Canon ships 30 millionth EOS SLR, 10 millionth EOS DSLR

It's been 20 years since Canon shipped the first film-based EOS 650 AF SLR, and although the camera industry has undergone some fundamental changes since, the EOS line remains as strong as ever. Canon announced today that it's now shipped over 30 million EOS cameras, and over 10 million digital EOS units since launching those in 2000 with the EOS D30. With popular models like the XTi / 400D flying off shelves, it looks like we've got another 20 years to look forward to -- congrats, Canon!

[austin @ Dec 20th 2007 7:06PM]

that means that theyve sold a helluva lot a dslrs in a little bit a time

[mushrooshi @ Dec 20th 2007 7:15PM]

I like the way the 1987 one looks better. The 2007 once to be honest looks like a consumer product while the older one looks like Pro product.

[abadtooth @ Dec 20th 2007 7:38PM]

Agreed.

I have a very old cannon AE-1, that this is built like a rock, very nice camera, just wish it could be digital :(

[bradwjensen @ Dec 20th 2007 10:52PM]

I fully agree too, i was wondering what others thought about that too when i saw both of them.

[Jeff @ Dec 20th 2007 11:34PM]

There's nothing "pro" about the EOS 650 in either looks or feel. Or features. As a former owner of an EOS 650 and a current owner of a Rebel XT, I can assure you that *any* of the current EOS DSLR line, including even the Rebel (which has a steel cage underneath the plastic), is better built.

That said, the EOS line is Canon's entire lineup of SLR's at this point. So it encompasses everything from "enthusiast" cameras to pro-level stuff. So Engadget *could* have, if they so chose, had an image with one consumer camera and one pro camera, from either era. But they didn't; both of those cameras fall in the "enthusiast" category. The 40D is *much* better built, though.

Here's a page with some more shots of the EOS 650: http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/hardwares/classics/eos/eoscamera/650/

And the 40D: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos40d/page4.asp

You get a good look at the all-metal construction at that link.

[Mike @ Dec 21st 2007 8:21AM]

that's why i initially went nikon over canon. i held the d200 and the 30d, and there was just no comparison. the 30d looked and felt like a plastic toy, while the d200 had that solid pro metal body... that's saying nothing about the internals. the 30d's sensor is way better than the d200.

btw, i was shocked when i held my friends 10d and realized it had a metal body! canon needs to stop weakening their mid-to-lower-end products to try to get people to by their highest end gear.

[BigD @ Dec 21st 2007 11:38AM]

I'm pretty sure the 30D is a magnesium alloy body just like the 20D and 40D. There is a covering on the camera that could leave one to believe that it is not metal.

[David Clark @ Dec 20th 2007 7:21PM]

Too bad the software was designed in hell.. seriously..

[darren @ Dec 20th 2007 7:24PM]

I too like the 1987 look. It's smaller, more streamlined, and pro-looking. Is it just me, or does the new one look bigger? I mean, you'd think it would be even smaller than the older models after 20 years!

[Sean D. @ Dec 20th 2007 8:07PM]

The photos of the cameras aren't to scale. The 40D is actually quite a bit smaller than a 1987 EOS (compare the diameter of where the lens attaches).

Or were you being sarcastic?

[austin @ Dec 20th 2007 8:15PM]

because of the slr mirrors it really cant be smaller.
also, a smaller, lighter camera would be harder to hold and keep steady. and people that use these cameras dont put them in their pocket or purse so they dont need to be small

[pizzadebarr @ Dec 20th 2007 7:31PM]

ooops! someone forgot a zero on that "XTi / 40D" link...

[Russ @ Dec 20th 2007 7:33PM]

We just bought the 40D this week a the local camera store. It's built like a friggin' tank.

While I'm sure it will take better pictures than our P&S, I've got to get used to being 'that guy' with a huge ass camera around his neck and 'tourist' on his forehead.

[Nick @ Dec 20th 2007 7:41PM]

Congratulations, Canon. You just shipped #10,000,000 and you're about to get slammed by the Sony Alpha! Great work!

http://comparati.com/1622-Canon-EOS-4-d-vs-Sony-Alpha-DSLR-A7-

[vsaint @ Dec 20th 2007 7:46PM]

An SLR is only as strong as the lenses available for it.

[Nick @ Dec 20th 2007 8:02PM]

Then go buy a Pentax. Lens helps, but the body makes the photo.

[Jim Charles @ Dec 20th 2007 8:07PM]

You really don't know what you're talking about. It's all about the lenses.

[austin @ Dec 20th 2007 8:17PM]

thats why nikon and canon have the best slrs. lenses.
olympus and sony dont have as good of quality lenses, so the cameras follow

[ray @ Dec 20th 2007 11:36PM]

SONY has Zeiss

[j.d.ripper @ Dec 21st 2007 4:51AM]

I must agree. A good selection of lenses make a big difference. On that front, Sony can't complete with Canon (neither can Pentax)

[tamoghno @ Dec 21st 2007 5:41AM]

@ ray

SONY has Zeiss brand NOT quality, sony really fcuked the zeiss quality & just ripping the brand.

though personally i am a Nikonian , i have full respect to canon,they are really innovative.

Any number on the Alpha ?

[ehisforadam @ Dec 21st 2007 8:47AM]

Dude, shut up, you're making us Minolta/Sony fans look bad.

[primetime4 @ Dec 21st 2007 10:02AM]

Anyone who doesn't think Sony/Minolta glass can compete with Canon/Nikon is mistaken. True the selection is not there but there are some high end pieces that in my opinion are better. G glass will always be better than L.

