-=20D reviews and 1st Impressions=-

I decided to make this its own post hopefully other new owners will comment.

<edit> Please post ONLY your Reviews and or Impressions in the thread <edit> CDS

<edit> Please DO NOT post links to any material that you did not create 1st hand <edit> CDS

My Comments about the 20D
1. Lightweight body but my hands is too big without the battery grip
2. Fast with the shutter & the buffer is great for doing sports
3. ISO is a big help now I can keep my f/4 lense and get the job done with out going f2.8
4. focusing is much better including the focus points
5. Pop up flash is great it clears the lens hood on my 17-40 f/4
6. I do like the B&W mode and the filters built into the camera even though I'll still use photoshop to edit & convert images.

Overall I'm heavy into youth & semi-pro sports and did not have the extra $$$ to spend on the MArk II. I was tired of switching lens on shoots. I also needed a DSLR for backup & not my Elan II. To me this is not a FAD just a worthwhile investment to keep me in the middle of the action, It is worth the purchase.

If I was only doing portraits, weddings & vacationing I would have never upgraded.

The picture quality is good & I see no big boost over the 10D. Hopefully if someone is out there trying to decide on the purchase this will help them decide. Most important thing is to think about your purpose and go from there. Unless you have the $$ to blow

This post is a good idea... and I like your closing a lot. In the year plus that I used the 10D my only persistent complaint was getting critical focus on many of my hand held shots especially with long lenses. The other features are nice, but not enough to have persuaded me upgrade - I'm thrilled with the improvement I've noticed after around a hundred test shots. This by itself made the 20D decision a happy one for me.

David

http://www.photography​-on-the.net …topic.php?p=299​392#299392

Very brief first impression: it's FAST!

The 5 fps is nice (especially for JPEGs).
The low shutter lag is also nice.
The writing speed is great.
The almost instantaneous boot-up (from switch-on to ready) is FABULOUS!

A small point that won't affect many users, but will a few - such as me;

Unlike on the 10D, Canon's EP-EX15 eyepiece extender fits perfectly on the 20D.

---------------


First impressions:

It is better in black!!! :-p

It is not a huge difference compared to the Rebel (in terms of the weight and size).

It is FAST!!! It turns on instantly.........and when I say instantly, I MEAN INSTANTLY!!! faster than you can blink!!! (this is very good for me!!)

With my 70-200 f2.8 and 50 f1.4 (the only two lenses I've tried focusing it with), the AF is blazing fast........and oh soooo accurate. I can tell right away!!! (this is compared to the Rebel).

ISO 1600............oh, if you can see the full size images, it is CLEAN!!! and when I say clean, I MEAN CLEAN!!! WOOHOOO!!!

The mini-joystick.........well its a joy to use..........I am already used to it!!! It's so intuitive...........se​tting your focus point is instantaneous!!! You rock, and you're there!!!

THANKS CANON!!!

About the only thing that needs getting used to is the shutter sound. It's loud.......and so not like the Rebel..........I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

OH........and the viewfinder...........m​uch better and crisper than the Rebel.

And with a top AV speed of 1/8000 (did I hear 1.8 in daylight??), selectable AF mode and longer battery life..........what more can I ask for??!!!

THIS CAMERA ROCKS!!!

Thanks Canon!!!

Ro1

First impressions:

- its darn fast
- buttons are different from 300D - this will take a little time to get used to, especially the on/off button

Just did a few tests with different cards.

I shot 20 seconds continuos in P mode ISO 1600 (They were supposed to be ISO 100 but I messed up and forgot I had set ISO at 1600). 3 tests, first JPEG small fine, second JPEG Large fine and last RAW.

Lexar 1 GB Prof 80x
Number of Large fine JPEG: 40 (buffer full before 20 seconds)
Time for drive light to go out: 20 sec
Number of Small fine JPEG: 68
Time for drive light to go out: 12
Number of RAW: 15 (buffer full before 20 seconds)
Time for drive light to go out: 16

Kingston 1 GB
Number of Large fine JPEG: 39 (buffer full before 20 seconds)
Time for drive light to go out: 17
Number of Small fine JPEG: 60
Time for drive light to go out: 7
Number of RAW: 15 (buffer full before 20 seconds)
Time for drive light to go out: 17

Hitachi 2 GB microdrive
Number of Large fine JPEG: 33 (buffer full before 20 seconds)
Time for drive light to go out: 14
Number of Small fine JPEG: 61
Time for drive light to go out: 14
Number of RAW: 15 (buffer full before 20 seconds)
Time for drive light to go out: 16


Here is another test with ISO 100.

Lexar 1 GB Prof 80x
Number of Large fine JPEG: 60 (buffer full before 20 seconds)
Time for drive light to go out: 20 sec
Number of Small fine JPEG: 97
Time for drive light to go out: 16
Number of RAW: 20 (buffer full before 20 seconds)
Time for drive light to go out: 16

SanDisk Ultra II 1 GB
Number of Large fine JPEG: 51 (buffer full before 20 seconds)
Time for drive light to go out: 12 sec
Number of Small fine JPEG: 97
Time for drive light to go out: 12
Number of RAW: 20 (buffer full before 20 seconds)
Time for drive light to go out: 10

Hitachi 2 GB microdrive
Number of Large fine JPEG: 53 (buffer full before 20 seconds)
Time for drive light to go out: 16
Number of Small fine JPEG: 89
Time for drive light to go out: 20
Number of RAW: 20 (buffer full before 20 seconds)
Time for drive light to go out: 12

Hitachi 2 GB microdrive - FAT32 16 K clusters
Number of Large fine JPEG: 56 (buffer full before 20 seconds)
Time for drive light to go out: 17
Number of Small fine JPEG: 90
Time for drive light to go out: 21
Number of RAW: 19 (buffer full before 20 seconds)
Time for drive light to go out: 11

Not a big difference.

