350D vs. 30D

[emtp563]

I currently own a 350D and am thinking about getting a 30D. The type of shooting I do is sports (specifically bicycle racing) with a Sigma 70-200 f/2.8

My question is twofold:

1.) I'm not completely happy with the AF on the 350D. Will I see a noticible difference in AF accuracy on the 30D?

2.) I want to do as little PP as possible. I love RAW and use it all the time, but for bike racing, I shoot several hundred pics in a session and don't have time to PP every one. I use batch mode, but you still have to go through every picture. The 350D sharpening parameter setting goes to a value of "3", I'm fairly sure the 30D in camera sharpening parameter goes to a max. value of "7" I'm not sure how the two values relate to each other, but with sharpening set to the max on both cameras, will the 30D result in sharper images? A buddy of mine shoots with the same Sigma lens, but uses a Nikon D70. He does no PP for his race photos, and his images are WAY sharper than mine.

I also like the faster FPS, larger LCD, and spot metering on the 30D. Those alone are probably good enough reason alone to upgrade. But AF accuracy and in-camera jpeg sharpening are inportant to me as well.

[Tsmith]

a simple yes to # 1.

[liza]

#1 Yes, it's at least 3x faster.

#2 Post processing is a fact of life with DSLR's. I shoot sports, too, and process a several hundred images per week throughout the school year. The key is to establish a good workflow to create a quality product.

[RandyMays]

I agree with the auto focus. I sent mine in for calibration. It came back much better as long as I am using center focus point. The noise above ISO 200 is also unacceptable to me. Like to hear if noise is better on the 30d as well.

[MP0WER]

I'm no expert, but i do own the 30D with 16-35L, 24-70L, and a 70-200L all f/2.8. I've noticed that my 70-200 seems to be the sharpest of the 3. Also, many people have told me that a different copy of any given lens may be sharper also. So maybe the sharpness issue is with the copy of your lens?? Don't know, but i've got the internal sharpening set to 4 and it seems that if i do ANY PP sharpening, the image looks over sharpened.

As far as noise goes, i don't see it to be a problem as high as 600.

[Greg_C]

I went from the 300D to the 30D and found the AF much better. My percentage of keepers has certainly increased. As other poster have said there may be just natural variation between copies of the lenses you and your friend have. Noise is better on the 30D than it was on my 300D.

[Tut]

I have a 30D and don't do any post processing. I find the in-camera processing more than acceptable for my uses. I use the "portrait" picture mode most of the time set at +3 sharpness, -1 contrast, and +1 saturation. I try to avoid post processing just because of the time required.

[emtp563]

Originally Posted by Tut

I have a 30D and don't do any post processing. I find the in-camera processing more than acceptable for my uses. I use the "portrait" picture mode most of the time set at +3 sharpness, -1 contrast, and +1 saturation. I try to avoid post processing just because of the time required.

What value does the sharpening setting in the camera go up to?

[delhi]

Canon cameras are softer because of strong anti-aliasing. I bet that D70 has crazy amount of Moire lines too.

[Tee Why]

#1 yes, esepcially with lenses f2.8 and faster.
#2 not sure. In DPP you can use the picture style on jpeg images and batch convert them, so it shouldn't be any different.

[byso]

From what I read into it from the below links which are extensive reviews. The noise levels from the 20D/30D are minimally better than the 350D.


http://www.dcresource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6179

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos350d/page19.asp