Reading mode: Light Dark

Is the Pro 90is still a good camera to buy?

Go to last post
P

PC Long

Well-known member
Messages
230
Reaction score
0
Location
Kuala Lumpur, MY
I have the opportunity to pick up a used Pro 90is as a backup for my DReb but I am wondering if this 2.6MP camera can still measure to today's image quality standards. So far I like what I saw through searching photosig and pbase. I would appreciate some comments from those who own or have owned one. Also I am wondering how much I should pay for a used one in excellent condition.

Thank you!

--PC Long
'I can't remember since when but I now have photographic memory.'
 
Reading the post on this forum, many believe that the Canon Pro 90 is going to be replace this year. Canon might announce its replacement in Las Vegas this February or in Germany in September. If that happens, then the market will be flooded with used Pro 90s cameras. That mean that the used Pro 90s price will dropped.

Stephen
PC Long said:
I have the opportunity to pick up a used Pro 90is as a backup for
my DReb but I am wondering if this 2.6MP camera can still measure
to today's image quality standards. So far I like what I saw
through searching photosig and pbase. I would appreciate some
comments from those who own or have owned one. Also I am wondering
how much I should pay for a used one in excellent condition.

Thank you!

--PC Long
'I can't remember since when but I now have photographic memory.'
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the info but what is the current price of used Pro90is? I don't think the price of the new replacement will be cheap.
Stephen Kovac Jr said:
Stephen
PC Long said:
I have the opportunity to pick up a used Pro 90is as a backup for
my DReb but I am wondering if this 2.6MP camera can still measure
to today's image quality standards. So far I like what I saw
through searching photosig and pbase. I would appreciate some
comments from those who own or have owned one. Also I am wondering
how much I should pay for a used one in excellent condition.

Thank you!

--PC Long
'I can't remember since when but I now have photographic memory.'
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
--
--PC Long
'I can't remember since when but I now have photographic memory.'
 
My guess, the Canon Pro 90IS used is approximately $275 - $350 USD. Depending on its condition. The Canon Pro 90IS replacement will be more expensive if Canon decide to bring one to the market. Just have to wait and see what happens at the PMA show in Las Vegas or the show in Germany in September.

Stephen
PC Long said:
Stephen Kovac Jr said:
Stephen
PC Long said:
I have the opportunity to pick up a used Pro 90is as a backup for
my DReb but I am wondering if this 2.6MP camera can still measure
to today's image quality standards. So far I like what I saw
through searching photosig and pbase. I would appreciate some
comments from those who own or have owned one. Also I am wondering
how much I should pay for a used one in excellent condition.

Thank you!

--PC Long
'I can't remember since when but I now have photographic memory.'
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
--
--PC Long
'I can't remember since when but I now have photographic memory.'
Click to expand...
 
I am wondering if this 2.6MP camera can still measure
PC Long said:
to today's image quality standards.
Click to expand...
To answer your question yes the image quality of the PRO90is will be better than ANY of the more recent 3-4 mp long zoom models.
 
Image quality and build quality wise IMO it leaves the S5000 and Z1 for dead, it has IS too and a better lens than those flimsy cheapos BUT it's incredibly slow in every respect and the AF is poor, I'd take a Slo-90 over ANY of the Current 10X zoomers anyday of the week ..

I have a C2100UZ (2Mp and slightly older with the same canon lens unit) and it's far more responsive than the Pro-90, has more features (Macro, Matrix Metering and more), vastly superior AF with AF assist beacon (it leaves even my G5 for dead for AF locking) and a built in flash - images are clean and even rezzed up to 3Mp beats the Fuji S5000, excellent life from AA batteries though not as good as the Pro90's BP511s - loses out on resolution a bit also (0.6mp) but go for less money, the big downer is that it's stuck with lame SM cards which it writes to and from pretty quickly but they're limited to 128Mb -

Given a choice between the two, I don't know, despite the ultra-clean ISO50 and larger images, the slowness and crappy AF of the pro-90 would probably drive me nuts and lead me to keep my Olympus..