Conclusion on my not very scientific test: The speed of the card is not so important when shooting RAW.

But with JPEG the faster the card the more shots before BUSY. In one minute with the Kingston card I shot 213 photos (also ISO 1600!)!

Another worthless observation:

The pop-up flash produces the smoothest sound when it pops up. It's not one of those "BOO, SCARED YA" sound the Rebel does when the flash pops up.

...............told ya it was worthless

Ro1

20D related, since one is included with the camera; if anyone is interested in the difference between the BP511 and the BP511A batteries, it's this:

BP511 : 1100 mAh
BP511A : 1390 mAh

Simple, eh?

What I like
1-Super fast
2-Fast A/F Finally
3-Light weight
4-Price
5-Noise Reduction
6-Better software like Digital Photo Professional


What I do not like
1-Loud Mirror Slap very loud in fact
2-Bit too small with out grip


ANgelo 8)

My thoughts were...

Why is the viewfinder so friggin grainy in bright light? I don't manual focus thank you very much. Sell a 'grain-laden' viewfinder replacement option for those that do

The camera is fast for a $1500 camera. It writes to CF cards at a phenomenal rate. By the time it's done taking 25-30 consecutive shots at high speed, it's done writing them to the card. I don't get it, but I love it!

Camera is light. I'm back to the 'needing a battery grip to balance any decent lens' as I was with the Rebel.

New autofocus points in the circular pattern are really nice, and made nicer by the mini-joystick which allows you to select any point with one movement towards the AF point, or a click to select center.

I wish Canon would display ISO. It's on my 'pre-shot checklist' but it wouldn't take up much room to show at all times.

Shot comparisons show that the quality (both cameras at Parameter 2) is extremely similar to the DRebel, the 20D being more forgiving from a post processing standpoint because the 8.2 will give you a larger workable image.

I'd like it if Canon would remove the 1/4" border around the LCD display screen and increase the display to fit that area. Although it is perfectly functional, a little larger Info screen would allow more room for the histogram, etc.

That's all I have so far. Otherwise it's a fine little beast for $1500!!!

Adam

Just unpacking my 20D this evening (first UK deliveries yesterday)
One of the big selling ponts for the new battery grip is that it takes ordinary AA'a as well as BP511's.
What the publicity didn't say (or hid away) was that the AA insert is an EXTRA!
Shame on you, Canon.

APOLOGIES, CANON

Should've opened the box first, not taken the salesman's word for it.
The AA tray is supplied with the grip.
Maybe I should shut up and take some pictures.

Clean and usable

The images are very clean as long as you have sufficient light for the exposure you choose.

Ifound that under exposing more than 1/2 stop makes the noise a little more 10D like.

Its snappy and I'm not jsut talking fast but the sound it makes is snappy. I thought it would be like my 1D MkII in that arena but it has a choppier sound??

I love the size.

It has a fast and accurate focus. This part is a big step closer to the MkII than I had anticipated.

Custom fn. 13 (1) is a great idea, this is way, way better than the MkII.

Faster sync is a treat for the fill flash (outdoor/sunlit wedding shots).

I will use it (them) for the first time this W/end for a paid gig. We'll see how it does.

My thoughts, compared, when applicable, to the 10D:


Low noise at high ISO is REAL. I shot an ISO 3200 shot outside this evening that had ISO 800/1600 level noise on the 10D. I'm not kidding.

Startup is instantaneous.

20D is noticably slower with a 1G IBM Microdrive than with a Sandisk 2G CF card.

The new "joystick" multi-control is VERY nice for panning around zoomed shots.

PLAYBACK IS FAST. No more image display, then wait 2 secs for the "sharpened" version. What's more, erasing is not beholden to those times either. You can delete images on the 20D faster than you can view images on the 10D. NO JOKE.

5fps and the buffer write speed are awesome.

Being able to see images while the camera writes the buffer is great. No more "BUSY" screen!


I can't say enough... I'm in love.


Only thing I don't like... The included charger doesn't have a cord - the outlet prongs pop out from the back. I prefer the cord - I like to place the charger on a table. This charger will likely stay in the box.

Battery grip comes in Tuesday.

EOS 20D is awesome!

I have been shooting with a 300D for a year and yesterday I picked up a 20D along with a 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM and a 1GB SanDisk CF. Gallery can be viewed here http://www.janshim.com​/royalparade/jp/ but I don't think the photos say much about how AWESOME the 20D performs (did I say the 20D is pretty awesome?) I have no review to post since I'm still pretty much learning how to use more effectively, many of the design and layout take getting used to unless you're switching from a 10D.

This morning i noticed something. There is a spec of (white) dust inside the back LCD and it's noticeable when it's off and I've also noticed the LCD has one bad pixel. Now it's not a question of whether I should get it changed-I have to.

Photos of my 20D with 24-70mm f/2.8 L lens
http://www.janshim.com​/photos/eos20d_1.jpg
http://www.janshim.com​/photos/eos20d_1.jpg

Jan Shim