Difference between 20D and 30D

I have a digital rebel XT. I don't have the $$ to upgrade to the 40D at this point. I do a lot of sports and the XT is not very good at shooting fast action. I was thinking of getting a used 30D for the steady 3fps. I saw the 20D does 5fps. I looking at the specs and don't really know what the difference is? Any help?

Thanks in advance.
Doc

spot metering, bigger lcd, iso in the viewfinder, deeper shot buffer. good used 20D is $500, 30D is $750. Your call.

http://www.dpreview.co​m/reviews/canoneos30d/

elader wrote in post #4232306
spot metering, bigger lcd, iso in the viewfinder, deeper shot buffer. good used 20D is $500, 30D is $750. Your call.

On the 30D?

dosken wrote in post #4232343
http://www.dpreview.co​m/reviews/canoneos30d/

Thanks for this info.

Doc

PAFC2004 wrote in post #4232351
On the 30D?

Only when you're changing it.

The advantages of the 30D compared to the 20D are perhaps not significant enough to encourage 20D owners to upgrade, however, if like you I was choosing one or other camera I would go for the 30D. The larger screen is of more benefit than you might expect, I have cameras with both sized screens and find the small screen quite fiddly in comparison. The maximum frame rate is the same for the 20D and 30D, however, the 30D is switchable between high and low settings, 5 or 3 fps. The spot metering is of marginal advantage as are the other differences. One minor consideration, probably of no consequence, is the 30D is only one model old at the moment.

patrickeaton wrote in post #4234043
The advantages of the 30D compared to the 20D are perhaps not significant enough to encourage 20D owners to upgrade, however, if like you I was choosing one or other camera I would go for the 30D. The larger screen is of more benefit than you might expect, I have cameras with both sized screens and find the small screen quite fiddly in comparison. The maximum frame rate is the same for the 20D and 30D, however, the 30D is switchable between high and low settings, 5 or 3 fps. The spot metering is of marginal advantage as are the other differences. One minor consideration, probably of no consequence, is the 30D is only one model old at the moment.

I agree with the above. There's not enough difference for me to upgrade to the 30D, but if I was buying now, I'd definitely go 30D over 20D unless I just got a steal on the 20D.

I just upgraded from XT to 30D a month ago.
I used it last weekend to photograph fencing:
bad light indoors with fast moving athletes.
The 5 fps is very welcome.
I shot at 1600 and the images made good prints at 8x10.
The handling is great once you get the new button combinations down.
I feel very good about my purchase.

patrickeaton wrote in post #4234043
The advantages of the 30D compared to the 20D are perhaps not significant enough to encourage 20D owners to upgrade, however, if like you I was choosing one or other camera I would go for the 30D. The larger screen is of more benefit than you might expect, I have cameras with both sized screens and find the small screen quite fiddly in comparison. The maximum frame rate is the same for the 20D and 30D, however, the 30D is switchable between high and low settings, 5 or 3 fps. The spot metering is of marginal advantage as are the other differences. One minor consideration, probably of no consequence, is the 30D is only one model old at the moment.

Seeing the ISO in the viewfinder is quite handy once you get used to it -- and, if your camera is at eye-level it can be really useful! Plus, the spot metering was a big issue to a lot of people. They complained about its lack on the 20D and were quite happy to see it on the 30D. It's only of "marginal advantage" if you don't feel the need to use it.

To the OP: get what you can afford. Paying more for the 30D won't get you much in the way of image quality but it has more up-to-date and useful features.

Hope this helps,

Tony

I find the spot metering being the biggest advantage of the 30D over the 20D. It allows for much more precise exposure control and goes hand in hand with manual exposure. If you don't feel you need the spot metering, get a 20D as the other features are more "nice to have", but don't effect your image quality.

tonylong wrote in post #4236326
Seeing the ISO in the viewfinder is quite handy once you get used to it -- and, if your camera is at eye-level it can be really useful! Plus, the spot metering was a big issue to a lot of people. They complained about its lack on the 20D and were quite happy to see it on the 30D. It's only of "marginal advantage" if you don't feel the need to use it.

To the OP: get what you can afford. Paying more for the 30D won't get you much in the way of image quality but it has more up-to-date and useful features.

Hope this helps,

Tony

there's no iso in my 30d viewfinder !

ed rader

Well, I took all into advice and went with the 20D. I got one on the forums for $555 with about 1k clicks. I didn't have the extra $$ for the 30D and the features (from what everyone is telling me) are that much better. The spot metering for Sports may have been useful. Other than that they were pretty much the same. I could have gotten a 30D with only 325 clicks but was almost $300 more.

Thanks everyone.
Doc

How do you know how many clicks were on those cameras?

It was posted and I asked. I'm really taking them for their word.

Doc