS 5, but yes in the S50, so I somewhat miss it.
5.- AI focus AF: not really a problem to me. Probably will be nice to have One Shot AF, but they were occations in which the switch to AI Servo actually has saved the picture.

So, will the Rebel able to shot planes ? Probably as good as the 10D. Similar image quality in the sensor, similar ISO range, the same AF speed, and at 1/4000 I doubt you will be trouble with moving subjects :)

[Canuck]

GF,
I have noticed that in the Concorde pics I took this last weekend that the front of the plane is perfectly focused, and the tail is out of focus, slighly. This leads me to believe that the focus point was at the front of it and not centre like I had hoped, but like I had a choice in that instance. I had one chance to get it right and did I ever. I'm going down again to nab some pics on this final day and this time I'm shooting RAW! Incidentally, I shot them at 1/1250 sec last weekend. I forget the F-stop. It may have been like F7.0???

You can do 2nd curtain flash w/ 10D and I don't think this will be an issue for the friend of mine.

The lack of partial metering has really irritated me and it is one of the many tradeoffs. I really wish you could set the ISO in the Program modes like Landscape, fast motion, etc. It is worth noting that I took Concorde pics full manual! With planes coming in about every 45 sec it made for a rather easy adjustment.

I have taken maybe a handful of pics in AF of 1450 pics taken so far. I just don't like it. I like to be able to control what is in and out of focus.

Thanks for the input and I will reccommend it to him. Now the fun will be to stick the new Canon 16-35 L lens I got yesterday and really have some fun w/ lanscape pics. I can also lend the 120-300 Sigma to him for plane pics. It's really not hard to take stunning pics, it's just knowing how to do it, and knowing how your camera acts in certain circumstances.

Rocky,
I have the 10D and it rocks! I know others can vouch for that including CDS and his bird pics speak thousands of words to its quality. That's so cool! Even the moon pic and Tenby Beach pic are further proof! Cool! Now the next problem will be affording it. The other problem is that many people think the lens that comes with it is pants (crap). There is a lot of money to be sunk in here and I guess it is all what you plan to put all your eggs so to speak.

This is the day the Concorde died! Long live the supersonic aircraft that no one rivaled. The Russians and Americans tried and failed. So the British and French got together, made her and the rest is history!

Cheers from England,
Canuck

[Belmondo]

Canuck wrote:This is the day the Concorde died! Long live the supersonic aircraft that no one rivaled. The Russians and Americans tried and failed. So the British and French got together, made her and the rest is history!

Cheers from England,
Canuck

I agree that the passing of the Concorde is a sad affair. It can't help but seem like a step backwards.

There’s nothing wrong with a little flag-waving, but I do have to take slight umbrage with your recounting of events (to wit: the Americans tried and failed). The Boeing SST was well along in the design phase and was slated to be built soon when the U.S. Senate decided to pull the plug on the funding. Without government money, Boeing had little incentive to continue development on its own, especially in light of the generally limited interest shown in the project by commercial airlines.

The Concorde was a collaborative effort between the British and French, and was heavily subsidized by both governments right up to its recent retirement. It was never financially viable, and lost money from its first days of operation right up to the very last.

You are perfectly justified in your national pride. The Concorde was a beautiful, exciting aircraft, and the people behind its development deserve high praise. Just be aware that if the U.S. government had continued their sponsorship of the SST program, there would have been at least one more supersonic plane in the air.

Then, of course, there was the Russian TU-144 (Concordski) which actually did fly in regular passenger and mail service for a while.

Tom

[Malaxos1]

I Picked up a Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 lens, I forgot the exact model but it was created for DSLRs. The image quality is superb and have not noticed any distortion. It cost me $350, it was a great investment. As far as using second curtain flash goes; if you get the 420EX or 550 EX flash you can get second curtain...Dean

[Belmondo]

Just a small matter of some irony---

I was having a minor attack of insomnia, so got up and turned on the television. By pure coincidence, they were showing the takeoff of the last Concorde flight from JFK. Then, I turned on Discovery Wings channel, and saw the last 20 minutes of a show on the TU-144.

I think I'll try to get another hour of sleep now.

Tom

[Canuck]

belmondo,
I see, you think I'm British? Nope! Canadian, kinda-sorta-in-a-roundabout way. Ok, maybe I should come clean here. Believe it or not it's up to you. I chose Canuck because I'm from a part of the Northeastern US that is really near Canada. So you might say that said part of the US is an extention of Canada and I get mistaken a lot for being a Canuck, just the way I talk. Apparently I sound Canadian. Idunno. The British are 60% wrong when guessing and the majority of the other 40% are from around here and know the difference. Make no mistake, I sound like I am from the Northeast US. Ok, so I am American (Yank to the British (limeys to us Yanks)). Speaking of which, I have a lot of British friends and man is ever a wind-up session. It starts with Yank and Limey and gues downhill fast. It is all in jest and plain fun. Next question, what on Earth am I doing in England? Simple, the US Gov't (namely the armed forces) posted me over here in England. I was definitely not going to say no! Although prior to finding out about coming over here I was about to pull the perverbial "d-rings". I was stuck in Tucson, Arizona prior to this and I'd much rather not talk about it any further as I had an absoultely miserable time there. For me there is nothing worth going back to the southwestern US. I've seen new mexico and I though Arizona was the pits. Talk about another million steps in the wrong direction. I can speak volumes of good stuff about Colorado and Western Washington State as well as the Northeastern US. One of these days I will have to make a trip back tot eh Northeastern US to catch me some fall foliage! I really miss it! Even in this part of East Anglia in England, there isn't much to see in that way. There are plenty of cool sights to see other than fall folage. That's another post all together!