--
Please ignore the Typos, I'm the world's worst Typist

 
Thanks Adam for the perspective. If you didn't have either the Slo90 or Uzi, which one would you go for? The main reason I am looking at the Slo90 is because I can share battery and CF cards with my DReb. Is it THAT slow that it's not really usable for a lot of shots?

Also, am I correct to assume that the Slo90 can do IR? I noticed on the Minolta forum you just bought a D7UG for IR work so it got me wondering.
Adam-T said:
Image quality and build quality wise IMO it leaves the S5000 and Z1
for dead, it has IS too and a better lens than those flimsy cheapos
BUT it's incredibly slow in every respect and the AF is poor, I'd
take a Slo-90 over ANY of the Current 10X zoomers anyday of the
week ..

I have a C2100UZ (2Mp and slightly older with the same canon lens
unit) and it's far more responsive than the Pro-90, has more
features (Macro, Matrix Metering and more), vastly superior AF with
AF assist beacon (it leaves even my G5 for dead for AF locking) and
a built in flash - images are clean and even rezzed up to 3Mp beats
the Fuji S5000, excellent life from AA batteries though not as good
as the Pro90's BP511s - loses out on resolution a bit also (0.6mp)
but go for less money, the big downer is that it's stuck with lame
SM cards which it writes to and from pretty quickly but they're
limited to 128Mb -

Given a choice between the two, I don't know, despite the
ultra-clean ISO50 and larger images, the slowness and crappy AF of
the pro-90 would probably drive me nuts and lead me to keep my
Olympus..

--
Please ignore the Typos, I'm the world's worst Typist

Click to expand...
--
--PC Long
'I can't remember since when but I now have photographic memory.'
 
PC Long said:
Thanks Adam for the perspective. If you didn't have either the
Slo90 or Uzi, which one would you go for?
Click to expand...
This is what I was saying, it IS usable but the camera's noise reduction isn't switch offable slowing it down, there is no AF assist and the AF is G1 class anyway (poor) - if I didn't have either it would be a hard choice as it takes 10D/300D Flash cards, batteries and EX Flashes which the UZI of course takes none of these..

If you want it as an outdoor camera and are not shooting fast moving things and many shots in a row, the Pro-90 would be just fine and far more practical to a 300D owner and of course it has those extra 0.6Mpixels which mean more to the low end of resolution (2 versus 2.6) than they do to something like 5Mp versus 5.6 say.. If you're likely to be shooting indoors a lot, the UZI would be the better choice, they both have the same lens unit so no probs there, the UZI isn't noisy and is actually usable at ISO400 , the Canon has a super-clean ISO50 as well ..

--
Please ignore the Typos, I'm the world's worst Typist

 
Love my pro 90.....even with its drawbacks as mentioned....one just gets used to them....examples here....and there are many others with wonderful sets of collections from this camera

http://www.pbase.com/woody
 
PC Long said:
I have the opportunity to pick up a used Pro 90is as a backup for
my DReb but I am wondering if this 2.6MP camera can still measure
to today's image quality standards. So far I like what I saw
through searching photosig and pbase. I would appreciate some
comments from those who own or have owned one. Also I am wondering
how much I should pay for a used one in excellent condition.

Thank you!

--PC Long
'I can't remember since when but I now have photographic memory.'
Click to expand...
--
Only when you loose everything you are free to do anything.
 
PC,

Sorry I did not respond to this sooner, I was waiting to get my password. First of all, is the Pro90 fast enough? Well yes. There is no doubt it is slow, but as long as you are not using it for fast action sports, I would say it is fast enough. Mind you, I am not saying it can compete with others in the area for speed. Gary W's link was a good one to look at (thanks Gary, I enjoyed it too), and if you did not see mine on pbase some other examples are http://www.pbase.com/bcurrie (look at the various birds, they move quickly and if I can capture them, I think it is fast enough). Look particularly at the Greater Sage Grouse in display under the "Birds" folder. I posted each part of their display. Mind you, the camera was not quick enough to capture it all at once. But this display lasted for just a few seconds. It did requiring some timing on my part, but I think one gets used to any cameras idosyncracies. Not trying to advertise anything special about my shots, it just gives you an idea.

