Upgrading a D30 is a 10D worth it?

[Michael Todd]

I thought about the 30D at $1399 and just wasn't convinced the improvements really meant much to me.

I thought about a 20D at $1100 and just couldn't see spending that money on a camera which was in essence a discontinued model. (even though I like mine--I thought it should be cheaper)

I decided to pay $585 for a 350D, Digital Rebel XT. It doesn't have the frame rate or the controls of my 20D, but it does have an 8 MP sensor and quite a few good features, even though I have to go into menus to get to them.

My plan is to use my 20D with my 70-200 for action and my XT with my 17-40 for slower subjects. This way I won't have to switch lenses on a shoot and I'll have a second body if one has a problem.

My XT should arrive tomorrow. It's a Camaro instead of a Corvette, but I think it'll do the job for me, and for half the price!!

--
Todd Muskopf
professional fine art painter, aspiring photog
http://www.muskopf.org

 

[Klint Buckner]

Thanks for the input. I have been using the D30 since the D60
came out and when I got it the camera was actually really fast to
me compared to the p/s camera I upgraded from (sony 707). Since I
have had it so long I am used to its limitatons on pretty much
everything except the AF. And I really hate handing it to someone
else to use because I know they will never get the thing to lock in
so they can take a picture.

I think you obviously have a D30 with autofocus problems. I seldom
had problems with getting a focus lock with either it or my D60. In
low light it was often slow, but the focus assist light would come
on and I would always get a lock. Honestly if your D30 often gives
you focusing problems, I think it is probably having some kind of
equipment problems.
--
Dave Lewis

I did have it serviced once and tested but it came back the same way. The problem isnt bad enough to make it unusable and I am used to it now but if the subject is dark at all you really have to find a good contrasty place to lock it in on then take the pic.

I have the 550ex and if I am in range for the red helper light it will lock right in but the range on that thing seems to be pretty short.

I have a good question.. When I had that old sony it had a built in laser focus helper that would spam a pattern out giving it the ability to focus in total darkness. Why have they not made a hot shoe add on thing that can do this with a SLR? Copyrights maybe?

--
KB
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http://www.cosplayphotos.com/
http://www.obsessedwithanime.com/photo_gallery/

 

[Klint Buckner]

You are right 800 is pretty much useless and 1600 shouldnt even be there. Also I get some noise and banding with very long exposures and I love doing long exposures.

--
KB
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http://www.cosplayphotos.com/
http://www.obsessedwithanime.com/photo_gallery/

 

[Klint Buckner]

I thought about the 30D at $1399 and just wasn't convinced the
improvements really meant much to me.

I thought about a 20D at $1100 and just couldn't see spending that
money on a camera which was in essence a discontinued model. (even
though I like mine--I thought it should be cheaper)

I decided to pay $585 for a 350D, Digital Rebel XT. It doesn't
have the frame rate or the controls of my 20D, but it does have an
8 MP sensor and quite a few good features, even though I have to go
into menus to get to them.

My plan is to use my 20D with my 70-200 for action and my XT with
my 17-40 for slower subjects. This way I won't have to switch
lenses on a shoot and I'll have a second body if one has a problem.

My XT should arrive tomorrow. It's a Camaro instead of a Corvette,
but I think it'll do the job for me, and for half the price!!

--
Todd Muskopf
professional fine art painter, aspiring photog
http://www.muskopf.org

I am a big Camaro fan. Where did you find the XT so cheap?

--
KB
See profile for eq



http://www.cosplayphotos.com/
http://www.obsessedwithanime.com/photo_gallery/

 

[MachuRoberts]

--
-Machu

Yes, I realize speling is a chalunge for sum of us...I am inkluded in that grup, so pleze foregiv me.

The Beauty of IR

 

[MachuRoberts]

1/30 sec exposure



--
-Machu

Yes, I realize speling is a chalunge for sum of us...I am inkluded in that grup, so pleze foregiv me.

The Beauty of IR

 

[eshropshire]

If $600 is your limit and you want to move up, I would get the 10D. I have a 10D and a 20D, and while I agree that the 20D is great and I found it worth every penny for the upgrade, if I had not upgraded I would be happy with a 10D.

The 10D is still a special camera for me, my 1st DSLR, I was actually looking at switching to Nikon when the 10D came out because of the AF of the D60 (after 25 years with Canon). The 10D has some quirks to work around, but with a little practice it is capable of taking great pictures and it AF and over all performance is very good.

