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Canon EOS 30D

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In use
Canon's EOS 30D, like the 20D, keeps most of the digital EOS design traits. In our hands, the magnesium-alloy body feels well-balanced and rugged, yet does not undermine portability. The 30D is merely 2mm thicker at 144 x 105.5 x 73.5mm than its predecessor and the body weighs only 15g heavier than the 20D (685g).

The viewfinder, though it displays only 95 percent of the actual scene, is bright and easy to check for focusing. Since the 30D shares the same sensor and imaging processor as its predecessor, you can expect similar high-quality pictures, especially at high sensitivity levels, and top-notch performance.

Like the 20D, the 30D is compatible with a whole range of EF/EF-S lenses. In addition, the 8.2-megapixel APS-C-sized CMOS sensor has a 1.6x crop factor, which means that an image taken at 18mm has, in fact, a field-of-view of 28mm (35mm equivalent).

In terms of performance and speed, the 30D certainly doesn't disappoint. Even when the camera is turned off, it doesn't totally switch off; it's more as if the shooter is in a dormant mode. For instance, when you insert a CompactFlash card into the unit while the camera is off, the red indicator light lights up showing that the shooter is reading the card.

Because of its "never-really-off" status, the 30D reported for duty almost instantaneously in our tests. Autofocus timing was also good and we could use either the multi-controller or the circular dial to select the AF points arranged in a nine-point diamond formation. On our 1GB Imation CompactFlash test card, we managed to clock 12 pictures in RAW before the buffer filled up.

One quibble we had with the 30D was that the camera would shut down when the CompactFlash compartment door was opened. Generally, this meant that any images yet to be written onto the card (in other words, still in the buffer) would be lost. We would also have liked to see the ISO setting on the top LCD panel instead of having to press the Drive/ISO button to know which ISO the camera was currently on.

 
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