Descision time: Canon D20 or D30

tgl · 20-03-2006, 9:36 AM

Hello,

I'm struggling with my decision to buy a D20 or D30, so perhaps people can chip in with their experience or views?

Looking at the canon website, there doesn't appear to be much between the two cameras, but perhaps someone who has physically used them in anger can confirm or state otherwise. Also, any sample pictures would be useful to see.

I'm not talking money here, just ease of use, and more importantly picture quality. I like the feel of both cameras, but surely there must be more to the D30 than meets the eye.

Regards,

tgl

dolph · 20-03-2006, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tgl

Hello,

I'm struggling with my decision to buy a D20 or D30, so perhaps people can chip in with their experience or views?

Looking at the canon website, there doesn't appear to be much between the two cameras, but perhaps someone who has physically used them in anger can confirm or state otherwise. Also, any sample pictures would be useful to see.

I'm not talking money here, just ease of use, and more importantly picture quality. I like the feel of both cameras, but surely there must be more to the D30 than meets the eye.

Regards,

tgl

I'm not so sure there is more to the 30D than meets the eye - there's no denying it is an improvement over the 20D but not to the extent some people were hoping - perhaps the 20Ds may have been a better name for it...!

tgl · 20-03-2006, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dolph

I'm not so sure there is more to the 30D than meets the eye - there's no denying it is an improvement over the 20D but not to the extent some people were hoping - perhaps the 20Ds may have been a better name for it...!

Thanks for that. Can you let me know what those improvements are from your perspective (albeit small)?

TGL

dolph · 20-03-2006, 1:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tgl

Thanks for that. Can you let me know what those improvements are from your perspective (albeit small)?

TGL

Only really those that are well publicised...

Spot metering
Bigger LCD
(Slightly) Bigger continuous shot buffer

petrolhead · 20-03-2006, 2:12 PM

I am also thinking along the same lines but can't justify the extra cost of the 30D over the 20D

I can but a 20D for £699 whereas the 30D will be over a grand

tgl · 20-03-2006, 2:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dolph

Only really those that are well publicised...

Spot metering
Bigger LCD
(Slightly) Bigger continuous shot buffer

Thanks again. I guess my decision is made. What with the small feature set improvements and the negligable weight/balance difference, I think the 20D has my name on it. As you say, with very little in the two cameras, I can't really justify paying canon another £400

This also means I can spend the extra cash on a decent lens. Any suggestions for general photography? Perhaps a decent canon zoom lens (28mm to 80mm or similar).

**Ian_S** · 20-03-2006, 5:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tgl

Thanks again. I guess my decision is made. What with the small feature set improvements and the negligable weight/balance difference, I think the 20D has my name on it. As you say, with very little in the two cameras, I can't really justify paying canon another £400

This also means I can spend the extra cash on a decent lens. Any suggestions for general photography? Perhaps a decent canon zoom lens (28mm to 80mm or similar).

Well, if you can wait for another month or so I think you'll find the prices will soften quite considerably. You can already get the 30D for under £1k with a free SanDisk Extreme III 2GB CF card, and that's while there are still stocks of 20D bodies around.

Granted, the differences between a 20D and 30D are not huge, but having had a 20D for 18 months, things like a bigger screen, the ability to adjust ISO by 1/3 stop instead of whole stops, spot metering, bigger buffer, adjustable frame rate, longer shutter life are not to be dismissed. These are all quite useful things to have.

With a 20D body only at £749 from reasonable UK suppliers, the 30D is less than £250 more without the free Sandisk CF... I suspect prices will drop lower still in the next month or so if 5D prices were anything to go by.

The choice of course is yours.

tgl · 20-03-2006, 6:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ian_S

With a 20D body only at £749 from reasonable UK suppliers, the 30D is less than £250 more without the free Sandisk CF... I suspect prices will drop lower still in the next month or so if 5D prices were anything to go by.

The choice of course is yours.

Hmmm, interesting point about prices dropping. I am not in any rush, so perhaps a wait for a couple of months may pay off.

paulwIre · 23-03-2006, 12:37 PM

I've had my 20D since Feb and love it. I can certainly recommend it. The 30D does have some nice new features, but certainly didn't have the big reasons that were rumoured before it's launch.

