Autofocus speeds of EOS 300D

[richo]

Hi,

I'm in the market for my first DSLR. I've been using a Canon S50 which i love and intend to keep (nice and portable!), but looking for something that will help better in my main areas of photography, biking and snow sports.

My question is directed to owners of EOS 300D's. How suitable is the camera to sports photography, and how reliable is the burst mode?

On my S50 whilst quoted at 2.5 fps but i find that this is rarely achieved.

any experiences or advice would be most appreciated!

Rich
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www.thebiketrail.com/gallery

[defordphoto]

The Drebel does not qualify as a sports shooter. That being said you will be able to get some limited shots of high-speed sports. The buffer will fill very quickly when in burst mode. The 10D is better, but I fill the buffer quickly if a high-action event takes place. I find myself rarely using burst most on the 10D and find that tends to work a little better most times as it just sucks having your camera in write mode when another event takes place.

Doesn't happen a lot, but it does happen.

See if you can find a local photo shop that has a display camera you can play with. Bring a card and try it out firsthand.

[Vertabreaker]

I use the Drebel for paintball and like RFM stated the buffer fills up quick and at times you will hear me cursing b/c I filled the buffer and something cool happened. I have been trying to space quick bursts of 2 wait take 1 shot wait burst of 2 etc. I havent been able to really test this b/c its cold and people arent playing at the field I work one weekends.

***
Lexar is comming out with some faster CF cards soon, I believe 60x and 80x, so that should help clear the buffer clear faster.

<sigh> I just read down a few posts and I seem to be dead wrong with this thinking. Hopefully I am correct with the rest.<\sigh>
***

Also on the Drebel the AFservo can only be used in sports mode so no raw format. I think you have more options with the constant AF in the 10D.

[defordphoto]

Lexar is comming out with some faster CF cards soon, I believe 60x and 80x, so that should help clear the buffer clear faster.

<sigh> I just read down a few posts and I seem to be dead wrong with this thinking. Hopefully I am correct with the rest.<\sigh>
***

None of the Canon cameras can make use of Lexar's WA technology. And the Drebel and 10D are not the fastest writing cameras out there. I think that a 12X card or so is about max speed.

[richo]

Thanks for the advice. I'm really enjoying my photography now and am essentially looking for something more to grow into from my S50.

Will there be a noticeable improvement in moving from compact to DSLR (even the Drebel). I've read that a lot of emphasis is placed on high quality optics, and that you could do a lot worse than the lens that comes bundled with the DRebel...i've also been reading good things about the Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM

http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=34&sort=7&thecat=2

thanks for the advice,

Rich

[theoldmoose]

Shutter lag and startup time should be noticeably shorter. In fact, getting away from hundreds-of-milliseconds shutter lag and electric (gack!) zoom is what caused me to abandon my digicam about a year after I got it. I was too used to the response and handling of a film SLR, to put up with a digicam.

Flash handling on the 300D, though, is second rate compared to your S50, unless you spring for the more expensive 550EX flash.

If you use 2nd curtain, FP, FEC, etc. flash settings a lot, then you need to seriously consider either getting the 10D with a cheaper ETTL flash (like the 420EX) or the less expensive 300D with the more expensive ETTL flash (the 550EX), that allows you to manually set advanced settings on the flash itself.

I opted for the 300D and the 550EX, reasoning that I could trade up the body later, and still have a top of the line flash to go with it.

[CyberDyneSystems]

Will there be a noticeable improvement in moving from compact to DSLR (even the Drebel). I've read that a lot of emphasis is placed on high quality optics, and that you could do a lot worse than the lens that comes bundled with the DRebel...i've also been reading good things about the Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM

http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=34&sort=7&thecat=2

thanks for the advice,

Rich

Although the Drebel and 10D aren't the fastest DSLRs out there,. compared to the point and shoots..

:shock: :shock: :shock: Be prepared to have your socks blown off!!!!

