Canon EOS 20D 8.2MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)
by Canon
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Canon EOS 20D 8.2MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)
Customer Review: love it, but picked up a tiny sony cybershot too
Summary: 5 Stars
All of those concerns about poor results with the built in flash are true -- I'm just an amateur who loves taking photos, for whom this was a first SLR of any kind. So, I love fiddling with the options, and right now, black and white is my favorite mode. This camera makes picture taking a joy, I don't have to miss that fleeting moment anymore with the incredible number of continuous shots per second you can take. But 1 week after buying this camera I had to invest in the speedlite 580EX flash, and I bought the EF-S 17-85 lens as well. With those two additions, I can't take this camera anywhere without forethought. So now, I've gone back to a sony cybershot p200 for all those family pix when we're just hanging out. I would say skip the 18-55mm lens kit alltogether, since I was not impressed with the lens performance, and low light / indoor performance is much better with the 17-85mm EFS for all purpose use if you don't want to do too much post editing.
All things considered, 6 months later, I am planning on staying away from EF-S lenses in the future, since when I upgrade this camera a couple of years down the road, I want the lenses to be compatible with the full 35mm film size sensors of the EOS 1Ds Mark II equivalents. I am beginning to love the picture taking power afforded by an SLR and would love to have access to true wide angle. So if you don't want your $$$ to be wasted, stick to adding on L series lenses.
I would not hesitate at this point in time to buy the 20D again, i.e. I wouldn't wait for the next latest greatest camera, and truly for my use at home and school activities this is more than I'd dreamed of being able to do.
Customer Review: Satisfying, except for lack of spot metering
Summary: 3 Stars
Two months after purchasing the 20D, I'm happy with the quality of shots and of the body itself, but regretting buying a dSLR without spot metering. (Live and learn.)
The one disappointment that still bugs me about the 20D: no spot metering for back-lit situations. This often slows down getting a shot as the only work arounds are bracketting or manually readjusting for overexposing. Yes, this can be a major pain, and "perfect" moment shots can be lost or have underexposed foreground subjects. Folks who shoot mostly in studios really should not comment on spot metering!
Don't be fooled by the partial metering like I was--it really doesn't make much of a difference over the evaluative, especially on human sized subjects! The partial metering area is simply to big to catch a proper exposure in backlit situations.
Unfortunately, the only way as of today, March 9, 2005, to get spot metering in a Canon is to buy a 1D (or 1Ds) Mark II, which is huge and much more expensive. Nikon offers the feature on the D70, so consider carefully before investing in lenses!
Other than this short-of-fatal shortcoming, the camera has few things to complain about. Great images, custom functions, and ergonomics. All things considered, I'm satisfied with the camera and have learned to work around the lack of spot metering (meaning as soon as I realize I'm in a back-lit situation I twirl to slightly overexpose--no matter how fast I twirl, however, spot metering would be faster and more efficient.)
One point playing off a few other reviews regarding firewire: In-body firewire and USB 2.0 are both virtually obsolete. For less than $20 just buy a little CF card reader that plugs directly into a PC/notebook--with or without a cable. Who wants to fiddle with a cable attached to a camera, particularly when traveling and setting up on the often cramped spaces in motel rooms? Just pop out the CF card and stick it into the reader--this lets you drag and drop the files from the card to the PC instead of patiently letting them download out of the camera.
Furthermore, using a card reader means you don't have to install the camera's clunky image download software--Windows 2000 and above handles the card readers automatically, dispaying the card contents just like they are on another drive. And all the card readers come with drivers for Windows 98.
Sincerely,
A somewhat satisfied, and wiser-after-the-fact buyer.
Customer Review: Canon should be ashamed at themselves!
Summary: 1 Stars
If your in the market for a good quality DSLR,I can tell you not to buy the Canon D20 from my experience!!!!! I have been using an Olympus 2.1 camera for the past four year's ,and thought it was about time for an upgrade.Well welcome to the Canon family with my recent purchace the 20D.Well I took pictures in the house and they were horrible,lighting with or without the flash was terrible.Took the same pic's with my old Olympus and no comparison,they were great.So I was beginning to think that the D20 just wasn't that good for indoor use without it's bigger flash accessorie.If you read most of the forum's ,that is one of the number one complaint's with this camera.So for the next test I took some outdoor pic's from my doorstep at noon with the sun behind me,and guess what,white balance is to low and color balance is way to red with the canon.Take the same pic's with the Olyumpus and they were fantastic!I cannot believe that 4 year's after the introduction of my old camera that Canon could scew up this badly! When I use photoshop's auto level adjust it does repair most of the canon's poor picture qualities.Funny though ,the same pic taken with my old Olympus hardly changes at all with level correction in Photoshop.What does this tell you? Now maybe in some of the custom modes you can get a decent picture with a D20,but sometimes I would like to just use it's auto mode and not have to figure out how to make it take a decent pic considering the $2000 price tag.Maybe there's a firmware update coming soon that will correct it's poor pic quality in auto mode?I will never know however because I'm going to rant and rave till they take this overpriced pile of garbage back !!! I'm getting the Nikon D70 instead .See ya Canon,dont let the door hit you on the way out!Customer Review: Great camera
Summary: 5 Stars
Just wanted to add my hight marks for this camera (purchased trhrough Amazon). Feels much sturdier than the Digital Rebel. Great focus in low light. Love editing tools that come with the camera - especially correction of white balance in shots made in the RAW mode. I would strongly suggest a choice of high-end lenses for this camera (not the 18-55mm ...), preferably the L-series (I am using the 17-40mm L). Recommend shooting in only RAW mode, hence a 2GB card or greater is recommended.Customer Review: Excellent Semi-PRO D-SLR
Summary: 5 Stars
The 20D is actually more responsive than my film SLR. Start up speed is virtually instantaneous. Almost no shutter lag. Image quality is excellent with usable images up to ISO3200. Nice to have the 8MP for the extra cropping.
Small quibbles but the controls are tricky to set the ISO and continous shooting. On the other hand the menu system is very easy to use.
Build quality is excellent, but small corners cut on the battery cover and compact flash cover. Also, the battery recharger does not have a cord. Would be nice if battery could be recharged in camera. USB 2.0 support but no firewire (what a drag for a camera of this level).
The 20D has similar controls to the old Canon film SLR's. I felt right at home after using my Canon A-1 (unfortunately a relic at this point).
Camera is a little big and heavy, but that's part of the price to pay when you leave the amateur ranks. The 20D gives you kudos among serious amateurs and semi-pro photographers.