Customer Reviews:
Fantastic entry-level Digital SLR Camera.......2007-07-20
I've had a 300D for over two years and it is a fantastic bit of kit. Very flexible, an excellent 18-55mm lens, and great quality pictures.
Occasionally in auto-focus mode it focuses on the wrong spot and I don't notice, but that is a minor complaint. My only other observation is that in sport mode it can't take that many shots in a row and I suspect it can't take full advantage of the higher speed CompactFlash cards although I use 4Gb cards happily in mine.
You can't go wrong with this if you want an entry level digital SLR. 6.3Mpixels seem a bit small in this day and age but you won't notice unless you're planning to print A2 or above...
300d.......2005-09-11
Have had this camera since it came out, overall its good. I have 2 major issues with this camera though. Firstly build quality: The whole thing has a very plasticy feel to it, it creeks and clicks when you pick it up (its not exactly light!), when compared to the nikon d70 or the Canon 10d the 300d feels quite cheap. Secondly the picture quality isnt consistant: Sometimes the images are very clear and sometimes they are very soft and lack contrast, it also tends to under expose so you find your self having to add several stops of light to compensate. The camera seems to struggle to to take sharp pictures with large telephotos lenses, I have a 135-400mm semi pro sigma lens and it just refuses to take nice sharp pictures. At the lower end the pictures are much better, mainly good sharp images, I have a Canon 24-85 lens which I bought in place of the Canon lens which its provided with (which was a very low quality lens). The camera is very good in doors, using it on Aperature Priority on a tripod in low light levels the pictures are billiant. The auto white balance is very good you never have to adjust it, it always gets it right. As an amateur camera it is very good (dont forget that it is very bulky and heavy!) Just make sure you have a decent lens to put on it.
A superb camera.......2005-05-19
I waited over two years to take the step to digital, carefully comparing reviews and prices on all manufacturers and specifications. I finally opted for the Cannon EOS 300D because it's discontinuance brought it into an affordable bracket for a digital SLR and also my old 35mm Canon had served me well for over a decade (plus the fact that my existing lenses etc also fit the EOS 300D). The familiar body feel and sturdy construction feels far more comfortable than the tiny models with minute buttons and dials.
What a camera! The ease of operation is a doddle even for a novice like myself, and the resulting photographs are of amazing quality...dare I say professional? As well as the point and shoot functions the camera offers so much scope to experiment with creative photography. I have experimented and produced images I would never have believed possible with my previous camera. And if I mess it up?...no problem...just scrap it.
If you can find one of these cameras, buy it! I doubt whether it's replacement has additional features worth the extra money. Battery life is excellent but it is worth purchasing the largest memory card you can afford (there isn't one included with the package) to explore the true potential of this groundbraking camera.
Great Camera, but beware older lenses anyone still got them.......2005-05-04
As everyone has already posted, this is a fantastic camera and I bought it, after using digital compacts (Olympus C40 and 720), to make use of the EOS lenses I had from my film days. Can't add anything that hasn't been commented on already, apart from lens issues.
The camera works fine with a Canon EF35-80 and Tokina ATX400mm, but there are problems with a Sigma APO 75-300mm lens. The camera throws an Error 99 with this lens when used with M, Av or Tv (for example) and the zoom range is restricted to above about 110mm with the P setting. It is reported elsewhere that Sigma don't pay a licence fee to Canon to make the lenses so they have to reverse engineer and this means there are compatibility issues when older lenses are used with newer cameras. Older lenses by the likes of Tamron and Tokina may have similar issues, and it seems that zooms have greatest problems. So something to look out for if you want to use your old EOS lenses.
Still gets 5* because the camera's not to blame for the lens problems.
A truly brilliant camera.......2005-04-03
I ordered this camera, and about a week later got it. The booklet is easy to get through, the software is easy to load, the whole process is really good.
The camera itself is so easy to use, it is probably the best camera i have used or seen in a long time. What I like about the camera is the fact that you can change the lenses with any other Canon camera lens, the camera allows you to change the exposure, white balance, colour balance etc etc. The camera menu and information system is very easy and user friendly. I much prefer this camera to the Fuji digital set up.