As for the average cost. I know a fellow in Australia (that I am actually surprised he did not see this, though he has been away). I believe his handle is "Caerwall" here, and he has actually graphed prices worldwide. So what I am about to say, he gets the credit for. (He posted it originally at http://www.prodigi.info ).

"There were a few in the USA in the pre-Christmas lead-up (6 sales). The prices are falling. In my opinion the median price for a Pro90 is US$300 and Euro300. The last US one I recorded was US$280. There were few offerings in Europe, the sole recent sale in Europe was Euro351, however the trendline points to Euro300. Seems like the owners in Europe, like Australia, are hanging on to theirs if they cannot get the price they want whilst in the USA they are still being sold at "whatever" price.

I again note that I have not monitored condition or the "extras" that come with the sale. The prices are just average prices accross the board."

Hope this helps (sorry for the length)
PC Long said:
I have the opportunity to pick up a used Pro 90is as a backup for
my DReb but I am wondering if this 2.6MP camera can still measure
to today's image quality standards. So far I like what I saw
through searching photosig and pbase. I would appreciate some
comments from those who own or have owned one. Also I am wondering
how much I should pay for a used one in excellent condition.

Thank you!
Click to expand...
PC Long said:
--PC Long
'I can't remember since when but I now have photographic memory.'
Click to expand...
 
I have the Pro 90 and 300D.

Frankly I found the Pro90 slow in the focusing. Other than that, I am very pleased with its image quality despite its 2.6Mp resolution. I even used it for some of my freelance work and with some minor photoshop work, the results are very satisfactory. The 10X zoom and IS are really an asset.

I have some pics taken with this camera at http://www.pbase.com/hugolee

The pics are straight from the camera with very little photoshop adjustments (cos' I didnt know much of photoshop then). You be the judge for the pics taken. The raw pics are even better.

When I bought my 300D few months ago, I was of course very pleased with the focusing speed. But soon I was very disappoited with the constant underexposed pics I got from it. I though perhaps I can correct it with photoshop so it si no big deal to me. Then recently I started to have Error 99 with 300D when I use my Sigma 400mm lens. It was a very frustrating experience. Soon I learnt it is the compatibility problem with the sigma lens. Overall 300D has been disappointing.

And I find Pro90 a joy to use.

So what is my wish? A real Pro90 replacement. Sadly, Canon has yet to respond.
 
PC Long said:
I have the opportunity to pick up a used Pro 90is as a backup for
my DReb but I am wondering if this 2.6MP camera can still measure
to today's image quality standards. So far I like what I saw
through searching photosig and pbase. I would appreciate some
comments from those who own or have owned one. Also I am wondering
how much I should pay for a used one in excellent condition.

Thank you!

--PC Long
'I can't remember since when but I now have photographic memory.'
Click to expand...
Thanks for the credit Barry,

I suppose I would get to read this thread sooner or later!

I had a Pro90 and Canon lost it, so I went out on an odessy to find something to replace it. Tried them "all" and ended up buying a second hand Pro90 (or three). It is slow but you get to appreciate that a big 2.6mp sensor is much better than a small 5mp sensor.

My favourite kit is my 10D and big bag of gear for serious effort when I have my Sherpa porter to assist and the Pro90 which is much more portable and produces good pictures nevertheless and is usually around when I need it. I just don't try for sports pictures with the Pro90 and I know its limitations. Its still way ahead of much of the rest of the pack.

Its flip LCD 10x optical and IS capabilities together with internal focussing lens make it a candid shooter's dream, especially with all sounds turned off. Note: not "spy" just legitimate "candid" work where you wish to capture someone you know while they are relaxed and don't have their "photo-face" on.

Dollar for picture quality ratio the Pro90 is much better value than the 10D or the Rebel. When the chips are down the expensive DSLR's just carry the day but not by as much as is generally thought.

