rob_clark1

ECC memory can be slower than non-ECC as it has more to do each cycle.

It isn't really necessary for home or small office use. It is really for when you have large database servers running 24/7 constantly accessing and changing large amounts of memory.

There is a comparison between the 300D and the G5 at

<a href="http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos300d/page20.asp">

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos300d/page20.asp</a> if that is any help.

I've just bought a Canon 300D and have been weighing up similar questions. Here are my conclusions.

I'm used to using GIMP under linux, but run mainly windows at home. GIMP 2 is kind of ok under windows, but it doesn't read Canon RAW files very well and doesn't drive with my printer correctly. So I ended up using Canon's program to read the files from the camera, and HP's program to print. Got fed up very quickly. I know there may be solutions for both of these problems.

Elements 2 came with the camera, so I gave it a go.

It is good, but I had some issues with it.

Again, it doesn't read Canon Raw format images, so still need an external program to do this.

Additionally there is no channel mixer (to convert images to black and white properly) - big problem as I take mainly black and white portraits.

Next I downloaded the 30 Day Demo of CS. I was impressed within minutes. It does every thing I want the way I want it, and much more. In particular compared to Elements and GIMP it handles colour in a so much more consistant fashion. Fortuneately working in education gets me a discount, but I'd be tempted to pay full price anyway.

My suggestion is try Elements for a while, it it doesn't annoy you, stick with it. If it does annoy your try the 30 day trial of CS, then make a decision based on that.

The 420 has an near infra-red autofocus assist light, which covers all 7 focus points of the R2k. I believe the autofocus assist light of the 500 only covers the center point. This `near' infra-red light is less annoying that the strobe the R2k normally uses in low light conditions.

With the Elan 7 you can disable the main flash and just use the 420 for focusing, but you can't set it to not fire the main flash with the R2k.

If you wish to autofocus in low light using the non-center focus points the 420 may be a better choice.

I upgraded from an EOS300 to an EOS30 for the following reasons:

You cannot set the partial meter mode to be permenantly on with a EOS300. You can with the EOS30.

EOS30 has a custom function which lets you use a 420EX as a (not so) near infrared assist light without firing the main flash. Allowing auto focus in low light. (Viewfinder is too dark to do it manually :)

Eye controlled focus is also great (if you like that sort of thing), and seems to work most of the time.