Double Touch

Falling in Canon’s DSLR range between the EOS 450D and the EOS 40D, the EOS 30D has for the past three years dominated the serious amateur market. However with the arrival of its spiritual successor, the 40D – released in September 2007 and offering a list of new features – does the camera offer good value for money over what it replaced, the EOS 20D? If you cannot justify the expenditure for the new 40D, but are serious about getting into photography and are looking at both the 20D and 30D, then this is the review for you. Here we are taking a look at the EOS 30D.

The first point to note is that the 30D is no longer being produced by Canon, so to find one you have to venture onto eBay or check out independent photo retailers for used or shelf-bound units. The price has dropped somewhat since its initial release and plummeted since the arrival of the 40D. Originally given a recommended market price of £1099 before settling at around £800 at the peak of its popularity, the 30D with kit lens (EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6) can now be found for as little as £500.

On paper, the 30D shares many aspects of the excellent specification of the 20D. These include an 8.2 MP sensor, Digic II Image processor, a high-precision 9 point AF (Auto Focus) system, 5 fps fast continuous shooting and durable magnesium alloy body. In addition the 30D, due to sharing its sensor with the 20D, also inherits its 1.6x crop factor.

What the 30D doesn’t share however is its larger and sharper 230,000 pixel, 2.5in LCD monitor, which is a great new addition. This is the LCD that Canon has used on the EOS 5D and EOS 1D Mark II N and provides a much wider viewing angle. In addition to the new LCD screen the 30D picks up a few more tricks over the 20D, such as a wider selection of ISO settings and spot metering.

Spot metering allows for a finely tuned exposure in complex lighting situations, such as scenes with high contrast and wildly variable levels in brightness. The improved range of ISO settings [up to ISO1600] allows hand held shots in low-light conditions with the ISO setting now appearing in the viewfinder of the 30D. Further there is now a larger image buffer and a RGB histogram making it easy to get your exposure spot on at the scene.

Moving away from specifications for a moment, the 30D is an absolute pleasure to use. Providing a big body, nice handgrip and with a weighty feel the 30D feels excellent in the hand improving stability while shooting,. Certainly we found it to feel more professional than the 20D and personally I found it easier to hold, having large hands. The 30D actually weighs in 20gm heavier than the 20D, taking its weight up to 785gm; although this never caused an issue when we used it for long periods.

The specifications and ergonomics are one thing but how did the 30D perform in testing? Well on release there was an air of disappointment over the 30D only been shipped with Canon’s 8.2MP CMOS sensor, for many had expected 10MP. Now there’s no denying that there is a large gap between the two, but honestly if you are a serious amateur, or simply an enthusiastic hobbyist, it doesn’t make any difference. The 8.2MP sensor produces more detail, greater dynamic range and less noise than its predecessor and this is coupled with the excellent Digic II processor providing you with excellent images time after time.

If there is a criticism you could level at the 30D it’s that close up, and when using a wide angle lens, the images showed a slight softness around the edges. This is nothing though that we couldn’t quickly correct in Photoshop or Elements and if anything, it’s better for your images to be too soft than too sharp when adjustments need to be made.

There are a few more advantages to the 30D to over lesser DSLR’s. The energy consumption has been significantly reduced, with roughly 10% more shots per battery. Secondly the 30D incorporates Canon’s image auto rotation feature so any image taken in a portrait orientation will appear so in the LCD monitor. Thirdly the loud, slightly cheap sounding clack of the 20D has been replaced with a deeper and softer sound, making the 30D much more suitable at quiet venues. Of course all these aspects are built into the 40D, but for the price point, they still add up to a great package.

Lastly it’s important to understand that the 30D is compatible with the Canon EF-S range of lenses, a small but excellent series of lenses specifically designed for all the Canon bodies which utilise the APS-C sensor. This matters specifically if you are in the market for a wide angle lens that remains truly wide angle even with the crop factor. When testing the 30D we used Canon’s EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM, which performed superbly. With the 1.6x crop factor the lens provided an effective focal range of 16-35mm in 35mm format.



Verdict

Despite being recently replaced by the superb 40D the 30D is still an excellent choice for any photographer, serious amateur or hobbyist. The image quality is excellent and is offered at a perfect price point. However, the 30D is only an incremental improvement over the 20D and if you own the latter, it’s hard to recommend as an upgrade over the newer 40D. If you are in the market for a top-end amateur piece of kit though and have no previous history of DSLR’s, then the 30D is now more than ever a great choice.