Canon upgrade; what would you do?

[bpw]

I have used the 10D for 2 years now for bird photography, and want to upgrade. Although I have no major complaints about the 10D, there are 3 weaknesses in my view: frame-rate (3fps), buffer size (9 images), and file size (6.3 million pixels).

Is it possible to address all these issues with any of the Canon range? It seems there is always a compromise between frame rate and file size?

What would you do? If I bought a new camera tomorrow, might Canon introduce a new model next week that addresses all these weaknesses!

[Andy]

If you're itching for an upgrade, the 30d would offer numerous benefits over the 10d, and it's hard to imagine Canon bringing out anything new at this price point for some time yet. The 350d may be revamped but it won't really be an upgrade for a 10d user.
With the 30d; Higher res (not a huge benefit, but it all helps), big monitor, better spot-metering, faster fps... I don't think you'd regret it.

cheers,
Andy

[bpw]

Thanks Andy,

I’ve had a look at the 30D on the Canon website. This would give me another 1.9 MP, an additional 2fps, and another 2 images in a burst. Would I notice a significant difference with my type of photography?

The price is a lot less than I expected, I paid £1,150 for my 10D!

[Andy]

Originally Posted by bpw

Thanks Andy,

I’ve had a look at the 30D on the Canon website. This would give me another 1.9 MP, an additional 2fps, and another 2 images in a burst. Would I notice a significant difference with my type of photography?

The price is a lot less than I expected, I paid £1,150 for my 10D!

I think you'll notice a substantial difference between 3fps and 5fps, the latter being very rapid and is about as much as you'll ever need for bird photography.

The resolution aspect is minor but is beneficial when you need to crop... a fraction more leeway (or focal length if you want to look at it that way)

I'm not sure on shutter-lag times, but I suspect the 30d is pretty much state of the art and instantaneous, the 10d is a fairly old camera and shutter-lag times have improved a lot since then.

I think noise at high iso settings is going to be another plus point, the 20d was a good leap forward in that, and the 30d will not be worse.

I suspect battery life has improved considerably since the 10d... and that is always a big help.

If you had a 20d, it's be a struggle to recommend going to the 30d... but the 10d to 30d has got to be worthwhile.

The 30D looks to be excellent value at the moment, well below the £1k barrier.

cheers,
Andy

[Wheeler]

bpw, one of the main things you'll notice is the faster wakeup from standby on the 30D (and 20D) compared to the very sluggish bootup on the 10D. Image-wise the 10D's still a very good tool.

[Stephen]

bpw, as an ex 10D owner who upgraded to a 20D, I would agree with Andy. You will see a substantial improvement in handling if you went down the 30D road. I noticed a difference in picture quality too. The start up time, the burst rate and buffer make the camera a much better proposition, though I'm not a birder, I can see how important that might be. The 30D of course has the benefit of the bigger screen, something that shouldn't be underestimated, and a few other minor refinements which make it an even better jump from a 10D.

I jumped up to the 1DMk2N but then of course thats a completely different price band

For me, one other essential addition was the battery grip, something which IMO makes a vast difference to the balance and handling of the camera

[Tannin]

Good advice above. I'd add that you will find, in practice, that you get more of a burst than the specs indicate out of the 30D. (Well, I have 20Ds, but they are similar.) Every time you take your finger off the shutter for even a few moments to recompose or allow the autofocus to have another crack at getting things right, or for whatever reason while you are shooting a burst, the camera keeps on busily writing to the flash card and makes room for another shot or two or three in the buffer. It all helps, and in practice you will usually get quite a bit more than you expect.

Of course, it helps if you anticipate the full buffer condition and try to always keep at least one or two shots "up your sleeve", just in case the bird does something extra special. But you've owned a 10D for ages now, so doubtless you have figured this out for yourself long since ...

[miketoll]

Another thing that might be useful is the 30D has spot metering. I have the 20D and feel I can't justify an upgrade from that but would (funds permitting) from the 10D.

[anthony.rowell]

What i would do is what did ! i have a 10d and waited for the 20d upgrade which was to be the 30d but not saitisfied with the little improvement,so i talked myself into a canon 5d and i am glad i did i love this camera,i have the best of both world, 1.6 factor and full frame but since getting the 5d i am not using the 10d at the moment and i have not missed the 1.6 factor as i am now use to the full frame,just a great camera.