Cheers from England,
Canuck

Man I miss Concorde already!!!
What's an experience all of its own is having Concorde takeoff and pass about 200-300 feet overhead, full reheat (afterburner) going. Talk about loud!

Au revoir nous vous manquerons Concorde/So long Concorde, we will miss you!

[msvirick]

This is a inside scoop.
The Canon rep while visiting my town, fractured his shoulder. As I was exposed to him for many hours fixing his shoulder I taked to him , both with pain and afterwards under the influence of pain meds, his advice was like a man under truth serum.
He said go for the Rebel 300, it is a better camera, and for the price. I was surprised when he said, 10D had too many problems.
I hate to say, I wish I had waited for a Rebel 300 instaed of buying my 10D, or if he had to break a bone, why did he not do a bit earlier

[sdommin]

Canuck wrote:
Hi!
I have a friend that it thinking of jumping into the photography world like we have.

I hope he's a real good friend with a lot of money! I would hate to recommend a DSLR camera to someone who is just now "jumping into the photography world"! That's quite a learning curve for a beginner. Why not consider a smaller digicam, like the G3 or G5? Just a thought.

By the way, I spent some time in East Anglia - very cool place. I think its under-appreciated by visitors and even some who live there.

[AliasMoze]

Haha, really?!?

I have the 300D and love it. All questions of functionality seem to have been answered. What I can add is that I bought the 300D with the kit lens, plus a 550EX and ST-E2, a 50mm 1.8 prime, a 70-300 Sigma, a new mini tripod and a lightstand, plus various filters for the lenses, for about $2000. Considering the 10D is about $1500 alone, I think I'm sure I did the right thing.

There is nothing the 10D has that the 300D hasn't that I don't consider "extra." Since I'm new to high-tech automatics, I don't miss the features. The most serious professional could be just fine with the 300D. Ten years ago many of these features weren't even possible, and people took good pictures. Many of the features sound to me like functions that do with a few buttons clicks what would take me a few seconds to workaround.

What's most substantial about the 10D is the body. It's obviously a sturdier camera. The 300D, by comparison, is plastic and feels fragile. So where I might toss a metal camera around a little, I'm very careful with the 300D, and I'm getting an actual factual camera bag for it.

I'll go with the drunken Canon rep and recommend the 300D as the camera for everyone but those who expense-account their equipment.

[Canuck]

To clear up some misconceptions I was referring to the fens as not having much to see in the way of lanscape as there seems to be way more sky then land. This si definitely not the pictoresque place like the Cotswolds, or the Welsh Coast or what I think of when someone say England. Although having this much sky makes for some great sunset picturetaking! I have seen some really stunning ones and I honestly thought it coudn't happen this far north (52 deg north). I was under the impression that it was a southern thing kinda like why it gets so hot in the south and cold in the winter up north.
I can say that Norwich, Lavenham, and many other places are cool in East Anglia. I can't say I'm struck on the Fens (Cambridgeshire and Linconshire). Althought as you move east to Thetford there is the Thetford/Elveden Forest. Wooo-hoo trees! You have to have been/be over here to understand what I mean. The fens were originally flooded and were drained in the 1500s and 1600s and there is now this incredibly fertile farming soil and that is what they do in Cambridgeshire and parts of Suffolk. I'd imagine this also applies to Lincolnshire but haven't been there yet.

As for going with a DSLR, that is for the flexibility to mount whatever lens you like at the time. That's the reason I'm not reccomending the G2/G5, limited zoom range. I could teach him on the fly, It isn't too hard. There is the totally auto setting to start with and then grow into the full power that it has. I think the main problem will be $$$! The cool bit is that you will be investing in a core system that rocks, like the Canon L lenses/Sigma EX lenses I just hope that Canon doesn't plan another change like when they went from the FD to EF/EOS system anytime in the next 20 years. That would definitely light a fire under a lot of people! It is also worth noting that he has experience with the piont and shot variety of 35mm camera. I was mentioninig that I think it is time to upgrade to an SLR if he is that interested.

Cheers from England,
Canuck

[tony723]

Guillermo Freige wrote:
Canuck:

I've recently go to digital (SLR digital) from a EOS 5 to a Digital Rebel kit (not enough money for a 10D and a 17-40L), and I really miss only few things:

1.- Eye controlled focusing: There is no DSLR with this feature, so move on :)
2.- Second courtain flash sync: I've used 2nd courtain flash in the EOS 5 and in the S50, to a more pleasing motion blur, and I can't to that in the Rebel. Point to the 10D.
3.- Spot mettering: I've only partial metering, and only using AE lock. A good tradeoff, but not the best thing. But again the 10D has only partial mettering too.
4.- Flash compensation: not really disturbing, but I'll nice to have it. I've not used that very much in the EOS 5, but yes in the S50, so I somewhat miss it.
5.- AI focus AF: not really a problem to me. Probably will be nice to have One Shot AF, but they were occations in which the switch to AI Servo actually has saved the picture.

So, will the Rebel able to shot planes ? Probably as good as the 10D. Similar image quality in the sensor, similar ISO range, the same AF speed, and at 1/4000 I doubt you will be trouble with moving subjects :)

Eye controlled focusing is really a good feature. Hope that new SDLR coming can have this feature (I heard that Canon 3D is based on EOS 3 body)

[Jean-Luc]

Malaxos1 wrote:
I Picked up a Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 lens, I forgot the exact model but it was created for DSLRs. The image quality is superb and have not noticed any distortion. It cost me $350, it was a great investment. As far as using second curtain flash goes; if you get the 420EX or 550 EX flash you can get second curtain...Dean

Hi,

I've a 420EX, the 2nd curtain sync feature is not a flash feature. With this flash you should have a camera custom feature for that.
If you want this feature, you will need an (expensive) 550EX.

Regards