Canon Rebel vs 30D

amadeus

Best Buy has both camera's. The new rebel XTi is 10.1 megapixel @ $899.

The 30D is 8? megapixel $1399.

In laymans terms, what are the diffferences?

The body of the rebel is much smaller. why?

thank you in advance.

and can anyone offer any input on free standing kitchen cabinetry at Ikea?:D

I like em...

Andy

Yes well that free-standing stuff will not enhance your sledgehammering you might have to do in 40 years

Andy

Do you have average, big or small mitts?

amadeus

Andy wrote:

Do you have average, big or small mitts?

I guess average.

gus

Andy wrote:

Do you have average, big or small mitts?

OI !! Thats enough of that...some of us here are dyslexic.

Andy

amadeus wrote:

I guess average.

Don't get fooled by the megapixels.

The Rebel is smaller, lighter, more cheaply made, and will stand up to less hard knocks than it's heftier cousin, the 30D. The the 30D is more solid, feels better in hand, has longer battery life, and is faster (5fps vs. 3fps). Image quality for all intents and purposes is identical.

amadeus

Andy wrote:

Don't get fooled by the megapixels.

The Rebel is smaller, lighter, more cheaply made, and will stand up to less hard knocks than it's heftier cousin, the 30D. The the 30D is more solid, feels better in hand, has longer battery life, and is faster (5fps vs. 3fps). Image quality for all intents and purposes is identical.

I kind of figured that on the MPX.

Where is $1399 in the price life of that model. (30D)

In other words what was it selling for when it was a "new" model.

Is it at the end of its run?

Andy

amadeus wrote:

I kind of figured that on the MPX.

Where is $1399 in the price life of that model. (30D)

In other words what was it selling for when it was a "new" model.

Is it at the end of its run?

It's probably 1/2 way through life. You can find them used. But then again, you can also have a 5D Full Framer for $1800 used, too .

Decisions.

I would not buy a Rebel if I were you. Not good for rough motorcycle trips, won't stand up to the daily grind as well as the 30D. The 30D could go to your basement, in the dark, with an inexperienced navigator, and emerge unscathed, to carry on the fight for justice in Flugistan. The Rebel would take one dink against a brick wall and be hanging at the end of it's rope, like, like, well you get the picture!

Andy

amadeus wrote:

Where is $1399 in the price life of that model.

Just stay off of Ebay for a week, and there's the difference.

Jeffro

amadeus wrote:

In laymans terms, what are the diffferences?

The difference is, if you buy the XTi, you will be wishing you had spent the extra $$ on the 30D within a month......

amadeus

Andy wrote:

The 30D could go to your basement, in the dark, with an inexperienced navigator, and emerge unscathed, to carry on the fight for justice in Flugistan.

why go to the basement?

Duckys54

More info and comparisons
Here are some more comparions and links

Tommyboy

I stumbled on this thread two days ago.

It's a bit dated, but it does a thorough comparison of the 20D and the XT. I'm sure you could extrapolate for the 30D and XTi.

I have an XT and I enjoy it very much. It's too small for my hands, but a battery grip/hand strap solved that problem nicely. As many on this forum have pointed out, less $$ on the body means more potential $$ for glass.

Good luck!

drdane

I've got an original Rebel 300D. After 2 years on the road and another year knocking around Oregon, it's still working OK - Knock on Plastic!

Three annoyances I've experienced:
The USB jack is more cheesy than a Canon A-70, and got mucked up so it no longer is functional (pins bent back). Not a problem with a card reader, however (which works better anyway).

Rarely, it will have an exposure fart, meaning it will overexpose a shot. I've noticed this a few times when comparing two shots taken back to back, supposedly at the same exposure.

The kit lens is a bit wobbly, but still takes seemingly good shots. But at wide angle settings, the horizon line will curve - the shits for panos, but then, I haven't tried that with my 10-22 zoom yet:D .

Other than that, it's done OK, and was a good starter for me.

I'm biding my time (and money) and watching to see if canon upgrades the 30D, or to find a good deal on a used 5D.

drdane

Andy wrote:

It's probably 1/2 way through life. You can find them used. But then again, you can also have a 5D Full Framer for $1800 used, too .

Hi, Andy!

How high was the cliff that 5D fell from?:D

Where did you see one for that price???

badtz

I dont know, my friend has a 20D, I have an XT, my camera has been with me more or less every day for the past year or so, has taken some knocks and has kept working just fine. Granted it doesnt feel as solid as the xxD and up models, but I cant recall reading (even on dpreview) of anyone killing a rebel without a major knock, like a drop that would take out a 20D or a lens as well.

