Canon Guys - 20D, 20Da, or 30D?

jon3k

A friend of mine has been asking to buy my 350D body, and I've been considering moving to a 20D/20DA/30D (the 5D is nice, just a little too expensive for my taste - like $3k).

As I understand it, the 20DA is just a 20D specifically for astrophotography, so it's not really worth the extra money to me. The 30D seems to be a 20D with more features, and cheaper than the 20D/A.

So is 30D the way to go?

Also - whats a reasonable price for a used 350D body? B&H has body only for ~$700. Mine is in perfect shape, not a scratch on it, less than 6 months old. It'd be for the body, battery, charger and strap. Maybe $500?

MesaMan

New 30D or reconditioned 5D MMMmm tasty.

chuckice

I am 100% certain that there are plenty others here that can give you more info/diffs between the 20 & 30D...especially considering I use Nikon. But! I do know that when the 30D was announced I noticed that it was to have spot meter which apparently doesn't exist on the 20D. If true that would seem to be worth the difference...at least to me. Also I think the buffered shot count is significantly different...

Check this if you need some more info as well:
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0602/06022114canoneos30d.asp

jon3k

Yeah, I was reading the dpreview earlier today. If it was only a 20D with a bigger LCD (2.5 vs. 1.8), that alone would be worth the difference to me! The 1.8" on my 350D is just tiny. Several times I've looked at shots that looked great on the LCD, only to pull them up in photoshop and be horribly disappointed.

But, it also has a bunch of other great features (30D vs. the 20D).

From the Canon 30D dpreview:

• Redesigned body (more EOS 5D like)
• Larger LCD monitor (2.5")
• Soft-touch shutter release button
• AE/AF lock remains set if shutter is kept half-pressed between shots
• Faster startup and wake from sleep times
• Direct print button on rear of camera (woo!)
• Spot metering
• 100,000 shot shutter cycle
• ISO selectable in third stop steps
• ISO speed shown in viewfinder as you change it (still not once changed though)
• Selectable 5 or 3 fps continuous shooting
• PictureStyles instead of simple image parameters
• 9,999 images per folder (instead of 100 as per the EOS 20D)
• 15 menu languages (3 new)

All that for only another $200? Seems like its worth it to me.

DanielB

spring for the 30D if you can get it.... but let us in on what kinda glass you have, remember. glass before camera.

Shay Stephens

If you are buying new and can wait for the camera to be available and reviews to be made, I would recommend the 30D.

If you can't wait, the 20D.