Digital Rebel versus 10D and 20D. Questions.

[WriterMom]

DH and I are going to be buying a Canon digital camera in the near future, but are having difficulty deciding which one to buy. After doing some reading on other sites, DH had concluded that the 10D wasn't that much better than the Digital Rebel. Then, I started doing more reading, and came across these forums. Most of the people posting here seem to strongly recommend the 10D over the Digital Rebel.

Why would you recommend the 10D to someone over the Digital Rebel? Does it have features that are significantly better? What features are different?

Also, how much better is the 20D than the 10D? Would it be worth waiting and saving up for? (Price is an issue. We're not sure if our budget can stretch quite that far right now, but have considered waiting a bit until it can. So we're wondering if the 20D is THAT much better than the 10D.)

Which of these cameras would be best for sports photography? Would the 10D or Digital Rebel be suitable for shooting sports, or would one really need a 20D? (I dabble a bit with photographs of hydroplanes, and would like to get into this more in the future. Currently, I'm using an EOS 1N, but I'd love to have the freedom of using a digital camera.)

Our experience with digital cameras to date has been very limited. However, one thing that's extremely important to us is that the camera respond instantly when we press the shutter release. We have an ancient point-and-shoot Minolta digital camera that can take 10 or more seconds to take a single photo. Needless to say, we don't use it very often.

Thanks in advance for any advice you'd be willing to share!

[CyberDyneSystems]

The 10D is no longer in production.. are you considering buying used?

If not.. then you can pronbably rule the 10D out. as it would be dificult to find new at this point.

The Rebel,. when introduced was esentially a "10D-lite"

It had the same image sensor.. could offer the same image quality,.. but was limited in it's user controls.

In other words.. for the first time in Digital SLR history,. the comparison of the two bodies was EXACTLY like comparing two 35mm Film SLRs from Canon...

Since they both offer the same image quality (as all 35mm film would) you look at the features to make your decision.

Just like comparing a Rebel-G 35mm to an Elan 7. The Elan is roughly twice the cost and has more controls and features.

For a side by sde comparison of features.. try this,
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=canon_eos10d%2Ccanon_eos300d%2Ccanon_eos20 d&show=all

[WriterMom]

The 10D is no longer in production.. are you considering buying used?

If not.. then you can pronbably rule the 10D out. as it would be dificult to find new at this point.There appear to be several Web sites (including Amazon.com) still selling the 10D new. Amazon, at least, has them in stock. I know they've disappeared from other sites (notably B&H) in the past few weeks, though.

Thanks for the link with the feature comparisons. I'll do some more reading . . .

[Canuck]

There appear to be several Web sites (including Amazon.com) still selling the 10D new. Amazon, at least, has them in stock.

Thanks for the link with the feature comparisons. I'll do some more reading . . .

Just be careful where you buy it from...there are a lot of people out there scamming!! The old saying, if it lokks too good to be true, it probably is applies!

[cc10d]

If speed is your need, the 20D is your camera, outside of the 1DMII.
I have found the 20D to also be better at focusing than the other 2. I have taken very nice pictures with all 3 models, (own all of them). I find the 20D to be the most satisfying of the three for my applications. Nature photography, scenic, and family snaps. The 20D is fast and accurate, however the D rebel is available now with a satisfying rebate, that makes it the lowest cost entry to a good DSLR that I know of, in the new catagory. I am sure the link to the comparisons of these cameras will give you lots to consider.

[tim]

The 20D is better at low light photography, as it has less noise at high ISO. It turns on more quickly, and it has more pixels in the sensor - the pixel thing isn't so important to me.

If I were buying new now i'd definitely get a 20D, but the 300D's a great introduction to digital SLRs, and it takes great pictures.