EOS 20D - Friend or Foe?

[CaseyScofield]

New to this group!

I am $347.00 away from purchasing my EOS 20D & have read on this forum and others a few complaints…

ie.
Sticky Flash
Stuck Shutter
Filmware version out of date
Total lock-up under pressure

Guess I’m just needing some coddling & reassuring – is the 20D really Top Choice, Grade “A” Beef? Am I just being a negative reader?

[roanjohn]

GRADE "A" FDA APPROVED BEEF!!!

Go get it!!! It's fillet mignon and then some!!!

:-)

Ro1

[Biko]

Got one of the first 20d cameras and it is brilliant, used it loads and have had no problem with it at all.

Not updated the firmware either.

[defordphoto]

Sticky flash: Have not heard of that one yet.

Stuck Shutter: Nor that one.

Filmware [sic] out of date: Who cares? You can update your firmware 50 times a day if you want.

Total lock-up under pressure: That's old news and has been fixed. However, keep in mind that these cameras are computers and can lock up from time to time. Just reset it and move on.

Am I just being a negative reader? Yup. If you go read about ANYTHING on forums you will not buy one thing be it a camera, a car, life insurance, CD's, MP3 players, whatever. People are incessant complainers and the format of a forum is perfect for these whiners to hide behind a computer and spew. Take what you read with a grain of salt.

The reality is that the 20D had some problems with lockups when it was first released but that problem is now gone. That does not mean that your camera will NEVER lock up. Every one of my dSLRs has locked up at least once. You just reset it and start shooting again. The sky will not fall. ;)

One thing you did not mention is the grip for the 20D. It's had some problems with flexing and the pins losing connection. There is a temporary fix for this problem and from what I understand, Canon has fixed the problem and will repair the older grips for free if you ship it to them. I still need to check on the details of that one.

However, I have had my 20D for about three months now and have not had one, single problem with it. And not even one lockup.

[CaseyScofield]

Nice!

Thanks for the reassurance!

Frothing at the mouth with anticipation . . . CAN'T WAIT!!!!

[Ikinaa]

The negative reading reminds my of a story (out of topic of course, but funny enough to share).
The company I worked before had a long time ago employed a cook for the catering of the employees. One day he had the great idea to make a survey. He distributed sheets with the question : 'What meal don't you like?'. So one didn't like the soup, another the peas, another the carrots, etc. So in the end, summing it up, no meal had 100% approval. The management of the company got hold of the survey and concluded : 'Nobody likes the cooking of our cook, so change the cook.' He had to look for another job.
Had he asked the question : 'What do you like best?', I guess about 90% of the people would have been happy with the cooking and he'd have no problems...

Translate this in like/like not 20D, and you hopefully get my point...

[evilenglishman]

The reality is that the 20D had some problems with lockups when it was first released but that problem is now gone. That does not mean that your camera will NEVER lock up. Every one of my dSLRs has locked up at least once. You just reset it and start shooting again. The sky will not fall. ;)
Speaking as someone who has had 2 lockups since upgrading to the latest firmware I have to disagree with that comment.

[defordphoto]

EE: Were they hard lockups? Meaning, did you have to remove batteries to clear?

[RJSorensen]

Other than some dust on the sensor out of the box . . . mine has been great! I suspect the 20D will be a watershed camera, when the history of digital is written.

[dhbailey]

Friend or foe?

Friend because the 20D will allow you to take terrific pictures, and you will most likely really enjoy using it, provided you take the time to read the manual and practice, practice, practice.

Foe, because you will start lusting after extremely expensive metal tubes with pieces of glass shoved in the ends. :-) Think very carefully about lens purchases -- it is very easy to get caught up in others' enthusiasms for this lens or that lens. Think about what you want to do with the camera and ask questions to get the best recommendations for lenses to satisfy your photographic yearnings.

I've had mine for just under 3 months, and I have been having a blast with it!

Oh, yes, you will need an external flash if you want to do any flash photography other than simple point-and-shoot snapshots up close, or fill-flash up close.

[evilenglishman]

EE: Were they hard lockups? Meaning, did you have to remove batteries to clear?
no. turning off and on worked. You might think that isn't a problem, but this never happened before the latest firmware.

[defordphoto]

But, those types of crashes do happen with any camera. It will happen again. Mine hasn't crashed yet because I haven't shot it that much. But, it will. Is it something you can repeat?

[Belmondo]

But, those types of crashes do happen with any camera. It will happen again. Mine hasn't crashed yet because I haven't shot it that much. But, it will. Is it something you can repeat?

I've had my 1D MkII lock up a couple times. I can't recall my 20D ever locking up.

[RichardtheSane]

I'm not going to say if my 20D has locked up yet or not.

In fact I have no intention of saying it has not locked up yet, because if I said that then I know that the next shoot I would suffer a lockup, so I am not saying I have never had my 20D lock up.

But I have had it not lock up a lot, which is great.

[evilenglishman]

But, those types of crashes do happen with any camera. It will happen again. Mine hasn't crashed yet because I haven't shot it that much. But, it will. Is it something you can repeat?
My D60 never "crashed" once in 2 years and neither did my 20D until I updated the firmware. I had taken around 2500 pix before and 1000 since.
Sorry but excusing this problem isn't good enough. Its a decent camera but recently Q.C. is seriously lacking at Canon.

[defordphoto]

My D60 never "crashed" once in 2 years and neither did my 20D until I updated the firmware. I had taken around 2500 pix before and 1000 since.
Sorry but excusing this problem isn't good enough. Its a decent camera but recently Q.C. is seriously lacking at Canon.

Whoa there now. I don't work for Canon. You'll have to deal with them if you have an issue with your camera. Most of us don't have crashing problems so maybe there's something wrong with your camera.

[yenoram]

I've had the 20D, grip and 580EX for several months now and haven't had a single problem after 2000 or so frames. The same was true of the D60 it replaced.

[evilenglishman]

Whoa there now. I don't work for Canon. You'll have to deal with them if you have an issue with your camera. Most of us don't have crashing problems so maybe there's something wrong with your camera. I was making the point that a few people here (yourself included) seem to think a crashing camera is an acceptible byproduct of the technology when it shouldn't be.
It has been likened to a computer system, but my computer hasn't crashed once since I built it - in fact I don't remember the last time a piece of software crashed on it either - and if I can build a computer that has never crashed, why can't canon make a camera that wont crash?
There is nothing wrong with my camera, as it was perfect before the firmware update - and there was no problem updating it, it went as it should - no file corruption etc.

It comes down to the fact that Canon just haven't fixed the bugs properly.

[Hogster]

I've had my 20D since last November. I just upgraded the Firmware so I'll see if there is a problem. I would imagine that if there is a common problem then eventually another Firmware will be upgraded. Technology is ever evolving!

Love the camera BTW