I have a Canon EOS-30, non-digital, equipped with a regular Canon lens 28-105 mm (3.5-4.5). I also have a Canon flash EX-420.
I'm thinking on buying the new Canon Digital EOS-300 (digital) because I'm tired of getting very badly scanned images from the processing. I don't have a scanner, so always, when ordering the processing, I also order the CD-ROM. But the quality of the scanned images always leave much to be desired. Since I already have an adequate lens and flash for the EOS-30, they would also fit to the EOS-300 Digital - that's the idea.
I never had a digital camera, so this would be the first one.
Do any of you guys have an opinion on this model (Canon Digital EOS-300 - Rebel)? Is there any better option out there, for the same amount of money or, maybe, a little less?
I've read a lot of reviews in Internet, but it doesn't hurt knowing whatever else you may have to say.
[edit] - corrected my current lens specs [/edit]
[This message has been edited by viol (edited 02-21-2004).]
From: The northeast portion of the 30th star Insane since: Mar 2001
posted 02-21-2004 01:55
I don't think you'll find more bang for your buck than the 300D. I have the D60 and I'm pleased as punch with it. It has the same resolution but an earlier chip. It's a big bonus that you can swap lenses and stuff back and forth from your film cam to digital too.
I own the 10D. The Rebel is kind of a 10D-lite - lots of the same internals, but a few less features. Wonderful tech.
I recommended the digital Rebel to a coworker a few months back. She's totally pleased with it. Stopped by my desk last week to thank me for recommending it, and to gush about how much fun she's having with it. Only quibble she had was with the built-in flash indoors. I imagine your excellent flash unit would help you out with any problems in that area.
I don't think there's anything out at the moment that's even in the same ballpark as the digital Rebel for the price. Heartily recommended.
[This message has been edited by Das (edited 02-21-2004).]
I ordered my Canon Rebel 300D and it should arrive soon. It will arrive in pieces for I bought the case, the memory (256MB) and kit, and a remote control, in different online stores.
I decided to buy the kit (body + lens) for two reasons: first, it's very difficult, near to impossible, to find the body-only alternative out there for sale and, secondly, I learned, by reading reviews, that this digital camera adds, actually, multiplies the focal length of the lens by a factor of 1.6, so my current lens, that's a 28-105 mm zoom, will become like a 45-170 mm zoom lens. The lens from the kit is a 18-55 mm that will then act like a 28-90 mm lens. I'm very used to the 28 mm focal length so I'd miss it.
I was dreaming about buying better lenses, like those L-series ones, but they are soooo expensive and sooooo heavy that in no way it would fit my needs (well, maybe they would :-) and my wallet (for certain!). Besides, if I spent money in such lenses, my wife would kill me.
Do you guys have any recommendation for a tripod? I believe I will need one soon, for experimentations and learning.
I'd recomment staying away from the cheap brands, if you can. I had a Slik, and it just wasn't that stable with the 10D on it (ok, it was a wobbly piece of crap). SLRs like a really stable base.
I went with an Acratech Ultimate ballhead and Gitzo carbon fibre legs, but that's a pretty expensive solution. Ballheads are wonderful, though; much better for an SLR than the pan/tilt video heads that come with all the all-in-one tripods in Ritz or Wolf stores. A ballhead will instantly lock in any position - rock solid. You'll probably want one with an 'independant panning lock' - it allows you to leave the camera locked at a given angle, but unlock the swivel so you can pan 360.
My recommendation would be Gitzo or Bogen legs (I prefer Gitzo). Carbon fibre is lighter, but aluminum is just as good otherwise, and much cheaper. Arca-swiss are considered the best ballheads by most, but they're very expensive. Any reputable brand ballhead (Arca-Swiss, Acratech, Bogen, Foba, Gitzo, Kirk, Linhof) would be good, and some are fairly affordable.
Buying a dirt-cheap one-piece tripod is just an exercise in frustration, imo (my old wobbly Slik from Ritz was effectively useless).
It all depends on what you're willing to spend, really.
If you're wanting to keep the price way down, you could get:
Bogen/Manfrotto 3055 ballhead (quick release, independant panning lock) - $50 at B&H
Bogen/Manfrotto 3001N legs (metal) - $86 at B&H
Not saying it would be great, but it should be a nice decent tripod.
I ended up buying (and am totally happy with):
Acratech Ultimate Ballhead (quick release, independant panning lock) - $280 at B&H
Gitzo G-1228G legs (carbon fibre) - $542 at B&H
If you have a specific price point, I could give some suggestions to fit.
I recommend that before you spend $800 on a tripod you get some quality lenses. You should be able to find a solid tripod for around $50 - $80 that will do just fine for your needs.
I wasn't really recommending the $800 kit, I just wanted to give a high and low.
I seriously wouldn't suggest a $50 tripod. Like I said, my Slik (U8000, which was $75 - although B&H sells them for $40 now) was crap for SLR work. If you keep the head controls loose enough to adjust it, it wobbles. If you tighten them down all the way, it's still not totally stable, and it's an absolute bitch to adjust at all.
The $126 solution I listed as the low-priced option from B&H is about as cheap as I could recommend. All-in-ones just aren't very good. The first time I used a ball head, I couldn't believe how much better they are for stills.
quote:I recommend that ... you get some quality lenses.
I understand the need for a quality lens, but they are too expensive for me. I can't spend right now $400 (in a EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM, for instance) or $1200 (in a EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM, for instance, the one I really would like to have)..
They are "entry level", cheap lens, but it's too dificult for me to decide spending too much money now on better lenses. I prefer using Photoshop to enhance the photos where possible. Deciding on buying the Canon 300D already was a difficult decision. I was planning on buying a $500 digital non-SLR camera.