My advice: keep the Pro90 if you have one - they are going to be competitive for some time yet. If you haven't got one and can find someone silly enough to sell you one for US$350 then buy it (quick) before they change their mind. The camera is destined to become a classic.

I have seen several persons moaning how they regretted selling their Pro90 when they "traded up" to a 300D Rebel.

--
Tom Caldwell
 
Thanks for sharing, Brian, both your comments and galleries helped. I am going to negotiate with the seller based on the prices you have mentioned.

BTW, nice photos you have in your gallery, was it difficult to take the american indians photos with the Pro90IS ?
bcurrie said:
Sorry I did not respond to this sooner, I was waiting to get my
password. First of all, is the Pro90 fast enough? Well yes.
There is no doubt it is slow, but as long as you are not using it
for fast action sports, I would say it is fast enough. Mind you, I
am not saying it can compete with others in the area for speed.
Gary W's link was a good one to look at (thanks Gary, I enjoyed it
too), and if you did not see mine on pbase some other examples are
http://www.pbase.com/bcurrie (look at the various birds, they move quickly
and if I can capture them, I think it is fast enough). Look
particularly at the Greater Sage Grouse in display under the
"Birds" folder. I posted each part of their display. Mind you,
the camera was not quick enough to capture it all at once. But
this display lasted for just a few seconds. It did requiring some
timing on my part, but I think one gets used to any cameras
idosyncracies. Not trying to advertise anything special about my
shots, it just gives you an idea.

As for the average cost. I know a fellow in Australia (that I am
actually surprised he did not see this, though he has been away).
I believe his handle is "Caerwall" here, and he has actually
graphed prices worldwide. So what I am about to say, he gets the
credit for. (He posted it originally at http://www.prodigi.info ).

"There were a few in the USA in the pre-Christmas lead-up (6
sales). The prices are falling. In my opinion the median price for
a Pro90 is US$300 and Euro300. The last US one I recorded was
US$280. There were few offerings in Europe, the sole recent sale in
Europe was Euro351, however the trendline points to Euro300. Seems
like the owners in Europe, like Australia, are hanging on to theirs
if they cannot get the price they want whilst in the USA they are
still being sold at "whatever" price.

I again note that I have not monitored condition or the "extras"
that come with the sale. The prices are just average prices accross
the board."

Hope this helps (sorry for the length)
PC Long said:
I have the opportunity to pick up a used Pro 90is as a backup for
my DReb but I am wondering if this 2.6MP camera can still measure
to today's image quality standards. So far I like what I saw
through searching photosig and pbase. I would appreciate some
comments from those who own or have owned one. Also I am wondering
how much I should pay for a used one in excellent condition.

Thank you!
Click to expand...
bcurrie said:
--PC Long
'I can't remember since when but I now have photographic memory.'
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
--
--PC Long
'I can't remember since when but I now have photographic memory.'
 
Hi TK, sorry to hear of your disappointment with the 300D. So far, I have had great times with mine. Thanks for sharing your opinion on the Pro90IS and your pics. Part of the reason I am looking at the Pro90IS is the IR capability. How did you find the camera for IR pics?
TKLee said:
I have the Pro 90 and 300D.

Frankly I found the Pro90 slow in the focusing. Other than that, I
am very pleased with its image quality despite its 2.6Mp
resolution. I even used it for some of my freelance work and with
some minor photoshop work, the results are very satisfactory. The
10X zoom and IS are really an asset.

I have some pics taken with this camera at http://www.pbase.com/hugolee

The pics are straight from the camera with very little photoshop
adjustments (cos' I didnt know much of photoshop then). You be the
judge for the pics taken. The raw pics are even better.

When I bought my 300D few months ago, I was of course very pleased
with the focusing speed. But soon I was very disappoited with the
constant underexposed pics I got from it. I though perhaps I can
correct it with photoshop so it si no big deal to me. Then
recently I started to have Error 99 with 300D when I use my Sigma
400mm lens. It was a very frustrating experience. Soon I learnt
it is the compatibility problem with the sigma lens. Overall 300D
has been disappointing.

And I find Pro90 a joy to use.