There IS a world of difference!!!!!!! :wink:

As far as the AF side of things,. 10D owners don't like to admit it,. but with a few lessons learned,. the newer Rebel has improved AF over the 10D :mrgreen:

[richo]

Great news! I'm quite looking forward to getting a DSLR. I noticed about the flash limitations on the Drebel, but the 550 work-a-round seems pretty acceptable!

I can't wait to have reduced shutter lag, and my socks are starting to cower in the corner!

Any UK people have experience of importing from the US? the sterling-dollar exchange rate seems pretty good at the moment. DOne some sums including VAT (no import duty on cameras?) and a US 'rebel' seems to be about 180 sterling cheaper than in rip-off Britain!

thanks again for the advice,

Rich

[Bruce Hamilton]

Although the Drebel and 10D aren't the fastest DSLRs out there,...
While addressing the drebel's speed here, what is your image quality setting? If you shoot on the lowest setting you can be happy with, it writes to the card a lot faster.

[CyberDyneSystems]

Although the Drebel and 10D aren't the fastest DSLRs out there,...
While addressing the drebel's speed here, what is your image quality setting? If you shoot on the lowest setting you can be happy with, it writes to the card a lot faster.

Who? Me?

I shoot 90% RAW 10% large jpeg...

When I say they aren't the fastest,. I mean in relation to the pro models.. and thus shutter lag, AF speed, as well as image buffer speeds.

In some of the above respects, the 10D and Drebel are consderably slower than the pro models,. in onther respects (like the 10D's 3 FPS up to 9 frames) they are equal to and or better than some of the pro models.

The bottom line,. timtings and protractors aside,. in the hand these cameras feel VERY fast... especially if you compare them to any non SLR digital. Lightning fast.

[richo]

Thanks or helping to clarify some of the issues in my mind. I've just been curious as to how a Canon S50 would compare to a Drebel.

I'm fairly new to the camera game, but absolutely loving it. I'm starting to reach some limitations with my S50, and as I've never owned an SLR camera i'm pretty ignorant as to what realistic improvements i could expect.

thanks.

Rich

[RedBull319]

I shoot RAW(San Ultra 512 CF) and all I can get is 4 continous frames. Anyone have been luck with anything else? or is it that slow?

[Guillermo Freige]

I have those 2 cameras (S50 and DRebel), and the AF compared to the S50 is SO much better :)
Image quality is of course better in the Drebel, with lower noise levels, but wideangle in fact the S50 lens shows less CA than the 18-55 lens included with the Drebel.
Sports is not a strong point from none of them, but if you shoot RAW, it's a huge improvement in the Drebel, because you have a 4-pic buffer in all modes including RAW (in the S50, you can only shoot 2 RAW before the "busy" signal shows forever), and even when the 4-pic buffer is filled, you can shoot another 4 pics at slower speed, because the double buffer present.
You can see my comparison from the same image shooted with both cameras wideangle (trying to mimic each other image characteristics as good as possible) here:

http://www.photo-forums.com/WebX?14@218.qDZwah62aDC.3@.ee9133b/699

[nosquare2003]

I have experience in these two cameras (though I don't own them):

1. S50 has advantages over Drebel on compact size, closer focus distance and certainly price. Other than the above, the Drebel shall win every aspects over S50.

2. Autofocus speed / buffer issues has been discussed by others. Unless you are prepared to pay the cost of 1D or the new 1D MkII; or you prepare to use the professional "film" camera, a 10D or a Drebel shall be a good option. However, don't expect that you will "always" take the advantage of faster fps. As mentioned by RFMSports and Vertabreaker, you may miss some important shots when the buffer is filled.

3. I have a 135/2.8 SF and it is a very good lens. I read reviews that the 135/2L is simply a greater lens (as expected). Although I have no experience on snow sports, IMHO a zoom lens may be a better choice however.

[richo]

Thanks for all the feedback! much appreciated!

time to go raid the piggybank i think......