Canon Digital Rebel?

[BigWig]

Any good??

[monkeyhanger]

Or as we call them here, the 300D

Yep, great Digital SLR to start off with.

I recently moved up to the 20D and have the 300D up for sale..secretly hoping no-one buys it so i can keep it as a back-up.

[_dobbo_]

Short answer is yes.

Go to a shop and compare the Nikon D50, Nikon D70s and the Canon 350D. See which one feels best, then buy it!

Then post your pics here!

[monkeyhanger]

Umm..

Rebel or Rebel XT ?

Aka 300D or 350D respectively

Both good, 350D being the better of the 2.

[nighthawk]

I cut my Dslr teeth on the 300D

Great camera for what I paid, excellent camera for what people pay now!!!

I moved up to the 20D after spending a year with the 300d

[406]

I nearly bought a 300D but was wise enough to touch the D70. Now 10 months later I am the proud owner of a D70, D100 = MB-D100 grip, 50mm 1.8 Prime lens 18-70 Kit lens, 80-400 VR lens, SB600, SB800, Circular Polorisers for all UV's for all and ND's for all. Add to that lot a Manfroto monopod, Manfroto Tripod, 6 x 1 gig CF cards, 1 x 2 gig CF card, a 512 meg CF card and a 40 gig Fastrax, you see how far your passion has gone. Oh, on top of that there is the Lowepro Nova Gadget bag and Lowepro Back Pack. No wonder I am always skint.

By the way, The Light Side (Nikon CLUD) is where it's happening AND, The FARCE is Stronger here

HTH

Dave

406

[V6GTO]

Great camera and unbeatable at the price. It'll take fantastic pictures for no money, so you can get better lenses, which are the key to quality images.

Martin.

[BigWig]

Hello,

thanks for the quick response. I asked because I have family on holiday in america and they are texting asking what SLR I want them to bring back!

The Canon Rebel is $899 and the Nikon D70S is $799.

What will be the best buy from your wealth of experience?!

I do freelance motoring journo work and I need to start using one, hence my reason to splash out...

[406]

BigWig said:

Hello, The Canon Rebel is $899 and the Nikon D70S is $799.

Well, for me it would have to be the D70s what with being joint founder of the PH Nikon Owners CLUD. You really need to hols them both, them pick the Nikon as it will feel better and more solid and have a better lens

HTH

Dave

406

[pete_w]

406 said:

BigWig said: Hello, The Canon Rebel is $899 and the Nikon D70S is $799. Well, for me it would have to be the D70s what with being joint founder of the PH Nikon Owners CLUD. You really need to hols them both, them pick the Nikon as it will feel better and more solid and have a better lens HTH Dave 406

Dave is correct, the Nikon will have a better lens in the kit, but if you're buying an entry level DLSR then the lens that ships with the Canon will be capable of capturing better images than you're capable of taking...just don't expect it to be mechanically sound

Seriously though, you need to be considering the Rebel XT (350D) nowadays and I'd be exremely dubious about getting one from the US...purely on the grounds of warranties....it's bad enough walking to Jessops with a dead camera...let alone getting it back to the states

The 350D is a good match for the latest Nikon D50 and the older D70s is considered a bit of a Nikon marketing scam in terms of upgrade and price hike over the even older D70. -The D70 / D70s are the same camera, the latter has a bigger LCD and a firmware upgrade but costs a lot more. If I'm not mistaken the firmware upgrade can be obtained from the net FOC and the LCD size is meaningless when you realise you can't see them in the sun regardless of the make....marketing, ain't it great

The Nikon will feel better built though, probably becuase it is bigger and heavier. I don't know about the D50, but the D70 is made from plastic like the 350D. Only one of them has a metal chassis mind and it isn't the Nikon.

all opinions and statements contained herein are likely subject to error given the amount of beer I've had

>> Edited by pete_w on Thursday 8th September 00:18

[monkeyhanger]

The simple answer is buy a 20D.

Beats the 300 / 350D and any of the above mentioned Noinks hands down


As for the Canon kit lens, mine is approaching 2 years or so old now, still as good as new and is regularly used.

Once you learn its strengths & weaknesses you can get some nice shots out of it.

[pete_w]

monkeyhanger said:

The simple answer is buy a 20D. Beats the 300 / 350D and any of the above mentioned Noinks hands down

Magnesium alloy body aside, is it that far removed from the 350D?

Obviously the Nikon's are lacking somewhat in technical advance in comparison thou'

I thought the 350D had a newer CMOS array but shared the same DIGIC II processor?