So what is my wish? A real Pro90 replacement. Sadly, Canon has
yet to respond.
Click to expand...
--
--PC Long
'I can't remember since when but I now have photographic memory.'
 
Thanks Tom for reading and sharing your enthusiasm for the Pro90IS. This camera is not easy to find and I have a feeling many are keeping theirs like you. But I wonder why a Drebel owner would moan over selling their Pro90IS. Is it the IS and 10X zoom they miss? Isn't that just buying the right lens for the DRebel?
Tom Caldwell said:
PC Long said:
I have the opportunity to pick up a used Pro 90is as a backup for
my DReb but I am wondering if this 2.6MP camera can still measure
to today's image quality standards. So far I like what I saw
through searching photosig and pbase. I would appreciate some
comments from those who own or have owned one. Also I am wondering
how much I should pay for a used one in excellent condition.

Thank you!

--PC Long
'I can't remember since when but I now have photographic memory.'
Click to expand...
Thanks for the credit Barry,

I suppose I would get to read this thread sooner or later!

I had a Pro90 and Canon lost it, so I went out on an odessy to find
something to replace it. Tried them "all" and ended up buying a
second hand Pro90 (or three). It is slow but you get to appreciate
that a big 2.6mp sensor is much better than a small 5mp sensor.

My favourite kit is my 10D and big bag of gear for serious effort
when I have my Sherpa porter to assist and the Pro90 which is much
more portable and produces good pictures nevertheless and is
usually around when I need it. I just don't try for sports
pictures with the Pro90 and I know its limitations. Its still way
ahead of much of the rest of the pack.

Its flip LCD 10x optical and IS capabilities together with internal
focussing lens make it a candid shooter's dream, especially with
all sounds turned off. Note: not "spy" just legitimate "candid"
work where you wish to capture someone you know while they are
relaxed and don't have their "photo-face" on.

Dollar for picture quality ratio the Pro90 is much better value
than the 10D or the Rebel. When the chips are down the expensive
DSLR's just carry the day but not by as much as is generally
thought.

My advice: keep the Pro90 if you have one - they are going to be
competitive for some time yet. If you haven't got one and can find
someone silly enough to sell you one for US$350 then buy it (quick)
before they change their mind. The camera is destined to become a
classic.

I have seen several persons moaning how they regretted selling
their Pro90 when they "traded up" to a 300D Rebel.

--
Tom Caldwell
Click to expand...
--
--PC Long
'I can't remember since when but I now have photographic memory.'
 
I suppose you are talking about Infra Red Photos? Well my experience is that if you use the B&W mode, the IR filter cuts off too much light that often the pic has to be taken with very slow speed and wide aperture. Hence a tirpod is strongly recommended. Also, in B&W mode, the shutter speed is limited to only 8sec I believe, though I wish it can be bulb. Some took IR pic in P mode which allows longer shutter speed but I am not sure how it would turn out to look like B&W IR pic with photoshop.

I tried to sell my Pro90 once but I back out of the sales partly due to the low offer price. But I am glad I didnt sell it. It is definitely worth keeping. In fact with the wide angle attachment, close up filter and tele-converter, the possibilities are amazing with Pro90.
PC Long said:
TKLee said:
I have the Pro 90 and 300D.

Frankly I found the Pro90 slow in the focusing. Other than that, I
am very pleased with its image quality despite its 2.6Mp
resolution. I even used it for some of my freelance work and with
some minor photoshop work, the results are very satisfactory. The
10X zoom and IS are really an asset.

I have some pics taken with this camera at http://www.pbase.com/hugolee

The pics are straight from the camera with very little photoshop
adjustments (cos' I didnt know much of photoshop then). You be the
judge for the pics taken. The raw pics are even better.

When I bought my 300D few months ago, I was of course very pleased
with the focusing speed. But soon I was very disappoited with the
constant underexposed pics I got from it. I though perhaps I can
correct it with photoshop so it si no big deal to me. Then
recently I started to have Error 99 with 300D when I use my Sigma
400mm lens. It was a very frustrating experience. Soon I learnt
it is the compatibility problem with the sigma lens. Overall 300D
has been disappointing.

