20D, 30D, XT, VS XTi for Wildlife

[andy_cha]

I am looking into these bodies for wildlife photography. I am leaning twd

 

-30D for 5fps but only 8.2 MPixels

or

-XTi for 10.1 MPixels but high noise when high ISO

or

-XT for value

 

Any advice? Many many thanks....

[bobatkins]

Makes little difference really. It's mainly the lens that counts.

 

If you're shooting action and want 5fps, then the choice is obvious.

 

Personally, I'd go for the 30D, or the 20D if you want to save some cash.

[sandy_labana]

I suggest 20D. Use the money to buy good Tele lense and tripod.. Have fun. Sandy

[mark_chappell]

What Bob says. There are times when 5 fps is quite helpful (action sequences). What counts

for wildlife (and, alas, for your wallet) is the lens: the bigger, the better in the majority of

cases.

[gluteal cleft]

For certain types of wildlife photography, you simply cannot have too much (or even enough) focal length. When that is the case, the 20D has been the preferred camera - even over more expensive models - because it gives you more resolution over the APS-C area than cropping from the cameras with larger sensors.

 

Now...if that does fit your scenario, then the 20D/30D is a good option - but the XTi would give you slightly more resolution to boot, albeit at the expense of noise, as you're aware.

 

However, if your situation isn't limitted by the length of lens that you can use, then that becomes a much less important point, and other factors will be more important.

 

steve

[johnson_d.]

If your lenses aren't long enough and you do a lot of cropping, the extra pixel density of the XTi would help although probably not enough to make much practical difference. For me, I'd choose the 20/30D for the user interface alone.

[jim_larson1]

I am confused.

 

Why are we saying the XTI made a compromise on high ISO noise? Are there any reviews out there that confirm this?

 

The only review that I am aware of is the dpReview article on the Nikon D80. This review implies that the XTi and D80 are similar in regards to noise, while the Alpha is noisier. Notably absent was a comparsion to the 30D.

 

The Alpha review on dpReview compared that camera to the 30D (or was it 20D?) and found it noisier.

 

Ok. . .all this tells me is that the Alpha has the most noise!

 

Am I missing something? (I probably am)

[bobatkins]

Yes, there have been reviews which suggest that ISO 1600 on an XTi isn't quite as good as ISO 1600 on a 20D/30D (and/or the smoothing is more aggressive), plus the XTI doesn't have ISO 3200, which both the 20D and 30D do.

[John Crowe]

If all we are arguing about is ISO 1600 performance and lack of ISO 3200 then the XTi would be my choice simply for the added resolution. One could then put the money saved toward a fast lens that did not require these ridiculously high ISO settings. There may be a few times when an avid naturalist may need ISO 3200 but I'd rather have more MP for the majority of images taken at 100 to 800 ISO.

 

 

How many species, do people using this range of DSLRs, really need to be shot at 5 fps?

[mark_chappell]

<I>How many species, do people using this range of DSLRs, really need to be shot at 5 fps?

</i><P>

 

Any flying bird, running terrestrial species, flying insect, or other fast-moving critter is a

subject that begs for high frame rates. Can you get photos of these in single-shot mode?

Yes. WIll the success rate be <B><I>a lot </B></I>higher if you shoot at 5 fps? Or faster,

if you have a camera capable of that? Almost certainly. I do a fair bit of photography <A

HREF ="http://faculty.ucr.edu/~chappell/INW/flyingindex.html">of this sort</a> and I

**always** shoot at the highest frame rate available.

[charles_lipton]

Awsome bird pictures.... mine pale in comparison shot in Hanes at the eagle preserve using my 5D and 100-400L IS. I don't know if I could hand hold a 500mm lens .. good job.

[leopoldstotch]

If you are using a lens with f/2.8 or lower, do not go with the XT, as those lenses are not fully functional in AI servo mode with it, as I discovered. However, the 20/30D and XTi are.

[jim_larson1]

Pardon my ignorance again;

 

But ISO 3200 in the 20D/30D -> Is that an amplifier adjustment to the sensor relative to ISO1600, or is that just one stop underexposure with digital exposure compensation? I thought ISO 3200 was just a software thing in the 20D/30D.

 

In which case. . .are we saying that ISO 800 is just as good on the XTi, and image degradation only appears at the ISO 1600 setting?

 

And finally. . .I have not yet located any reviews talking about high ISO XTi performance. . can someone post some links?

[gluteal cleft]

<p><i>"If you are using a lens with f/2.8 or lower, do not go with the XT, as those lenses are not fully functional in AI servo mode with it, as I discovered. However, the 20/30D and XTi are."</i></p>

 

<p>Eh? Are you sure? My 70-200 f/2.8 works just fine in AI-Servo on my XT.</p>

 

<p>As for the noise of the XTi, there have been folks in different places who have posted example shots from an XT and an XTi. At 1600, the XTi is just a *little* worse than the XT. The XT, in turn, is a little worse than the 20D.</p>

[drfl]

There are some websites devoted to showing the noise differences between 3200 and 1600 underexposed 1 stop and pushed in RAW. I generally start at 1600 and if I am shooting like mad (5 fps is simply not enough sometimes) I find it easier to lower the exposure in 1/3 increments until I get the desired shutter speed. This all takes seconds, but the nice thing is I may only need the shutter speed that 1/3 or 2/3 underexposure affords me with less noise. This is of course if you are not going to clip the shadows off. I normally don't use this method if it is very dark, but I find that I use it more than I don't.

 

On a different note, the last time I checked the XTi was cheaper than the 30d, even without a lens, so I am unsure as to Bob's comment about saving cash. I have been looking for a backup to my 20d ever since it had to go to the shop for a month and the XTi looks to be a very viable backup body. At $700 I can live with the plastic build since it would not be a primary camera.