The longer you wait, the cheaper it will get. That applies no matter what camera/item you buy.

As for lenses, I have the 24-70mm and the 100-400 IS.

tgl · 23-03-2006, 4:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulwIre

I've had my 20D since Feb and love it. I can certainly recommend it. The 30D does have some nice new features, but certainly didn't have the big reasons that were rumoured before it's launch.

The longer you wait, the cheaper it will get. That applies no matter what camera/item you buy.

As for lenses, I have the 24-70mm and the 100-400 IS.

It's a tough choice. One half of me says go buy the D30, but then I look at the price and the real differences between the two cameras, and the other half of me says go for the D20.

I went to Jessops and even they said it should have been called D20 mark II.

Hmmm. Decisions, decisions.

By the way, the 24-70mm lens sounds good. I was looking at it the other day, and I was impressed.

Well, I guess I need to go to a suitable shop and have a play with each camera before making a final decision.

Thanks for your input

TGL

SSB · 23-03-2006, 8:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by petrolhead

I am also thinking along the same lines but can't justify the extra cost of the 30D over the 20D

I can but a 20D for £699 whereas the 30D will be over a grand

I've seen the 30D for as little as £829.99 (UK), so if it's down to a £130 difference then the 30D is worth the extra. I still agree it's more of a 20D mk2.

cu3ed · 23-03-2006, 8:40 PM

It sis a 20D Mark II, we got 20 of them lol (Canon UK buggered the delievery up, like one shop needs 20 i tell you), and i cant really add to whats been said already, was dissappointed, was epcting alot more, will add some pics of it later tonight in the "new camera thread".

Iain Shields · 23-03-2006, 8:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SSB

I've seen the 30D for as little as £829.99 (UK)

Here's a link for anyone interested

http://www.rgb-tech.co.uk/shop/index...duct/574/cat/4

SSB · 23-03-2006, 8:43 PM

That's the bunny.

tgl · 24-03-2006, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iain Shields

Here's a link for anyone interested

http://www.rgb-tech.co.uk/shop/index...duct/574/cat/4

Thanks Iain, looks a good price. I'm sure Canon will get feedback from the retail trade that the D30 appears over valued, so I guess it wont be long before the price drops even further.

I think if I can get the D30 (with a half decent lens) and a 1GB compact flash card for £950.00 then I'd be happy.

TGL

paulwIre · 24-03-2006, 11:08 AM

1GB card? Don't waste your time. Make sure you get at least a 2GB card. Personally, I have a 2GB CF and a 4GB Microdrive. I'd be lost without both.

If you plan to take a good few photos, especially using RAW, then a 1GB will only take 100 or so photos.

barongreenback · 24-03-2006, 11:59 AM

Safer if one card fails PW. Back in the day, if your film got damaged you only lost 36 exposures. Losing 100 is horrendous! It does happen and it's hardly a hassle to carry around a couple of extra cards.

paulwIre · 24-03-2006, 12:08 PM

True, true.

So far, thankfully, I've never had a failure. It always pays to buy a quality card, to go with your quality camera. You never know if/when a card might fail though. It may never happen, or may happen to someone often.

I'd still prefer larger cards, to carrying multiple smaller cards.

Iain Shields · 24-03-2006, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tgl

Thanks Iain, looks a good price. I'm sure Canon will get feedback from the retail trade that the D30 appears over valued, so I guess it wont be long before the price drops even further.

I think if I can get the D30 (with a half decent lens) and a 1GB compact flash card for £950.00 then I'd be happy.

TGL

Your welcome

To be honest, I can't really see this price coming down anymore than it allready has done for a while, it is allready quite heavily discounted at the linked price and it hasn't even hit the streets yet!!.

The only reason the D20 got so cheap over the last month or two was because it was getting replaced, before that it was sitting at the £800+ mark. So unless the lens your wanting is the 50mm f/1.8 (a great lens at a great price) you might have to up your budget a bit. Good news is that memory prices have really dropped recently so you can pick up a good quality 1gig card around the £40-45 area.

Regards,
Iain.