And I find Pro90 a joy to use.

So what is my wish? A real Pro90 replacement. Sadly, Canon has
yet to respond.
Click to expand...
--
--PC Long
'I can't remember since when but I now have photographic memory.'
Click to expand...
 
PC Long said:
Tom Caldwell said:
PC Long said:
I have the opportunity to pick up a used Pro 90is as a backup for
my DReb but I am wondering if this 2.6MP camera can still measure
to today's image quality standards. So far I like what I saw
through searching photosig and pbase. I would appreciate some
comments from those who own or have owned one. Also I am wondering
how much I should pay for a used one in excellent condition.

Thank you!

--PC Long
'I can't remember since when but I now have photographic memory.'
Click to expand...
Thanks for the credit Barry,

I suppose I would get to read this thread sooner or later!

I had a Pro90 and Canon lost it, so I went out on an odessy to find
something to replace it. Tried them "all" and ended up buying a
second hand Pro90 (or three). It is slow but you get to appreciate
that a big 2.6mp sensor is much better than a small 5mp sensor.

My favourite kit is my 10D and big bag of gear for serious effort
when I have my Sherpa porter to assist and the Pro90 which is much
more portable and produces good pictures nevertheless and is
usually around when I need it. I just don't try for sports
pictures with the Pro90 and I know its limitations. Its still way
ahead of much of the rest of the pack.

Its flip LCD 10x optical and IS capabilities together with internal
focussing lens make it a candid shooter's dream, especially with
all sounds turned off. Note: not "spy" just legitimate "candid"
work where you wish to capture someone you know while they are
relaxed and don't have their "photo-face" on.

Dollar for picture quality ratio the Pro90 is much better value
than the 10D or the Rebel. When the chips are down the expensive
DSLR's just carry the day but not by as much as is generally
thought.

My advice: keep the Pro90 if you have one - they are going to be
competitive for some time yet. If you haven't got one and can find
someone silly enough to sell you one for US$350 then buy it (quick)
before they change their mind. The camera is destined to become a
classic.

I have seen several persons moaning how they regretted selling
their Pro90 when they "traded up" to a 300D Rebel.

--
Tom Caldwell
Click to expand...
--
--PC Long
'I can't remember since when but I now have photographic memory.'
Click to expand...
Bigger (bulkier), not such a step up in quality of image as they had thought, loss of flip screen lcd, no image stabilising. In the end those that first own a Pro90 pay scant regard to Image Stabilising but in the end I think that is what they miss the most even though it is not articulated. I know that I have come to love "IS" and the hit rate of good pictures is likely to diminish once you move away from the Pro90. I know I was getting a bit casual about what I "could get away with" and non-IS lenses need more care from the photographer. I am spoilt with my 10D because I have bought two IS lenses to go with it but the kit lens that comes with the 300D is not IS.

My biggest disappointment was when I "replaced" my lost Pro90 with a Nikon 5700.

The Pro90 is an easy to use friend that rewards you with images that make you feel that you are a better photographer than you really are. Way ahead of its time the market was not ready for it.

--
Tom Caldwell
 
Hi,
Stephen Kovac Jr said:
Reading the post on this forum, many believe that the Canon Pro 90
is going to be replace this year.
Click to expand...
I don't think so. If the Pro 90 IS was a big seller, Canon had replaced
it a long time ago. Remind that the G1 series cams were replaced
by an successor every year (betwenn G3 and G5 only 9 months).

OTOH, I'd liike to see a fast and big range zoom cam with
an image stabilizer. The Minolta A1 looks nice, despite of
the picture quality.

PMA will bring more than one device by canon.

Andreas
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Keyboard shortcuts

f
Forum
m
My threads
Mobile site
About
Editorial content
Cameras & Lenses
Community
All content, design, and layout are Copyright © 1998–2025 Digital Photography Review All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction in whole or part in any form or medium without specific written permission is prohibited.
When you use DPReview links to buy products, the site may earn a commission.
©GPS Media - Guides, Products, Services.
Back
Top