There are a few aspects of the 30D that Canon hasn't changed from the 20D, but that could have used an update. The battery didn't last for the length of one of our shooting sessions, or about 250 photos. The lens still casts a shadow when using the onboard flash at wide-angle focal lengths with some lenses. And the viewfinder still shows only 95 per cent of the scene. Nonetheless, it remains the top-notch model that the 20D was.
If you don't need the better continuous-shooting performance, spot metering, or the larger LCD, you might as well save about £200 and buy a 20D while you still can.
Shooting speed in seconds
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
 |
Raw shot-to-shot time |
|
Typical shot-to-shot time |
|
Shutter lag (dim light) |
|
Time to first shot |
|
Shutter lag (typical) |
Canon EOS 350D
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.2
0.2
Canon EOS 30D
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.3
0.4
Nikon D70s
1.1
1.1
0.6
0.6
0.4
Olympus Evolt E-330
0.8
0.8
0.7
1.7
0.5
Nikon D200
0.9
0.8
0.3
0.6
0.8
Typical continuous-shooting speed in frames per second (Longer bars indicate better performance)
|
|
Typical continuous-shooting speed |
Nikon D200
4.1
Canon EOS 350D
3.8
Canon EOS 30D
3.1
Nikon D70s
2.8
Olympus Evolt E-330
2.1
Additional editing by Nick Hide
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User reviews2
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Karen Sheard 26 September 2007
Good: Good in low light conditions, especially with an IS lens
Bad: Viewfinder not very accurate
Comment: Overall this is a great camera. The controls are easy to learn and use, and the results are of high quality.
As the review suggests, the viewfinder isn't 100% accurate and the battery life isn't that great, but I think it's a good camera for it's price-range.
Alex Black 29 November 2006
Good: Build quality, feel, control over image, great pictures
Bad: Plastic doors on battery housing and memory card socket
Comment: I think that this is a brilliant camera. It has fast start-up, a nice solid feel and plenty of adjustments for the image you are trying to capture. The 2.5" LCD is a big improvement over the one on my old 300d and the controls are nice to use. Even for a novice just starting digital photography but with the intention of going further, this would be a good choice. Without nitpicking, I think this is a good, all-round solid bit of kit.
See all 2 user reviews