I would highly recommend this camera to anyone who enjoys photography, is wanting to progress it further and is willing to fork out a bit of money for it. Yes it is expensive, but within reason, after all we are talking about a 6.4 mega pixel camera, with manual and automatic focus points, a 1/4000 sec exposure setting to a 30 second exposure. The ability to change the shutter speed manually, the different modes that come with the camera etc etc. The other item i would recommend with this camera is some sort of camera holder or holdall, having just forked out this sort of money you don't want to scratch it or damage it!
Customer Reviews:
EOS 300D - good replacement for 35 mm film........2004-08-17
I bought a Fuji 602 pro zoom to replace a Nikon 35 mm film camera and was very pleased with picture quality but very dissapointed that taking action shots with the fuji was pretty much impossible as it was so slow to take a picture once the button was pressed. I then bought a 300D and so far I have been very pleased with the results.
Anyone used to a film SLR will be able to master it pretty quickly and might not even need to read the instructions, I
didnt. I bought a 28-300 Sigma lense and a 500 MB card to go with the camera and on the highest picture quality setting this gives 114 or so pictures. You get good life too from the re chargeable battery. Action shots are now no problem at all
although macro shots are not as easy as with the fuji and the fuji probably shades the 300D on detail and colour sharpness.
Overall I think the 300D is well worth the extra cost over a more compact digital camera due to the flexibility offered
( lense changing, good manual focus and set up ) although the picture quality for me is a little soft focus for my liking, I
like a good sharp image with lots of detail. One good point with the 300D is that you can get very good results in low light without the use of the flash. I also like the fact that the pictures do not need a lot of computer fettling, you can just load them up and print them out for good results.
My advice is that if you are going digital after using a film SLR dont be tempted to save a bit of cash by buying a compact if like me you are likely to take action shots as you will only get frustrated. Buy a 300D, get a good lense and a 500 MB card and also get a good printer as the printer might turn out to be the limiting factor. A minor point is that my 300D and lense will not fit in the camera bag I already had. I dont know what the propper name is for this type of bag but it is the type where the camera goes in lense first, and I could not find a similar bag that it would fit into. I had to get a bag which was probably meant for a camcorder and it is a little too big to carry around and not feel self concious about.
I hope this review helps someone. I can imagine using my 300D for years to come and I think that the quality and facilities are very good and that for most people spending more money than this camera costs would not really be necessary.
Superb, brilliant, fantastic, almost faultless.......2004-01-04
I spent a long time waiting for the digital camera that met my needs – something to go alongside my Canon EOS film set-up but digital. I was actually about to buy the Canon 10D but then heard the 300D was about to be released and I was pretty much sold on the latter. When I first saw it, I was completely sold (in part because many of the reviews I’d seen were not quite as accurate as I’d thought).
So what’s so great about it? Well, any user of a Canon EOS camera will have no trouble getting used to it as it uses the standard sort of controls and interfaces common to Canon for so long, and allows you to use any lenses or gadgets you’ve bought already (eg. Remote photo release button). It’s also an excellent purchase for anyone new to photography – like all EOS cameras, there are a combination of manual modes where you control what’s going on and more automated modes allowing you to get great photos quickly. With this combination you’re able to learn quickly how to take photographs well and with the benefit of the LCD on the back of the camera to see the photo you’ve taken, you’re less likely to take shots which once developed turn out to disappoint.
The photos I’ve had from it (using low cost lenses) has been absolutely superb and the overall ability and feature-set of the camera is so far beyond my current photographing ability that I won’t be making any upgrades for a long time. I’ve been particularly impressed by the cityscape night time shots as they’re so much clearer than anything I’ve taken before; bright landscapes are also far crisper and macro photography does not seem to pixelate at all.
The bundled software is very good – Photoshop Elements (whilst not as full of features as Photoshop or Corel PhotoPaint) is likely to meet most users’ needs, and the Canon ZoomBrowser software allows you to see what settings you used for a specific photo – eg. Exposure compensation, aperture, shutter speed and lens attached are all detailed. Again, this is useful to enable you to learn from mistakes etc. This last tool is really good as it means you don’t have to note down what settings you used (which it’s so easy to forget about anyway).
So, what about the 10D which it’s so often compared against – personally I think you’re better with the 300D… it’s nowhere near as heavy (admittedly the build quality of the 10D is better, but you wouldn’t want to drop either of them anyway! Other reviews I saw suggested the 300D was very plastic and cheap – I don’t agree with this at all), all the basic features are there, the controls are slightly different although I preferred the 300D directional buttons on the back rather than the 10D dial. Actually, the logic I applied was that since I didn’t really understand most the extra features the 10D offered above the 300D I wasn’t likely to need them, and having read up on them I feel this was the right decision.
