What do you think about 300D as a back up camera

Hi all,

 

I have a quick question. I have spent most of my cash on the Canon

1Ds. and I trully can not be happier, but I would like to get the

back up body which will have a zoom lens (I just hate switching

lenses during the wedding). After careful review and comperison of

10D vs 300D, I am leaning towards the Rebel, afterall it all depends

on the quality of glass that you place on the body. (Plus I can save

few $$ by not bying 10D which clearly looks very professional)

 

I would appreciate your comments/thoughts on the subject.

 

Best,

Greg

Greg-

 

Given that 95% or more of the shots I take at a wedding are not enlarged over 5x7", a 6MP digital camera would make a fine back-up camera. In fact, I would probably only need the resolution of the 1Ds for formal pix with numerous people and much detail to record.

 

Also, for what its worth, I just got a RoadStor that allows me to burn CF cards directly and quickly onto CD-Rs and CD-RWs. It will be perfect for events:

 

http://www.imaging-resource.com/ACCS/RDS/RDS.HTM

 

Regards, E

I'm in the same boat as you, Greg, only on the Nikon side. Instead of

getting another Fuji S2 or S3 (when/if it gets here) I'm looking at

the D70 as a backup camera, which could also double as an "action" camera. The $ 800 difference is a lot.

 

Eric - question - I was looking at the roadstor as well (that's where the $800 was going ;{) but was a little put off by the lack of a verify

mechanism (before I clear the CF I'd like to ensure the data is complete). How do you feel about that?

 

Also ... How about doing a "review" for us when you've used it for a while?

 

Thanks, gjm

Eric,

Thank you, that was helpful, and I do agree with you that 95% of my shots never get enlarged beyond 5X7. Therefore, I would rather use a prime lens on my 1Ds (to minimize dust accumulation on the sensor) and use the 300D for the cadid shots.

 

I also use a card transfer media, but not to burn on CDs I have been using it for over a year now and I can't be happier, it is a 40Gb hard drive that is rechargable and tiny, you place a card ink, press a button and go on shooting whith your extra memory card while the other one gets back up.

 

This past weekend I shot 2 communions and a wedding all with just 2 Hitachi 1GB microdrives. (I do have more as a back up though)

 

Greg

I just found the picture of the Kanguru Media storage solution that I use. I have posted this gadget before, and was very much "criticized" since it is a hard drive after all and god forbid it falls I will be @#$%.

 

But once again, I am very careful with it, I keep it in its own pouch, unplug it from the wall during transfers and leave it inside my bag.<div></div>

"I was looking at the roadstor as well (that's where the $800 was going ;{) but was a little put off by the lack of a verify mechanism (before I clear the CF I'd like to ensure the data is complete). How do you feel about that?"

 

Well, the RoadStor is $250 .... Anyway, I've heard horror stories about the smaller multi-gig storage devices. I talked with one guy who got the images into the device and could see them on the viewer, but then couldn't get them out.

 

Mostly, I wouldn't have the time to off-load memory from the CF card and scroll through 50 or more photos to make sure they were there. (And that assumes that whatever device I was using would play back RAW images on its screen.) But if I needed that confirmation, I'd carry a laptop.

 

The RoadStor is about 1/3rd the size and weight of a laptop with a built-in CF card reader and burner, and it spits out the CD-R/RW when its done recording and I can quickly look at the CD in the light to see the darker area on the disc that shows its been recorded on. CD-R/RW drives have been around a few years now and I'm comfortable with them. I trust the drives to make an exact copy of whatever's on the CF card.

 

But I understand that everyone has their own comfort level with different digital products. You just have to choose your poison.

For the Nikon folks, my main camera is a D2H backed up by a D100. Excellent setup. I make perfect large prints with both, but the D2H performs much better in both color, as well as noise at 200, 400 and 1000. I'm sure the D70 will serve you well. For what it's worth, I found a Disc Steno Apacer (similar to RoadStor) on ebay for $130. Great device, never had a problem.

There are some control limitation issues with the 300D. Not being a Canon shooter my comments should not be taken as holy grail. Look into whether you can select the metering mode (CW/partial/etc) and AF sensor selection. Bob Atkin has a review of the camera here on photo.net. There's no question that the image quality of the 300D is adequate, but the control may leave something to be desired.

Grag - what glass do you normally use on the 1Ds, what glass are you planning for the DRebel? The 1.6x cropping factor can be an annoyance to work with if you're after specific angles of view, or after very shallow depth-of-field.

Jean-Baptiste Queru,

On my 1Ds I usually use primes like 50 1.4 or 85

on the 300d I am planning to use 28-75 2.8 Tamron, which is a great lens but I am too embaraced to place it on my 1Ds,

 

As for the zooms I have the 70-200 2.8L Also used on 1Ds

28-135 which I used to use for weddings, untill I tried the Tamron lens which is by far sharper, better colors and contrasts.

I also often use 17-40 4L on my 1Ds which is also a fantastic lens.

 

Greg

Jean-Baptiste Queru,

 

Sorry I meant to tell you that I am also aware of the 1.6X croping factor since I used the 10D for a while (borrowed)

 

Tamron will be used on the 300D along with perhaps 28-135IS

 

The rest are really for 1Ds

 

Greg

I have both the 10D and 300d for backups. Love to get the fill shots with the Rebel when my arm is tired from the 1D mkII + 70-200is.

 

I would say a hearty yes and even don't be afraid to use it!

The question is ... why not? You have a 1Ds for a main. Everyone would like to be so well

equipped.

 

Also, why be embarrassed to use the Tamron on the 1Ds? If it produces better results,

you should be proud of it ; -)

Marc,

 

I don't think I meant emberassed to use Tamron, I shot one communion and a wedding on the same day with it and though the pictures came back far better in sharpness and overall quality than my 28-135, the sensor was full of dust. It took me 1 1/2 hours to clean my 1Ds sensor this weekend(talking about heart surgery) that I don't think I want to risk it again.

 

So the overall built of Tamron lense is not that great, it does allow for dust to seep through, I even have a small dust particle on the inside of the lens now, which you can see with a naked eye.

 

But thank you very much for all the encouragement and the sound advice.

 

Best,

Greg

I sell the newish Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di and it is a really cool lens:

 

1. Excellent price.

 

2. Very good optics.

 

3. Suprisingly compact.

 

Several people in my store own and use them and they produce impressive results. The lack of a built-in AF motor would be the only drawback.

 

Do I like the results from the 28-70mm f/2.8 AFSDEDIFASPH a little better? Yes. But given that the Tamron retails for $350 and the Nikkor retails for $1,330, you'd hope the Nikkor (or the Canon L equiv.) would be a little better optically.

Eric,

I agree with you 100% same goes for the 28-70 from Canon it's $1200 vs $350. Though the results are visible but they are not drastic.

Greg

Greg, the "scientific" explanation for this phenomena is that while camera equipment increases geometrically in price, it increases only arithmatically in quality. ;.{)

Eric,

Very well put, I could not have said it any other way

Greg