Canon EOS digital rebel 300d in low light

how well does this camera handle low light action? im looking to buy

a camera is this price range and my other choice is f828 and having a

hard time deciding.

No brainer. 300D

I love Canon. Only one thing I miss - red light assist in low light.

Sony is better in this. Otherwise D300 is better choice I think.

300D all the way.<br>

<br>

The 828 has some noise issues at just ISO400. <a href="http://luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/sony828.shtml">A review here explains some of the issues with the 828</a>.

I just shot a general practice of a music show with VERY poor lighting, and I must say i was IMPRESSED at the accuracy of the autofocus with the 300D. I was able to get some nice shots with it and the 50 f/1.8 II lens.

 

You should know however that the f828 has a "night shot" feature that will make everything look green but that will take pictures in total darkness. But it isn't very useful in my own opinion...

i've read so many different reviews and comments about both cameras. people say the noise level is exaggerated and so on. but i am going to be using the camera with higher iso. but here are some photos from the f828 http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1009&message=8212493 no doubt both cameras can do this. but can any one post some low light high iso action photos?

Chad,<p>

 

I reckon those shots that you linked to were taken at a low ISO, they just were exposed for a longer period of time. So I wouldn't really try to compare them to say a concert photo taken with avaliable light at a high ISO. I don't have a 300D, but I have seen some of my friend's concert shots taken with his 10D (same sensor as 300D) that were taken at 800 and 1600 ISO and they were nearly flawless. I think the 300D would be the clear winner.

No brainer...300D

>> I love Canon. Only one thing I miss - red light assist in low light

 

You can have focus assist light if you are willing to spend $180 for the ST-E2 flash master.

<i>You can have focus assist light if you are willing to spend $180 for the ST-E2 flash master.</i><p>Or, for about the same price, you can get the 420EX and have both flash and the red AF Assist.

>> Or, for about the same price, you can get the 420EX and have both flash and the red AF Assist

 

Yes, of course, but then you have to do flash photography I think. I have the ST-E2 attached to the camera pretty much all the time. It's so small that it doesn't add significantly to the bulk or weight of the camera.

the 300d is very good at low light, i do most of my shooting in dim interiors, typical exposure times are 3-30 seconds. tripod mount and use 100 asa.

The original poster asked about high ISO, short shutter speed. Taking shots at long exposure at ISO 100 does not equate.

 

That said, Chad, you should know that if you ask a question like this in a Canon EOS forum, that you would get an overwhelming pro-Canon response, so what were you thinking? 8-)

 

Anyway, the Sony F828 and Canon 300D are really not comparable. They are two completely different systems, and will handle quite differently under the same conditions. Apples and oranges, so to speak. You will have to be the final judge of what works best for you, aside from any questions you may have about image quality. Most of the reviews posted obsess so much about picture quality, that details like shutter lag, the use of an electronic viewfinder (and its attendent lag), etc. seem to get swept under the rug. These days, most $1000-class digitals produce pretty much the same kind of images (unless you spend too much time blowing them up to 100% pixels on a monitor), so it becomes less of a consideration.

 

For something like handheld snaps in a dark nightclub, the handling of the camera, and its ability to 'grab the moment' will be tantamount. You may find, for instance, that neither the Sony nor the 300D may actually do what you want. Check things out carefully for yourself (i.e. rent/borrow the equipment and try some shooting) before making what may be a considerable investment.

 

Good luck Chad, and let us know what you end up with, and how suitable it turned out for you.

Here are links to some photos taken with the 300D using either the kit lens or the Tamron 28-75mm XR Di lens. The kit lens photos have fill in flash with the shutter dragged between 1/15 to 1/30 for the ambient light. The Tamron shots are handheld at ISO1600 no flash. The aperture of f2.8 really helped in capturing the clean images of the performers.

http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=4175628&a=31171163&f=

http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=4175628&a=31174743&f=

Regards,

Alan

To my 420EX suggestion, Borge replied:<br><i>"but then you have to do flash photography I think."</i><p>Borge is correct. I forgot the 300D doesn't have Custom Functions (like my 10D does) to use a hotshoe flash's AF assist without flash.

You can use either the STE2 or the 550EX to do flash assist w/o the flash. The STE2, of course, because it doesn't have one, and the 550EX, because you can purposefully mis-set it to TTL (instead of E-TTL). In that mode (on an E-TTL-only body, like the 300D), it won't flash, but the AF assist still works.

 

I went for the latter solution, mainly because I wanted a bounce flash with manual controls and FEC capability to use with my Digital Rebel, and that would still be useful with future bodies.

 

The 550EX doesn't fill the category of small, light, or cheap, though.

But, functionality was an overriding factor for me.

As to the issue of shutter lag The 300D is awesome. I had the Minolta 7i and I missed so many shots of my children (4 and 5) I looked for something with minimal to no shutter lag and I have been impressed. I wish I had the money to buy the 10D, but if I bought the 10D I would have to buy a lens with it in the 18 to 50mm range and that was tooo expensive. I also love the IS lenses which is great for low light situations. I have noticed many more sharp photos with the 28-135 IS. Having said that I also would consider the new Nikon, lots of nice bells and whistles on that camera including a 1/500th flash sync. And a similar price to the rebel.