Upgrade D30 to 10D, or wait?

[Murph7355]

Bought a D30 about 2yrs ago and have loved it. Had some very satisfactory pictures from it and it does the job nicely.

Am now wanting to up the ante and am considering trading the D30 in for a 10D.

Is this a wise move, or should I wait?

I think the improved image quality and the better AF system will be well worth the price, but have a sneaking feeling something new will be out in the next few months, perhaps a full frame camera at around the 10D's price point.

Any views?

[Tom W]

Its a real good question, and I'd like to see some of the answers myself.

I'm considering moving up from film to digital on the SLR side of things (though I've gone digital already on the P&S camera). 10D is pretty close to what I'm wanting to replace the Elan, though I'd like a bigger sensor and spot metering. I'm willing to wait until after Christmas, but I want it pretty bad!!

[hmhm]

Murph7355 wrote
...have a sneaking feeling something new will be out in the next few months, perhaps a full frame camera at around the 10D's price point.



I think it's important to keep in mind that the "computer stuff keeps getting better" phenomenon is a result of chips getting denser and faster (and faster actually ties in with denser).

The road to cheaper large sensors isn't quite as direct, as making a chip larger isn't as easy as making it denser. In other words, getting more stuff on the same chip for the same price is business as usual for the past few decades, but getting a larger chip for the same price really isn't.

So don't expect full-frame sensors to fall precipitously in price any time soon. The short-term drivers for lower prices will mostly be competition and scale, which don't typically lead to the doublings of "bang for the buck" that doublings in density do, e.g. with DRAM or hard drives. And right now, there's virtually no competition for full-frame.

If I'm Canon, I make the 10D replacement 8-9MP with a 1.3x sensor for about $1600-$1800 street price, and I announce it in March of 2004.

Oh yeah, and I release it with an EFS-capable mount, and everybody finds out that the 18-55 EFS lens can perform reasonably well on a 1.3x sensor!

Alternately, I make it 8-9MP at 1.6x with an EFS-capable mount and sell it at the 10D's current price point.

I'm not Canon, though, so I'm just speculating...
-harry

[w10d]

hmhm wrote:
And right now, there's virtually no competition for full-frame.
-harry


Absolutely: With the 1Ds selling well and no sign of any competition (apart from Kodak's offering) Canon would be crazy to launch a full frame at the 10D's price point. (Even if they could). I'd expect to see a revision to the 1Ds before the 10D, adding things like the body rotation sensor.

[Motorsports Photo]

Your call! Technology is in a constant state of flux so you can buy now or later BUT....

I HAD to upgrade when Canon said my D30 wouldnt be back for a few weeks. Soooo I bought a 10D. After a few adjustments it was ready to go. It does work better than the D30 and you cant go wrong with all those extra pixels!

BUT.... there could always be something even better lurking around the corner!

-Pete
(Glad I didnt buy the D60)

[Belmondo]

One of two things is likely to happen fairly soon --- perhaps both: You'll start to see legitimate 'deals' on the 10D (i.e. from reputable dealers) as supply starts to catch up with demand, and/or a replacement for the 10D will be introduced. Right now, thre are no deals, and we know that Canon is not going to sit on this design too much longer. The replacement is likely to be a better camera for the same or less money.

If you're happy with you D30, hang on to it until the 10D gets cheaper, or the replacement comes out.

[openspace]

There will always be newer, better, faster equipment just around the corner. The fact is the 10D is an excellent camera capable of producing images that remain tack sharp even when enlarged to 2x3 feet and in some cases, beyond. I have seen some amazing poster sized lithos produced from 10D images.

If you are happy with your D30, then by all means stick with it. But if you are waiting for a better dSLR to come along because you want sharper images, higher resolutions and the capability to produce stunning enlargements, then the 10D is your camera.

Personally, I think the next camera Canon will update is the 1D. It is by far Canon's fastest dSLR - much faster than even the 1Ds (the 1DS shoots at 3fps, the 1D at 8fps and it has a 50% larger frame-burst buffer). It is still a favorite of action sports photographers and journalists who need serious speed and frame-burst rates, and in my opinion, it by no means going away. But at 4.15 megapixels, it would be the next dSLR in line for a sensor upgrade.

With all that being said, if you buy a 10D and a replacement for the 10D comes out 5 days later, please don't sue me! ;)

[chris.bailey]

Murph

I went from a D30 to a 10D a couple of months ago and if you liked the D30 you will love the 10D as it builds on what was already a good camera. Do it now, there will always be something else around the corner!

[boBquincy]

I used a D30 for about 2 years and recently purchased a 10D. The focus is faster (and works in lower light) and of course, there is the gain in pixels. The color rendition appears better also.

I prefer the D30 option of setting ISO with the 'set' button on the wheel. I like the 10D illuminated screen and focus points.

For most photos I don't see much of a benefit (for the 10D), certainly not for viewing on a monitor or for printing smaller than 8x10. It's in the larger prints that the 10D really starts to outshine the D30.

I was thinking of trading in my D30 but decided I'll keep them both.


boB

[karusel]

Like many have said, there is always something better coming up, it's just like with computers. For processors for example, I know exacly what price it has to be - I'm always buying them at that price, regardless of the performance. You take two levels slower processor, you get a little less performance, and pay a LITTLE less buck, you go two levels up, you get a little more performance and pay a LOT more buck. Technical novelties are always prestigeously pricey, they come in waves, if you're not really rich you should wisely catch a wave somewhere in the middle, because if you catch it too late a new novelty causes heavy depreciation of your item.

I'm planning to get a 300D or 10D around april '04 and I hope until then market will be fed with something new and exciting, therefore the prices of older cameras will drop.