Should call it EOS 20D Mk II
21st February 2006
The details are finally available about the long-rumored Canon EOS 30D. Did they change to a 1.3x format as so many expected? Did they improve the sensitivity of the sensor by another stop? How many megapixels is this one?
They didn’t do any of those things. The 30D has the same sensor as the 20D. The major differences: a spot meter (still a 3.5% circle, and not a 1% circle); ISO settings can be changed in 1/3-stop increments; the rear LCD is larger and nicer; and they added the Picture Style image processing parameters.
Either Canon has hit the wall of physics the pundits have been predicting as manufacturers cram more megapixels onto the chips, or they wanted to protect the recently-released, and much more expensive, Canon EOS 5D.
Canon did something kind of like this when they moved from the D60 to the 10D (both cameras had 6-megapixel sensors) but there were more significant changes between those two than the 20D and the 30D.
All the people who have been foaming at the mouth in the DPReview Forums for the past few weeks must be terribly disappointed.
More interesting to me is the new EF-S lens: 17-55mm f/2.8 IS. If I didn’t already have the 17-40, I would be looking seriously at this. Yes, it’s EF-S only, but it looks like Canon is dedicated to the format so it’s not a dead end — there will be resale value. And it’s a wide lens with image stabilization. Add to that the f/2.8 max aperture, and this would do so much that I’ve wished for from my 17-40 f/4 L.
February 21st, 2006 at 13:55
This new lens is very interesting and if I were still shooting with the 10D, I’d be looking for a way to buy it. Imagine a lens with f2.8 and IS technology if you like to shoot in low-light. Also that is a nice range on the zoom. Still it seems pricey unless you are committed to stick the EF-S cameras and it also isn’t L glass. Of course, I just looked at Canon’s MSP….don’t know what the street price will be.
February 21st, 2006 at 15:03
I too am interested in the 17-55mm f/2.8 IS but that it’s an EF-S lens puts me off. I’d at least like the option of being able to use it should I go full frame in the future. Right now the only EF-S lens I’d consider is the 10-20mm because should I go full frame, my 17-40 would offer virtually the same wide end and I could sell off the 10-20mm.
I was hoping for a lot more from the 30D as well. I was amazed at how much they offered when the 350D replaced the 300D and was expecting a similar increase in features. Unfortunately not. The only upside to this is that the 20D price will drop as they clear them out.