Agreed, the kit lens is very capable, the bit which bugs me is the way it rattles when you shake it

[monkeyhanger]

pete_w said:

monkeyhanger said: The simple answer is buy a 20D. Beats the 300 / 350D and any of the above mentioned Noinks hands down Magnesium alloy body aside, is it that far removed from the 350D? Obviously the Nikon's are lacking somewhat in technical advance in comparison thou' I thought the 350D had a newer CMOS array but shared the same DIGIC II processor? Agreed, the kit lens is very capable, the bit which bugs me is the way it rattles when you shake it

My main reason for going for the 20D was the improved memory buffer...

6 shots in RAW will clear within 20 seconds with a half decent card.

If you shoot large fine JPEG it'll do 25 shots or so at 5fps before it has to unload to the card. Great for motorsports which is my favourite haunt of a weekend.

I wish i could justify a 1DM2 but the camera would have to be paying for itself first.


>> Edited by monkeyhanger on Wednesday 7th September 23:51

[pete_w]

Yep, you're right, forgot the speed aspect when shooting RAW.

I'll admit I've been very pleased with the 350 in speed terms though. RAW aside it will 'go like a train' with the biggest jpeg size and likewise will clear 20 to 25 shots at hi res before taking breath...even with a relatively slow card (although speed is obviously dependent on captured image)

What about the new 5D? Might be more cost effective than the 1DSII

[_dobbo_]

monkeyhanger said:

6 shots in RAW will clear within 20 seconds with a half decent card.

Is that fast then? My D70 will do the same thing in 6 seconds...

[daydreamer]

Another hands up for the 20D here (mainly because I have one). Bit faster, a little more robust and a bigger eye piece (so I don't have to take my specs off) in addition to faster speeds and slightly different sensor arrangement (although the same actual sensor as a 350D I believe).

One thing to consider though is portability. The 350D takes a lot of stick on here for being too small, but having just lugged mine around the alps of southern Germany, the idea of a camera half the size appeals to me. I wouldn't change, but it is worth noting, especially if, as the original post implied, you are more interested in capturing a few images to support the words. 350D is a damn fine camera, and not much bigger than a compact.

[barreti]

I bought a Digital Rebel (300D) a couple of months ago and it far outperforms my photographic talents.
If I was buying again though I wouldn't buy a kit. I'd buy a body and a 28-135 IS USM lens with my limited budget.

I don't understand why the Canon 20D is mentioned as any sort of comparison with the Digital Rebel. Its in a different price league.

[Tuna]

Edited to add - the Canon and Nikon have quite different feels, and like all DSLRs have a STEEP learning curve to get the best of them. Go to Jessops and try each of them for how they feel to you - don't worry about understanding every last button when you pick them up, just see how you feel about the camera.

Warehouseexpress has been doing a deal on the 350D with the battery grip that's worth considering - the grip provides an additional full set of controls (shutter, control dial, focus lock and so on) and takes both AA and 2xCanon batteries, so you can go forever without needing to recharge. It's great for portrait work, and extends the normal vertical hand grip (which some find a little small, though I'm fine with it). Without the grip and with a light lens such as the 50mm f1.8 prime, the canon is a very light, convenient package for walkabout photography - I find the Nikon unecessarily bulky at times. Of course, add a huge telephoto and battery grip and they're both much the same.

Canon IS L lenses are very impressive, and the 350D is fast, responsive and has excellent image quality. You'll probably do just as well with either Canon or Nikon, but don't be fooled by the body only or kit lens prices - you'll probably spend a whole lot more on lenses (especially a good telephoto if you want to take motorsport pics), filters, cards, tripods, cases and batteries.

If you already have an analogue SLR, you might be able to get an adaptor for it's lenses to use with DSLRs, though you can pretty much guarantee you'll loose any autofocus facility. The Canon has quite a range of adaptors, which if you're happy to focus yourself, opens up a whole world of cheap secondhand lenses.

>> Edited by Tuna on Thursday 8th September 11:01

[monkeyhanger]

_dobbo_ said:

monkeyhanger said: 6 shots in RAW will clear within 20 seconds with a half decent card. Is that fast then? My D70 will do the same thing in 6 seconds...

20D file RAW file size tends to be a bit larger methinks.

D70 also only does a 12 shot JPEG burst at 3 fps.

[monkeyhanger]

barreti said:

I don't understand why the Canon 20D is mentioned as any sort of comparison with the Digital Rebel. Its in a different price league.

I didn't mention it as a comparison, possibly as an alternative and to silence the Nikon users intent on yet another thread hijack