I think you will be very pleased with the upgrade.
--
Ed
http://www.cbrycelea.com/photos/

 

[eshropshire]

The price of the XT is now around $600 at good stores. I would strongly recommend going this route. This camera has much of the 20D in the camera and is much faster than the 10D. Sure the camera is a little smaller, and I keep hearing people talk about build quality, but have yet to hear of real problems. I would go this route, get a new camera with the warranty.
--
Ed
http://www.cbrycelea.com/photos/

 

[Molokai_fiords]

Although the D30 has a ways to go in order to compete with the 20D in high-iso IQ, it is quite usable...

iso 800:

iso 1600:

But as is still the case with newer cams - exposure is critical

As long as it doesn't hunt for AF (too low contrast / low light) the AF is very accurate. It was however real sad to move from Elan II (EOS 50) and the AF of D30...

Oh and if you put a canon flash on top of it, you get the IR focus assist which is much less intrusive than the on-camera white light (Which I really really hate - Excellent feature on the 20D is to use focus assist only when the flash is connected. GO CANON!)

there is a difference

to be sure, just open up Phils review of both of them and take
alook at his high ISO charts and shot comparison

i don't remember being able to do ISO 800 in my D30 and getting
away with it...

--
-Machu
Yes, I realize speling is a chalunge for sum of us...I am inkluded
in that grup, so pleze foregiv me.

The Beauty of IR

 

[Molokai_fiords]

ISO 800: http://www.stubdal.net/bilder/2005/12/crw_8999.htm
ISO 1600: http://www.stubdal.net/bilder/2005/12/crw_9128.htm

(ok, 1600 is pushing it a bit..)

 

[Molokai_fiords]

I have had almost 5 years with my D30, and it was great. It is still in use, sold it to a friend as an easy way to get into "real" digital photography

I think you stated here somewhere that you do a lot of low-light shooting. For this reason and for the ability to use ef-s lenses, I would agree with the others here who ask you to consider the 350D. It has practically the same sensor and IQ of the 20D/30D - including better ISO performance than the 10D.

Yes the build quality is lower, but it will give you the best IQ for the buck.

Hello all,

I have been using a D30 since the D60 came out and decided it may
be finally time to upgrade. I found a guy selling a 10D in very
good shape for $600. I really trust the opinions on here. What do
you guys think? Worth it or should I hold off (possibly a long
time) so I can afford a 20 or 30D?

The good thing about the 10D is I can use my battery grip on it and
that is the last model it seems to work on.

Also the D30 is still going strong after the shutter replacement.
I wonder how many are still out there in service.

--
KB
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http://www.cosplayphotos.com/
http://www.obsessedwithanime.com/photo_gallery/

 

[Klint Buckner]

Yea the more I look at the 350 the better option it seems. Although a small issue is I cannot use my D30 battery grip or the batterys themselvs in the rebel. Also did I read right the battery life is much less due to the smaller size? That could be a serious issue because I do run it out even with 2 in the grip.

--
KB
See profile for eq



http://www.cosplayphotos.com/
http://www.obsessedwithanime.com/photo_gallery/

 

[Molokai_fiords]

I can buy the grip issue - and with an even smaller body it might be more important to you with the 350D.

I don't buy the battery issue though, as it must be nearing the end of its lifecycle. Last summer my two batteries for my D30 gave me 5-10 minutes of photography when "fully" charged. And third party batteries are pretty cheap.

Yea the more I look at the 350 the better option it seems.
Although a small issue is I cannot use my D30 battery grip or the
batterys themselvs in the rebel. Also did I read right the
battery life is much less due to the smaller size? That could be a
serious issue because I do run it out even with 2 in the grip.

--
KB
See profile for eq



http://www.cosplayphotos.com/
http://www.obsessedwithanime.com/photo_gallery/

 

[caterpillar]

Yea the more I look at the 350 the better option it seems.
Although a small issue is I cannot use my D30 battery grip or the
batterys themselvs in the rebel. Also did I read right the
battery life is much less due to the smaller size? That could be a
serious issue because I do run it out even with 2 in the grip.

The battery is a non-issue. It gives you the same capacity as was before w/c is about 600. The 20d and 30d will give you 1000 or more easy. But if you base it on your d30 the bp-511 will give you about 600 w/c is what the 350d can give you for a smaller battery. In any case, generic batteries are cheap and still will give you the same capacity. I recently got a bp-511 for U$16 and I just tested it on the 20d and it gave me over 1,000 shots. The 350d generic battery will give you about 600 or more shots depending. Remember the 300d, d60 is about in the 600 range also with the larger bp-511. So what's the worry?