I like the size (makes it more easily portable for me day to day) and weight, though I wouldnt mind having the xxD series wheel on the back. The thing I noticed that was most different from my camera to the 20D was the focusing, this has me thinking about upgrading at some point much more than any build feature between the 2 cameras.

All that said if I could find myself a good price on a 30D (I missed a B&H refurb/used model that went for $795!) Id probably pick it up just to not have to deal with strange intermittant focus issues.

Seamus

A couple of reviews for you to read

30d

400d

You can get the 30d for $1159 at b&h

that price doesn't include a lens. The camera with the "kit" lens is $1292 and with the 17-85is lens it is $1665. The 17-85 lens is a popular lens with a good range. It isn't so expensive that you would worry about carrying it on a bike.

hth,

Shay.

jimf

badtz wrote:

All that said if I could find myself a good price on a 30D (I missed a B&H refurb/used model that went for $795!) Id probably pick it up just to not have to deal with strange intermittant focus issues.

I have to say that I've been extremely pleased with my 30D; it's one fast, capable camera. But I never had much trouble with focusing on the original 300D. When left to its own devices it had a tendency to pick the wrong focus point (if it found a contrast line it used it, regardless of whether or not that was in any way appropriate) and certainly the 30D does less of that but I wouldn't say it's wholly reliable. I prefer to take the decision out of the hands of either model by locking focus on the center point and then performing focus-and-reframe. There are places where that doesn't work (mostly large-aperture close-ups) but for the most part it's a very effective technique.

These days the two things I point out to people who are looking at the Rebel series versus spending more money are: 1) The newer Rebels (since the XT) are awfully small -- cramped, in my opinion, and I don't have large hands; and 2) The XT and XTi have really tiny batteries that just do not work well if you are using larger lenses (use a 70-200 f/2.8 IS L and you'll flatline that battery in no time). The original Rebel was superior to the XT and XTi in both respects and it's my opinion Canon cut the battery size mostly to force people who tend to buy the cheapest body and best lenses into buying a more expensive body, but of course I can't prove that. Whether either of these is an issue for you is a judgement call. If you're shooting with larger lenses you'll probably want a battery pack anyway just to improve the balance, negating #2 to a degree.

Someone was saying that the XTi's greater resolution isn't really an advantage over the 30D, and that the two produce effectively equivalent images. I disagree. I like the XTi's imager better than the 30D, I find it sharper and with a little better color response, although your choice in lenses will likely have greater effect (I would not buy an XTi and shoot with the kit lens and expect to get the best from its imager). In terms of the imager the 30D, which is really just a warmed-over 20D, is showing its age.

Speaking of which, the 30D is clearly in need of a revamp to remain competitive and if I were looking at one today I think I would wait to see what February brings. It was a little bit of a surprise that the 30D kept the same sensor as the 20D in the first place and I would be shocked if we didn't see a 30D replacement with at least an improved sensor introduced at PMA at the end of February. If you can hold off for a couple of months you will probably do well to do so -- either you'll get more camera in the new model or you'll get a great deal on the old one.

ziggy53

Some differences that make a good argument for the difference in price:

The 30D has ISO 3200.
The 30D has spot metering.
The 30D has a more durable shutter (maybe twice as durable.)
The 30D is more responsive, and has faster continuous shooting. (It feels like more than the specs say it is.)
The 30D has a max shutter speed of 1/8000th sec (vs 1/4000th)
The 30D has a slightly improved White Balance program (You can set Kelvin temperature directly.)
The 30D has a larger battery.

ziggy53

3rdPlanetPhotography

I have the 20d and the 30d and wouldn't even consider the XTi. Them more megapixels don't make my photos no better

DoctorIt

Flug, you keeping the A for moto trips where you don't want to haul all the dslr gear? If so, go 30D. The A- is an awesome camera, still. The 30D is indeed "better" than the Rebel XTi.

That being said, of course all the enthusiasts here will recommend the 30D over the Rebel, it's a more enthusiast oriented camera, more manual control, etc. But don't be so fast to push it aside. I really liked how tiny the Rebel XT was/is. It was small enough to make the moto packing list on more than one overnight camping trip. The D70 (30D size), as you may remember, didn't make it to Cromag in September last year... 2 years ago, the Rebel XT did. Just sayin', for us riders who camp, that size difference is actually noticeable.

XT still takes awesome pics. XT is not all that fragile - I did it all with it, from camping via bike with it, to shooting a packed UMass Democrats convention (a shoot that required good results for print).