Canon EOS 30D 8.2 megapixel DSLR reviewed

Although not as much of an upgrade from the 20D as photography enthusiasts would have liked, the Canon EOS 30D DSLR nonetheless retains the quality performance and full feature set of its predecessor while addressing some key concerns that users had with the 2004 model. DPreview comes to these conclusions prior to bestowing their "Highly Recommended" rating on the 30D -- which obviously fared well in their rigorous testing -- finding it to be a strong competitor in its category for both image quality and value. Most welcomed by the reviewers was the addition of spot metering, variable continuous shooting rates, and the jump to a 2.5-inch LCD, although problems that plagued the 20D such as AI Servo banding with certain lenses and poor incandescent lighting results were not improved to their satisfaction. Still, besides these relatively isolated issues, most of the gripes with this model are minor quibbles, and it seems safe to say that anyone in the market for a mid-range DSLR would be more than satisfied with Canon's offering.

[Paul H @ Apr 4th 2006 9:14PM]

Sigh.. Yeah.. Thus continues canon's major update, minor update, major update, minor update streak... :/

[RyanV @ Apr 4th 2006 9:32PM]

I think that Canon insults their customer base by doing intermittent releases like this. I'm not saying that it is a Canon only issue, but at least when Nikon does minor updates they don�t lead you to believe that it is a completely new model. (ala the D70 to D70s) And for those of you who are going to argue that this camera is such a great upgrade from the 20D, you are suckers and just what Canon is looking for to purchase these... In my opinion, this is the perfect time to pick up a 20D at a discount.

[Washington DC Photographer @ Apr 4th 2006 10:03PM]

It's amazing that they show a $1500 lens (85mm f1.2) on a prosumer camera like this!

[Echo_ @ Apr 4th 2006 10:11PM]

It's amazing that they show a $1500 lens (85mm f1.2) on a prosumer camera like this!

lol its true

[Russell @ Apr 4th 2006 10:44PM]

Why? I have $5k in lenses for my "prosumer" 20D...

L Glass does great on a 20D just like it does on a 1DmkII...

I'd question it if they did that on a DRebel but a lot of pro's use 20D's as lightweight travel option or second body...

[icerabbit @ Apr 4th 2006 11:11PM]

I haven't read the article in the greatest detail, but the 30D unfortunately enough does not seem to address some of my quibbles with the 20D:

- loud shutter (forget certain close-ups, medium range wildlife & candid shots in quiet environments)
- lack of permanent ISO sensitivity display (I've shot a number of times during daytime in 1600 & H)
- single view review with advanced data? ... and I don't really need the date & time displayed in the review. I'll pull full info if I need it. I'm curious if the increased pixel # (230k up from 118k) aids the detail of the tiny thumbnail ... I always find myself switching to single view & back.
- select & delete multiple files and / or folders on camera (you have to do file per file or all images)
- create a new folder per day option

I don't know if this is covered or not: the 20D's black specks in the internal viewfinder screen. I hate all those tiny little black dots embedded in the glass. They distract me and don't help when I'm using manual focus. Why not simply clear glass?

Thankfully there is no longer the issue where every 99 images there is a new folder. Spotmeter is a plus. So is RGB histogram.

[Jeff @ Apr 4th 2006 11:44PM]

"It's amazing that they show a $1500 lens (85mm f1.2) on a prosumer camera like this!"

Huh? Lots of people put $2,000 L-series lenses on their 20D's or below - they take the money they saved on the camera and put it towards glass, where it probably belongs. And I hate to be the one to break it to you, but lots of pros have 20D's also - either as spare bodies or as a lightweight alternative to whatever they usually carry around. (Or even as a primary camera! Some pros don't need anything more.)

[Rich @ Apr 5th 2006 12:00AM]

I debated this camera -vs- the Nikon D200... the D200 beats the pants off this camera. I wish the rumors were true of the 10mp full frame camera. Lies baby.. Sold all my Canon gear on ebay.. gone!

[Washington DC Photographer @ Apr 5th 2006 12:33AM]

Russell/Jeff --

The 85 f1.2 is a serious, *specialty* lens used almost exclusively in low low light situations. The f1.8 lens is 1/2 the price and only marginally worse than the 1.2. It'd be like them showing a tilt/shift lens with the body, but then again, you'll use a tilt/shift more than you would an 85 f1.2.

John

[Ken @ Apr 5th 2006 1:55AM]

A full stop in L quality glass in a telephoto lens is "marginal?"

You should have called yourself "Amateur Washington DC Photographer."

[Bernard @ Apr 5th 2006 2:15AM]

11. Russell/Jeff --

The 85 f1.2 is a serious, *specialty* lens used almost exclusively in low low light situations. The f1.8 lens is 1/2 the price and only marginally worse than the 1.2. It'd be like them showing a tilt/shift lens with the body, but then again, you'll use a tilt/shift more than you would an 85 f1.2.

John,

You're a bit misinformed. The 85/1.8 costs roughly $350, not half the price of the 85/1.2. The 85/1.8 is a great lens for the price with extremely fast autofocus and great image quality. The 85/1.2 is quite an amazing beast in itself, but is not relegated to only low light situations. It's a phenomenal portrait lens that's more suited to studio work if only because of the much much slower autofocus speeds and the extreme shallow depth of field. Also due to the extremely wide 1.2 aperture, your subject seems to pop out at, almost akin to a 3D effect due to that extremely shallow depth of field, and which is quite useful to professional photogs, however I would not call it a "specialty" lens. The 1.2 and the 1.8 versions of the 85mm are great in their own rights and each have their strengths and weaknesses. Also what's wrong with using a tiltshift lens or the 85/1.2 on a 20D or a 30D? These lenses are not limited to professionals or to professional bodies only. These cameras are quite suited to using all these lenses available to them.

