30d Viewfinder?

How's the viewfinder on the 30d anyways? I have an XT and was looking to upgrade to a 5d in about a year but I have decided at my skill level it would be better to upgrade to the 30d and more glass. Nothing is wrong with my XT except the viewfinder and controls. With the 30d will I still be getting the tiny dark viewfinder or somewhere in between the xt's and 5d's ? I mainly do macro. pets, and landscapes. I don't even like doing either, I've always preferred shooting people but since I'm shy that rarely happens. Shooting topics I hate is better than nothing at all.

I found very little between my 350D and 30D viewfinder. I've read many times the 5D has a much bigger and brighter viewfinder but like you, i decided to upgrade the body and invest in glass with a view to upgrade to a 5D in a few years time.

I prefer the 30D over the 350D for a few reasons. The solid feel of the camera, compared to the 350D is first. 2nd is the rear wheel dial which is fantastic and saves a lot of messing around. Lastly is the spot metering, which I've found useful in a few situations.

Thank you! I never hear that much talk about the 30d viewfinder in any form so I had to ask. I figure once I get a job I'll upgrade, the 30d is really cheap for what it offers and my budget. A lot of people warned me that going from the 300d to the 350d wasn't worth it but I think it was one of the best upgrades I ever did.. I think I'll keep my 350d when I upgrade this time though, it doesn't resell for that much so I'd love the backup.

There's a bit of a difference, but it's not much. The main thing is the addition of more AF points.

Rebel XT:

But it is so dark! A friends toy Barbie digicam has a better viewfinder than my xt

The 30D has a pentaprism viewfinder compared to the cheaper pentamirror viewfinder.

When I got my 20D (same as 30D viewfinder) which replaced my 300D (same as 350D viewfinder I think) the viewfinder was significantly brighter IMO.

It's still not great compared to a 5D but it's certainly better than the 300D

Viewfinder apparent size = physical sensor size x mag x %coverage

If you run the numbers

...(edit) an updated chart

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sootyvrs wrote in post #3417557
The 30D has a pentaprism viewfinder compared to the cheaper pentamirror viewfinder.

When I got my 20D (same as 30D viewfinder) which replaced my 300D (same as 350D viewfinder I think) the viewfinder was significantly brighter IMO.

It's still not great compared to a 5D but it's certainly better than the 300D

I whole heartily agree with this statement. When I upgraded from the 350D to the 30D, one of the first things that impressed me most was a significantly larger and brighter viewing area. The 30D is also better built, has better dynamic range, faster and more accurate focusing and much better noise control at high ISO settings. I'm very happy with my decision to upgrade.

KaplanMultimedia wrote in post #3418292
I whole heartily agree with this statement. When I upgraded from the 350D to the 30D, one of the first things that impressed me most was a significantly larger and brighter viewing area. The 30D is also better built, has better dynamic range, faster and more accurate focusing and much better noise control at high ISO settings. I'm very happy with my decision to upgrade.

Strange. I didn't notice a difference at all when I went from 350D -> 20D. I don't doubt the math and am frankly too drunk to question it, but I didn't notice a difference.

angryhampster wrote in post #3416994
...............I don't think of the 1.6x cams as having "dark" viewfinders, even after using my 35mm equipment. I suppose it's just something you get used to

Compared to my 35mm film bodies, the 20D/30D etc. viewfinders are dark and small.
I used a 5D for a short period (half an hour!) and the viewfinder is brighter, and bigger, but still not as bright as my old Nikon F100.
I also wear glasses and this fact can be a pain sometimes, it was the first thing I noticed when trying out my 20D a couple of years ago.

A couple of weeks ago I shot off a couple of rolls of film in my EOS30 at an event, and having a bigger, brighter viewfinder was great!

I'm waiting for any possible upgrade to the 5D, or even stretch to a 1D for this very reason - I'll have to get a longer lens or a TC to make up for the lack of crop factor though...

Heh, and compared to MF, 35mm is small, different formats and all, its all relative. I wear glasses (which I find I usually end up taking off for extended periods of shooting) and the only problem I've had with the smaller VF's if confirming focus. A VF magnifier and focus screen mostly solves those issues. Yeah the 5d is larger/brighter, but for the 1500 or so difference, for what I do I'm happy enough with my 30d (and could do everything I wanted to do with the 350D). If I ever start making money from photography, then I'll consider a 5d/1 series camera.

Here's an updated version of my previous chart, adding the 1D series (at someone's request on another thread)...

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It's a ton better (my 30D is in the mail as we speak). I used a friends and I thought night and day. I wear glasses and I often could not see the exposure slider in the 350D. Saw it no problem with the 30D. In addition to the added focus points, you can actually see the fps on the 30D. They're not just little red dots that seem to get lost. I also couldn't see what I shot too well on the LCD. Felt like I was shooting blind, but that's about to change

bob-e wrote in post #3567168
I often could not see the exposure slider in the 350D. Saw it no problem with the 30D. In addition to the added focus points, you can actually see the fps on the 30D. They're not just little red dots that seem to get lost.

Interesting..... Because the one thing i hate about the 30d is that i can barely see the info bar in the VF when out in bright sunshine! whereas my old 350d/rebel xt was clear as a bell! in all other respects i'm much happier with the 30d but that one issue is something that really dissapointed me when i got my 30d......

steve75 wrote in post #3567353
Interesting..... Because the one thing i hate about the 30d is that i can barely see the info bar in the VF when out in bright sunshine! whereas my old 350d/rebel xt was clear as a bell! in all other respects i'm much happier with the 30d but that one issue is something that really dissapointed me when i got my 30d......

Perchance, do you wear eyeglasses? I have never noticed an inability to read the viewfinder information bar, which is why I asked.