About 300D

[tim_kong]

Hi, I am new to digital photography and now that I am thinking on

getting a DSLR, looking at 300D, I would like to know a bit about

this camera is someone can spare a few moments to advise me on a few

things. I wanted to know how fast this camera can focus(auto),

shuttle lag, if any, and how big is the buffer before it stops, say

based on JPEG Large/Fine format. I understand that the 20D is a lot

faster and has bigger buffer but I don't think I wanted to pay that

much for a DSLR at the moment since the 300D has sufficient features

for my needs. I am a casual hobbyist shooting landscape, family

gatherings and some portraiture. Currently shooting film and the

reason why I am looking at DSLR is to compliment the few lenses that

I have, 50/1.8, 100/2, 100-300USM and Tamrom 28-75/2.8. Any comments

are most appreciated. Thanks. Tim

 

p/s BTW, anyone knows if Canon is going to upgrade the 300D with 2nd

generation DigicII proccessor anytime soon?

[tom_swanson]

I don't know how to compare the 300D. I liked it a lot. The 20D crushes it. I liked my EOS A2 more than the 300D but when I got the 300D I never shot another frame of film.

 

The buffer will allow you to shoot 4 pictures in a row. RAW or JPG. Shutter lag is pretty minimal. Focusing is okay.

 

For the price it is hard to go wrong.

[jimstrutz]

I would say that the AF speed is better than okay. There are other new cameras that are faster, but compared to Canon's consumer lines of cameras made just a few years ago, the 300D is quite fast.

 

Shutter lag is minimal, but only after the camera focuses. In truth there are a lot of recent cheap digicams that have very little shutter lag if you pre-focus. What makes the focus time seem to be more tollerable in a DSLR is the fact that you can better see what's going on while it's searching for sharp focus. That, and the fact that the AF speed is quite fast.

 

What you don't have in your lens collection is a suitably wide lens considering the 1.6x crop factor of the 300D. The inexpensive way to do this is with the Canon 18-55mm lens that comes in the standard kit. You could get the camera without it, but I wouldn't, unless you plan on getting a better lens that fills this gap.

 

Canon will probably announce new cameras & other equipment just prior to the PMA show next month. Many people are speculating that Canon will announce a 300D replacement. Seems very likely that it will have a few features from the 20D. I expect Digic II, E-TTL II, and FEC, along with improvements to the image sensor. I hear lot of speculation that it will have the 8.2MP sensor from the 20D, but my guess is that it won't. I'm hoping that it will have a bigger/faster buffer as well, but I suspect that Canon might keep it slow/small, along with the smaller sensor, to keep product separation from the 20D.

 

Personally, I'm holding all my cards until Canon shows it's hand.

[tim_kong]

Thanks Jim for your advice. In fact, I just pop by the local camera store about 2 hrs ago( local time in Malaysia) n tested out the 300D as well as the new 20D. What can I say, the 20D felt so nice in my hand and the sound of the shutter clicking away at 5fps is music to my ears. But the downside is that its costing too much, especially for what I need at the moment. Its more expensive here in Malaysia( $1,750 for the 20D w/18-55 and $980 for the 300D w/18-55) than in the US due to our weak exchange rate. Anyway, after hearing from you that Canon is going to announce near gears next month, I think I will wait to see if there is a new replacement for the 300D. Once again, thanks Jim.