Oddly (only discovered this yesterday), although both the 300D and 10D offer RAW picture format (for ultra-high quality) and various levels of JPEG, the highest level of JPEG (which is what I recommend for general use as it allows circa 200 photos per 512Mb CompactFlash card, and prints perfectly to A4) is actually compressed less on the 300D than the l0D, which I guess means the picture quality is actually higher on the 300D. The inner workings of the camera are pretty much identical anyway so you can’t get a better photo from one camera against the other if you’re using the same lens and RAW picture format.
Okay, so what are the faults – well, on the scale of things they’re fairly minor but a bit irritating… the battery cannot be recharged whilst it’s in the camera – you have to take the battery out. The pictures can be loaded onto your PC my either removing the CompactFlash card and putting it into a card reader, or using Canon’s software to load the images – you cannot get the camera to appear as an extra drive on your PC to move the files yourself which annoyed me as I didn’t like the Canon software for moving the files. Also, if anything the camera seems to have a slight knack of underexposing although as you’d expect it’s dependent on the environment you’re working on, and can be controlled by very minor exposure compensation or bracketing. I’m not that convinced this wasn’t the case with EOS film cameras though so the verdict’s out on that.
All in all, I can’t recommend this enough – it’s superb, an amateur / semi-pro camera which is light enough to easily take on holiday with you. If you have an EOS camera though remember to avoid the EF-S lens kit though as that won’t fit your other camera. You will not be disappointed!
Great Camera - but don't skimp the lenses!.......2003-12-19
I have had my 300D for a week now. I didn't purchase the lens kit as this camera deserves better. I purchsed 2 mid quality lenses, a Canon 20-35mm and a Canon 28-135mm IS (Image Stabiliser). The street price is around £400 for each of these lenses. The latter comes very highly recommended.
Clearly I haven't had much time to evaluate the camera and lenses together, and I haven't completely mastered the 300D either (I last owned an SLR 30 years ago).
My initial reaction is that this is a great camera with huge potential allowing the photographer to display their skills (or lack of ;-) )
The 300D is so good that it shows up the quality of the lenses very clearly.
So my advice is to buy the 300D along with the best lens that you can afford!!!
Also to learn to use at least the basics of Photoshop Elements which comes with the camera as this will greatly improve your pictures - the pro's do it, so should you!
Finally get yourself a good printer - I have the Canon i965. Your prints will be better than the best photo lab!
Have fun!
Excellent for amateurs and professionals alike.......2003-12-08
Bought this camera to replace a smaller digital camera and a larger SLR. And I am not in the least dissappointed by the results.
I have spent the last week experimenting with all of the different modes and features and seems to fail to get good results with the camera. With the exception of the autofocus which does have problems in dim light or with certain textures. It can also lock on to the wrong part of the frame.
The only thing that I have regretted is going for the body only. I already head 4 Canon lenses, but with the change in focal length due to the smaller CCD I no longer have wide angle. Should have read the above review first!
The battery lasts for ever too!
A fantastic camera for everyone!
Unbelievable value, but..........2003-10-08
Unless you are a more advanced or professional photographer needing the few extra features or specific strengths that higher models offer, you will appreciate the control and yet ease of use that the 300D offers, not to mention the price tag...
Unless you already have a collection of Canon lenses going down to at least 18mm, I would recommend going for the lens package as the 1.6x multiplier means that you will need an (expensive!) 18mm lens to go down to a general-use 28mm focal length, 35mm equivalent. In addition to being a good-quality lens in its own right, the EF-S is lightweight, compact and a great value general-use lens for the little bit extra you pay. Look forward to more of the lightweight EF-S lenses in the future (although they will be incompatible with you 35mm bodies).
In addition, you will also want at least a 256mb CF card (preferably 512mb or 1gb if you plan to do a lot of shooting), a good UV filter per lens to protect the front element, a second battery, and a decent camera bag to hold everything. Depending on the type of shooting you do, a tripod - or monopod - is also a good idea.
Bottom line: an excellent starter-intermediate package for about £1,000 all in.
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