As for the tripod, I don't want to spend much more than $100 in it. I guess that $125 is still acceptable. More than this is too much. I'll search for more information on the brands and models you suggested and try to decide.
I have been living with a Canon EOS-30 the last three years and I got tired of the low quality of the scannings that I get from the processing. If I can get the same quality I have with my EOS-30 directly into digital media, I'll be happy (the EOS-30 is a little more featured than the EOS-300, imo).
The new rebel is a GREAT camera. I've seen some photos from it and we had talked some about it in class. (I'm taking college photography courses)
I went to a John Shaw seminar recently and his main complaint he sees in new photographers is...they buy great cameras and lens yet will go out and buy a cheap tripod to support them. A good tripod doesn't have to cost a arm and a leg. Just make sure you get a good sturdy one. He did say the Bogen would be his choice.
From: Jacksonville, FL, USA Insane since: Mar 2000
posted 02-28-2004 18:48
I have had my 300D since November. I love it. The pictures truly are stunning. I would highly recommend buying it with the kit lens. It is one of the best bargains for a lens for this camera and cannot be bought without the camera new.
As for tripods, unless you?re trekking into the wild with it, don't bother with carbon fiber. Besides, if you can find one in the price range you?re looking it will be crap. Bogem/Manfrotto is about the best bang for the buck you can get in legs. i would recommend buying a ball head. You most probably will end up buying one later. I have a Manfroto 3221WN. A very stable and versatile tripod.
Ron: I'm buying it with the kit. The reason is exactly what you said: for $100, getting a 18mm lens is a bargain, even if the lens is, in itself, of amateur-quality. If I don't buy this lens, and if I wanted to have a lens with focal length less than 28 mm (a must for a camera that'll multiply the length by 1.6), then all the other options are too expensive.
As we say in my country, "who that doesn't possess a dog, should hunt with a cat" (does it make sense in English?).
As a side note, I was taking a look at Amazon and I saw a bunch of tripods that cost around 15-25 dollars, COMPLETE!!!. Aren't they really cheap??? My conclusion is: if there are tripods that cost around $15 and tripods that cost around $800 (I'm just using a reasonable price range here, probably there must be tripods costing thousands of dollars), then a mid-priced one, ideal for my budget, is indeed around 125-150 dollars, no more.
I just received the kit, assembled it - no memory card yet, it's about to arrive - and I got VERY worried already. So, here's my question to you, that has also a 300D:
When I shake my camera - shake lightly, or just rotate it 90 degrees up and down - I can here a very audible sound, coming from inside the body, as if there were something loose inside it.
I believe so. You can with the 10D, and the Canon software page says that the 300D also includes the same program (Remote Capture). Pretty simple; you hook up the camera with the USB cable, and run the Remote Capture program. It allows you to either use the camera normally, or to fire the shutter by tapping the spacebar.
I haven't used it in ages, so I don't recall much more than that.
I'm also a 10D owner and I think you'll have tons of fun with the 300D. I was also tired of bad printing and horrible CD scans and the 10D made my photo life fun again.
I've been looking at buying a decent tripod, myself, and I found a terrific resource in http://shortcourses.com/equipment/index.htm. Learned more than I knew there was to learn. (I definitely want an L-bracket for mounting my camera on the pod.)
I also recommend doing some reading over at www.dpreview.com. There are forums for individual types of cameras, filled with good stuff.
Thanks Das.
All worked fine. Installations, set up, taking and transfering the photos.
Now I can play a little with the camera until the flash memory arrives.
Wes, I recommend www.reallyrightstuff.com for all quick-release plates. I have a 10D plate, and it's very good. They make the best L-brackets in the biz, I think. They're linked on the page you linked, but I wanted to pipe in with a testimonial.
If I can get the damned quick-release clamp off of my ballhead, I'm going to get a RRS lever-action clamp. They look sweet.
Finally, my tripod and head arrived. It took longer than I expected because I decided to send back the head and exchange for a better one. I followed Das' advice and ordered the head and tripod he suggested, around $136. But then, I exchanged the head for the 488RC0 model, that's a newer version, rather equivalent to the one Das suggested. Now, both seem pretty much what I wanted, actually, even better.
And here's a picture using my new tripod:
4 seconds shutter speed, no flash, 185mm. Beautiful, isn't it?
That's the way my two most recent acquired HD's are connected to my computer...
Thanks all, thanks Das, your advice was great.
[EDIT] I forgot to ask: when you travel with your tripod/head, do you keep them attached one to the other all the time, inside the bag, or you keep them apart and only assemble the head to the tripod when you are going to take pictures?
[This message has been edited by viol (edited 03-23-2004).]
Das -- I was definitely considering an RRS L-bracket. But I'm going to give the Manfrotto 3275/410 geared head a try in the vertical position before I spend the extra money on an adaptor and a bracket. (Can't afford it all now, anyway.)
Incidentally, for any future searchers, Kirk makes an Acra-Swiss adaptor for the 3275, with which you could use an RRS L-plate.
[This message has been edited by Wes (edited 03-23-2004).]
I don't think I've taken the head off of the legs more than once or twice. I usually carry the assembled tripod by a strap, but it also fits in my big carry-on bag fully assembled (barely).
Wes: yeah, the RRS stuff is pricier than I'd like. I don't have the L-bracket yet myself; I have a 10D shaped bottom plate and a plate tailored to my mondo telephoto lens. Of course, having a 'free' Arca-Swiss style quick-release clamp (came with the ballhead) helped justify the RRS plates.
posted 02-21-2004 00:14