[benjasmine @ Dec 21st 2007 10:13AM]

Well, besides Zeiss...All Minolta AF lenses fit on Sony too...

[Randall Kelley @ Dec 20th 2007 8:32PM]

We love ours!

[duke @ Dec 20th 2007 8:35PM]

Just finished cleaning my 40d, 24-105L, 100-400L, and 100mm macro for a much needed vacation after Christmas and came on here to see this. Yay for Canon! You are the best! The 40d is one helluva camera, especially with the grip.

[austin @ Dec 20th 2007 8:52PM]

helluva has been used in the comments for this article already (please see first comment)

you are in violation of section 45634b. code 56823g. it states the following- one may not use an uncommon compound slang word involving a mild curse more than once in an internet thread.



just kidding.

[LeiAtLarge @ Dec 20th 2007 9:18PM]

Bragging about camera gear won't help you in taking better pictures.

[duke @ Dec 20th 2007 10:23PM]

@austin - Didn't see that, I usually just skim through the comments. Helluva is an overused word though. My bad!

@LeiAtLarge - Jealous much? You're right though--it won't help me, but I don't need it. I actually just picked up this kit a few months ago. Before I used a Rebel XT w/ 28-105 and 55-200, before that a Sony Cybershot V1, Sony Cybershot P32, P31, and a Kodak VGA 15 minute battery life with 2mb memory back in 1999. Use an Elan 7n and a camera I built myself for 35mm. I've also used large and medium format for class. I've used plenty of crappy equipment in the past. Now that I'm nearly graduated and a pro, I'm making enough money with my photography (and graphics design) to buy the pro equipment. I wasn't trying to brag, I was literally just cleaning those before I got on here and was showing my Canon fanboism. Canon is my mom! Apple fanboys talk about their fancy stuff all the time and nobody says anything.

Emmett Gowin was lecturing at my school a few weeks ago and our photography club took him out to dinner. The topic of equipment came up, and he acknowledged that the camera doesn't make the photographer. The camera's job is to get out of the way of the photographer, to make it as easy as possible for the artist to achieve their vision. Be it large format, as he enjoys, or the new appeal of digital photography.

This is a quote that I follow, by Brooks Anderson, about the camera: "The virtue of the camera is not the power it has to transform the photographer into an artist, but the impulse it gives him to keep on looking." Whatever I'm using, be it my 40d, my grandpa's Cybershot W7 or a pinhole camera, I always strive to keep on looking. Another creed I follow, of Ansel Adams, "There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs." Some people are born with it, others aren't. I know where I stand, do you?

[Jon Doe @ Dec 20th 2007 8:52PM]

Canon better get their butt in gear with the next gen of Rebel. The XTI is nice but it is starting to feel a little dated on several fronts.

[rmikejav @ Dec 20th 2007 11:13PM]

I traded a heavily-used Vega station wagon (with the GT package) for a Canon AE1. What a great deal that was!
Later, in a financial rut, I gave the now-expanded camera package to my son for Christmas.
Now his ex-girlfriend has it.
Sometimes life stinks!

[Mr. H @ Dec 21st 2007 12:06AM]

Hey, what do you know, my ex had my nice Sony P&S to compliment my K100D. Then it got dropped in a tub of water...

Life does stink sometimes!

[sarchi @ Dec 21st 2007 12:23AM]

I'd like to know what the stats are for the pellix when does the solid state shutter become really sh*t hot news

[luzzio @ Dec 21st 2007 12:55AM]

Canon 350D user here! Loving their stuff.

Too bad the lenses are so costly...

[Jonathan Bergeron @ Dec 21st 2007 9:31AM]

400D user here.

Yeah, the lenses are super costly. It's worth it when you get a good lens though.

[Sebastien @ Dec 21st 2007 2:35AM]

The only visible difference fro the pics is that the older was brilliant plastic vs mate finish. And sharp angles... That's it. Then like some said : the newer are really killer bodies (strong, reliable, and I have nothing to complain about my 20D software... I don't even miss the newer large-screen)

But to be accurate, the newer maybe smaller, because the sensor is smaller (remember 40D is not full frame... while the 650 was -of course-)
So the best side by side comparison should have been EOS650 vs EOS5D.

[Rene @ Dec 21st 2007 7:37AM]

I wonder how many the competition has sold over the years.

[Jonathan Bergeron @ Dec 21st 2007 9:28AM]

Canon rocks.

[lothar @ Dec 21st 2007 11:00AM]

You can add another 1 to that list of 30 Mil when I get my XTi next year.

With the XTi being so popular I wonder how long before we see the replacement to it, its over a year old now.

I have a A95 now and just got my wife a SD870 for xmas. That XTi will just round out our Canon family.

[duke @ Dec 22nd 2007 5:00AM]

The successor to the XTI will be released sometime in the next few months. Canon has a roughly 18 month cycle on them. I don't see it coming out any later than March. That said I don't see there being any huge improvements to the core functionality of the camera. They will not increase the resolution until the following version, 500d or whatever it will be called. The current generation already has new generation tech like automatic dust cleaning, etc. I wonder what there is left to improve? Perhaps battery life, bigger screen, easier to use and hold. Thumb wheel would be great but doubt it. They won't put anything into it that is better then the 40d which came out a few months ago. Not too much of a reason to hold off, but if you can wait, then at least if the new features aren't that impressive then you can save some money buying the older, cheaper XTI. Good luck!