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Nice strong metal tripod socket aligned along the center line of the lens, just in front of the focal plane (which is indicated on the top of the camera with the normal stroked O marker). The only improvement to the base of the D30 would have been a rubber base plate similar to that found on the D1. Rubber bases always help of you're balancing the camera against a stationary object (temporary tripod). |
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SLR purists can skip this section if they like. The D30 has a built-in flash with approx. ranges as defined below (Wide / Tele refer to recommended EF 28 - 85 mm lens):
| ISO speed | Wide-angle: 24 mm | Telephoto: 85 mm |
| 100 | 1 - 3.4 m (3.3 - 11.2 ft) | 1 - 2.6 m (3.3 - 8.5 ft) |
| 200 | 1 - 4.8 m (3.3 - 15.7 ft) | 1 - 3.7 m (3.3 - 12.1 ft) |
| 400 | 1 - 6.8 m (3.3 - 22.3 ft) | 1 - 5.3 m (3.3 - 17.4 ft) |
| 800 | 1 - 9.6 m (3.3 - 31.5 ft) | 1 - 7.5 m (3.3 - 24.6 ft) |
| 1600 | 1 - 13.7 m (3.3 - 44.9 ft) | 1 - 10.6 m (3.3 - 34.8 ft) |
Interestingly the built-in flash is also E-TTL (Evaluative), that is the camera measures flash output / metering by a short pre-flash just milliseconds before the main flash. The built-in flash can sync up to 1/200s. The flash pop-up is motorised, that is pressing the flash button pops the flash up using a motorised release mechanism. In AUTO exposure the flash will automatically pop-up when required. The redeye reduction system is attached to the AF assist lamp (below).
The D30 also allows for FE-Lock (Flash Exposure Lock) which can be used to take a meter reading of the subject using the flash before taking the shot. This can be useful for recomposing the scene, with the flash up (or an EX flash attached) simply aim the center of the frame at the subject to be metered, press the * button and the camera will fire the flash and take a meter reading, the next shot you take will use this locked exposure.
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The AF assist lamp on the D30 will illuminate the subject if light levels are too low for the AF system to make a good focus. The range of the assist lamp is about 3.8m (12.5ft). The lamp also doubles as a redeye reduction system, when redeye reduction is enabled (and you're taking a flash shot) the lamp will light for up to 1.5 seconds while you half-press the shutter release (a graphical countdown is displayed in the viewfinder), if the subjects look at the lamp the effects of redeye will be reduced. |
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For flash photography the D30 is fully loaded (but then we'd expect that). It features Canon's latest flash technology, E-TTL (Evaluative TTL metering, a pre-flash just before the main flash). Supported E-TTL flash units: 220EX, 380EX, 420EX, 550EX. Autoflash (E-TTL) is not supported by EZ, E, EG, ML or TL-series speedlights. |
Additional features enabled by the 550EX Speedlight: E-TTL (as described above), High Speed Sync (sync at up to 1/4000sec), Flash Exposure Compensation (+/-2EV in 0.5 EV steps), Flash Exposure Bracketing (bracket three shots +/-3EV in 0.5 EV steps), Modeling Flash (a 70hz strobe of light for checking shadows - press the DOF preview button), Wireless Multi-Light E-TTL Autoflash.
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The D30 has a metal EF mount and thus supports all Canon EF group lenses (plus some older as manual focus and compatible third party lenses), remember that because the sensor is smaller than a 35mm frame all lenses are subject to a focal length multiplier of 1.6x, thus a 28mm lens becomes 44.8mm. |
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The contents of the retail box are:
Footnote:
Along with the camera I received a pre-production "rough copy"
of the manual. I'd like to state my huge admiration for whoever wrote
this manual, it's a beautiful piece of work, 151 pages of clear, concise
information covering everything that beginners and professionals alike
would need to know. Every function of the camera is described in easy
to follow 1-2-3-4-5 steps with excellent diagrams and plain English. (Finally,
a user manual that's better than my review!)