[Washington DC Photographer @ Apr 5th 2006 3:45AM]

Actually KEN, the difference between f1.2 and f1.8 is NOT a full stop. On an 85mm lens, the diameter of the aperture is 70.83mm, and the diameter of the aperture at f1.8 is 47.22mm. At f1.2, that's 3,939.37 sq millimeters. At f1.8, it's 1750.37 sq mm. The TRUE 1.0 stop increment would be an increase to a 50.1mm diameter, or f1.7.

That out of the way -- the sweet spot on the 1.8 is between f5.6 and f8, and the sweet spot on the 1.2 is between f8 and f11. I say this because I OWN both, and have tested them with scientific instrumentation.

And, as to the pricing -- the NEW 85mm lens is a $2100 lens (Telephoto EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM Autofocus Lens), the 85mm lens I own (Telephoto EF 85mm f/1.2L USM Autofocus Lens) -- also L glass, was $1500, and the 1.8 lens I also own(Telephoto EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Autofocus Lens) is $350.

So, do you buy a lens which gives you the best (read sharpest) images at f5.6 for $350, or at f8 for $1500?

As to the comment:
".. It's a phenomenal portrait lens that's more suited to studio work if only because of the much much slower autofocus speeds and the extreme shallow depth of field..."

The "standard" in the photographic industry for a portrait lens is a 105mm, and one of the major differences between the new $2100 lens and the $1500 lens is that the new lens is a faster focus by a significant factor, so your need for a slower auto focus would not be served by this lens.

You also said "... Also what's wrong with using a tiltshift lens or the 85/1.2 on a 20D or a 30D?"

My point was that it'd be just as unusual to see this lens on the body as it would be to see a tilt/shift lens on it. Nothing's wrong with it -- if there was, Canon would have made the duo incompatible, as they have done in the past, especially with lens mounts.

John

[Ken @ Apr 5th 2006 4:22AM]

"So, do you buy a lens which gives you the best (read sharpest) images at f5.6 for $350, or at f8 for $1500?"

If I were a real photographer, shooting real assignments, I'd buy the one that was a stop faster.

But if I weren't, I'd post snotty, hair-splitting calculations that merely prove that the 1.2 is, um, a stop faster.

[max @ Apr 5th 2006 5:37AM]

You guys are great. Very entertaining to read. Hey, as long as you can take great pictures with WHATEVER lens, there is really nothing to argue about.
Plus, for most people, 1500 or 350 will probably make a small difference and ultimately affect their decision ;-)

[mikey @ Apr 5th 2006 6:10AM]

my powershot s300 is much better than the 20d OR the 30d. That's because I can take pictures of my gf during sex unbeknownst to her and post them on my webpage. Try doing THAT with a SLR. SLING!

http://maddox.xmission.com/

[RyanV @ Apr 5th 2006 11:13AM]

you dont have a girlfriend you tool. Stop taking gross pictures of your mother.

[Jimmy @ Apr 5th 2006 12:49PM]

#17,

Hate to break it to you, but she-males are not girls. Next time you're taking a picture with your s300, zoom in down south and note where your f-stop is zooming.

[Canon EOS 30D @ Apr 13th 2006 9:31AM]

An otherwise very good camera FINALLY gets updated with true spot metering � an extremely useful/important feature which has been in every mid-range Nikon camera, and every $ 300 digicam for several years now. (Even Canon's old mid-range film series, the A2E, had this feature over 10 years ago). Anyway, for the outdoor photographer in particular spot meter is more than an �incremental� addition � it�s a very welcome addition to what is now a well rounded advanced amateur/'pro-sumer' dSLR camera.

[john @ Apr 19th 2006 9:23PM]

The 2 dvd set of training videos for the 30D are now our at the elitevideo.com link above. Don't get these videos if you have mastered the manual. But if you hate decoding manuals and want to be shown every feature and how to use it, the videos are pretty decent.

[DC Photojournalist @ Apr 25th 2006 10:34AM]

I think the thing to remember is that this lens was released at almost the same time as the camera. Maybe, just maybe, that is why they chose to put it on the 30D. As for the the tilt shift as a specialty lens, take a look at the work of Brooks Kraft from Time Magazine, he uses a tilt shift when shooting politics to slant the focus plane so he can get two people in focus who are not standing right next to each other. It can be used as a poor mans view camera. Photojournalists use both fast prime lenses and tilt shifts when they want a different look. And I know for a fact that a good amount of the Washington Post staff use or have used the 20D's for every day work. Cheers

[ericsmpson @ Apr 28th 2006 10:39AM]

well thats me not knowing witch way to turn???.there i was on my way to get a 85mm lens
than came across this site so which one do i get ? is one a lot slower than the other i use both a 20d/5d
both good camers./ unless you 2 tell me thay are not
iwould use the lens both in side and out so would you help by pointing me in the right way after that i was going to get a macro lens regards and thanks eric

[photogal @ Jan 15th 2007 6:11PM]

im looking in to buying the eos 30D does anyone think that i should look nto buying a different model?