As for the grip. Well, if you ask me, I would rather have a good IQ camera, fast AF, cleaner ISO, etc than worry about the grip. If the grip is that important to you, get the 10d. What I will tell you though and you will never know it till you own a 350d and a 20d or a 30d, you will not experience the better performance of these cameras. So, you can be happy in your own belief that the 10d is enough.

I remind you again, I have the d60 and the 300d and I will maintain that the 20d (or 30d) will beat the pants of these cameras in almost all departments. And its the same for the 10d. The 10d cannot match the ISO performance, AF speed, AF accuracy, fast response, quick startup, fast save to CF, better exposure, etc of the 350d or a 20d. Go get the 350d if budget is an issue. Forget about the grip. You are trading a convenience for the more important issue of photographic performance of the 350d (or 20d).

If you like to live in the 10d world, that is your prerogative. Don't think long about it. Get the 10d now! At least you can use your grip!

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

• Caterpillar

'Always in the process of changing, growing, and transforming.'

 

[Michael Todd]

B & H. They're selling it for $685 or so and there's a $100 rebate on it from Canon.

--
Todd Muskopf
professional fine art painter, aspiring photog
http://www.muskopf.org

 

[bimmerman]

You'll not only get faster, more reliable AF on the 20D, you'll also get better evaluative metering and ETTL-II. All this plus the croppability of 8MP should sweaten the deal even further.

I'd say skip the 10D and go for the 20D when you can afford it.

 

[MachuRoberts]

--
-Machu

Yes, I realize speling is a chalunge for sum of us...I am inkluded in that grup, so pleze foregiv me.

The Beauty of IR

 

[MachuRoberts]

--
-Machu

Yes, I realize speling is a chalunge for sum of us...I am inkluded in that grup, so pleze foregiv me.

The Beauty of IR

 

[Dave Lewis]

but i would not say it happens on a rather frequent occation.

however i did get it calibrated by Canon after i got it...so mabye
that helped?

Acutally, I based it primarily on the number of threads concerning inaccurate focus that came along with the 10D and the Rebel D. I never saw such threads with the D30 or D60, though focus complaints due to slow focus lock were the popular ones with those two cameras.

My 10D was pretty accurate and focused quickly as did my Rebel D and my current Rebel XT. However, the 10D was picky with lenses. It was terrible with the 28-135 IS zoom while the D30, Rebel D, and XT and my current D60 are just perfect with the same lens. It was terrible with a Sigma 70-300 APO zoom but everything I tried it on was terrible too. It too was the first camera that wouldn't work with older third party lenses. Error 99's were a new blessing with the 10D. It was heavy and the viewfinder wasn't all that bright and I quite honestly hated it. When I got the Rebel D, I thought I was in heaven. It did everything the 10D was supposed to do but flash exposure compensation, and had a great short zoom and with the lens weighted less than the 10D body alone. I could actually take it with me when I went back in a few miles fishing and hiking.

I would never recommend a 10D to anyone. I think for the same money a D60 is a much better choice. It probably tells you something that the D60's are bringing the same money as the 10D's. If you want an older backup camera or even to spring for something newer than a D30 that will focus quick in low light, the cheapest alternative is the Rebel D, then use the firmware hack and have everything the 10D had but in a lighter cheaper package that works much better with some of the lenses the 10D hates. Bottom line, though, is the Rebel XT. In my mind it is everything the 20D and 30D are at half the price.

After I sold my 10D and Rebel D, I had made up my mind to get the 20D till I tried it side by side with the Rebel XT and could see absolutely nothing about it that was more attractive than the XT and at half again the money.

You know Pentax has been charged with giving the *istD three or four different names to market it. Canon really hasn't done a whole lot differently in that regard in consumer DSLR's from the beginning. When you get right down to it, for most of the pictures we take and really use for web display and printing with our letter size printers, the D30 serves us just about perfectly. Our rationalizations for all the later models have been pretty thin, when you get down to it. I was looking back a while ago at a folder of shots I took with the D30 back in 2002 and was overwhelmed with the quality and the colors and the detail and everything else that made me gasp every time I downloaded images from it. I honestly wish I had it back.

So, to the original poster, keep the D30 and buy and XT. You'll not be disappointed that you did. We have to feed our obsessions, but feeding them by throwing away what we have come to love is a mistake.

--
Dave Lewis

 

[yvn]

If I was you I would go for 20D that would be a big step up from you D30.

I really never liked the color on my 10D(coming from D60) and though it is faster the D30 it often misses the foucus
SO go for 20D or if money is the issue go Digital RebelXT