24 hours with the Canon 20D

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Archive 2004 · 24 hours with the Canon 20D

Doug C.
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p.3 #1 · 24 hours with the Canon 20D

I want to know about the lighting too. That candid of Connie Nielsen is one of the one of the most beautifully lit candids I've seen.

Thanks,
Doug

Sep 20, 2004 at 07:28 PM

taob
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p.3 #2 · 24 hours with the Canon 20D

Doug and LeadToDeath,

There was no special setup about the Connie Nielsen photo (no time or room for that!)... it was taken after sunset (around 9:00 pm, I believe) under the white media tent that houses the red carpet in front of the theatre. There was tungsten video lighting providing the ambient illumination, and I filled it in with a Metz 54 on-camera flash from the left of the frame (because the camera was rotated that way), dialed down to -2 stops compensation. This is using the Metz's auto-thyristor mode, since it does not support E-TTL2 on either the 1D Mk2 or the 20D.

With the exception of the Annette Bening shot, all the other shots seen here have some fill flash applied as well.

Sep 21, 2004 at 04:50 AM

Leo Reinhard
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p.3 #3 · 24 hours with the Canon 20D

Hey Brian. I am still interested in the comparative results. Please (:<)

Sep 24, 2004 at 10:46 PM

taob
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p.3 #4 · 24 hours with the Canon 20D

Leo Reinhard wrote:
Hey Brian. I am still interested in the comparative results. Please (:<)

Yep, I have a few things coming up, but I've been away in Ottawa most of this week on business (and will be here until Sunday). I don't have any tools to accurately measure dynamic range, but I do have a sample image from the 10D and the 20D, and also some between the 20D and 1D Mk2 that may be enlightening.

Sep 25, 2004 at 03:55 PM

Canon Digital
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p.3 #5 · 24 hours with the Canon 20D

Your spec for Shutter Releases is wrong, Canon says the 20D is good for double the number of Shutter Releases then the 10D was good for, I would have to say that 50,000 to 60,000 was a good number for the 10D so that would make the 20D good for between 100,000 to 120,000 Shutter Releases.

Other then that it is a pretty good review.

Sep 25, 2004 at 04:05 PM

taob
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p.3 #6 · 24 hours with the Canon 20D

Canon Digital wrote:
Your spec for Shutter Releases is wrong, Canon says the 20D is good for double the number of Shutter Releases then the 10D was good for, I would have to say that 50,000 to 60,000 was a good number for the 10D so that would make the 20D good for between 100,000 to 120,000 Shutter Releases.

Well there you go... another improvement Canon's made to the 20D. Still, not nearly as nice as the 200000 cycles on the 1D Mk2.

Sep 25, 2004 at 09:12 PM

Canon Digital
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p.3 #7 · 24 hours with the Canon 20D

It was not to long ago that 120,000 shutter cycles was considered great for their pro level cameras, I guess Canon is stepping up to the plate for those of us who don't need all the bells on their pro level bodies.

I say good job Canon, it is nice to know that they want to give us a top notice product.

Sep 25, 2004 at 11:22 PM

Tom Conte
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p.3 #8 · 24 hours with the Canon 20D

Canon Digital wrote:
It was not to long ago that 120,000 shutter cycles was considered great for their pro level cameras, I guess Canon is stepping up to the plate for those of us who don't need all the bells on their pro level bodies.

I say good job Canon, it is nice to know that they want to give us a top notice product.

Maybe it's just practical. Digital SLRs will experience more shutter actuations than their film counterparts because of the nature of digital vs. film.

Tom

Sep 26, 2004 at 12:09 AM

Tony Bonanno
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p.3 #9 · 24 hours with the Canon 20D

Wow Brian,

Good review and good shots to go along with it. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts and images with all of us on this forum.

I just received a 20D this week, which I plan on using as a backup to my 1DMKII for my event and assignment work. Haven't had a chance to put the 20D through its paces like you have, but I'm impressed so far. I think it will be a great carry around camera when I'm not actually working as it is so small and light and it seems to have great image quality. A lot of camera for the money. I'm also waiting for the new 1DsMKII which I will use primarily for architectural/landscape work. Was planning on using the 1DsMKII as a backup for my event work (as I did with the 1Ds which I just sold), but I'm thinking that the 20D will do just fine as the backup to the 1DMKII, just have to get use to the different control layout.

Thanks again,

Tony Bonanno

Sep 26, 2004 at 12:57 AM

Softechie
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p.3 #10 · 24 hours with the Canon 20D

Thanks for that *excellent* report!

Sep 26, 2004 at 01:14 AM

taob
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p.3 #11 · 24 hours with the Canon 20D

Tony B wrote:
Was planning on using the 1DsMKII as a backup for my event work (as I did with the 1Ds which I just sold), but I'm thinking that the 20D will do just fine as the backup to the 1DMKII, just have to get use to the different control layout.

I would be very interested in your opinion on using the 20D as a second camera to the 1D Mk2, perhaps in a few weeks after you've had a bit more time to shoot with them. I sent my 20D back to the dealer for now, until they have a BG-E2 grip in stock for me to try... the 20D on its own is simply too small with the 70-200/2.8L IS or the 100-400L lenses mounted.

It is nice to be able to shoot with the same shutter speeds (since both go to 1/8000 s now) and ISO levels, and get similar-looking images, but I'm not sure yet how much of an issue the differing control layouts will be. Plus I'd have to carry two different types of batteries, and two different chargers.

Sep 26, 2004 at 04:06 AM

laupi
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p.3 #12 · 24 hours with the Canon 20D

Wll done review! Thanks for sharing

Sep 26, 2004 at 09:08 AM

Tony Bonanno
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p.3 #13 · 24 hours with the Canon 20D

Hi Brian,

Yes, I agree, the small size is going to take some getting use to. I haven't had a chance to shoot it much with my 70-200 2.8 IS. Like you, I'm waiting for the vertical grip to give it some bulk to hold on to

I'm thinking it will be a good backup to the MKII primarily because of:
- Similar image quality and low noise at higher ISO
- Similar shooting speed (both are fast cameras)
- And for me, the BIG reason, both are ETTL-II with on-camera flash

Different batteries, different chargers, etc. won't make much difference for me. Can't think of a shoot that four or six batteries (they are relatively small compared to the MKII) tossed in one of my bags wouldn't get me through. I managed to hang on to one of the old dual BP511 battery chargers that came with the D60, so I can charge 3 batteries at a time in the studio before going out on an event.

I think the real issue will be the difference in control layout. I'm assuming that the camera will handle differently, but comfortably with the vertical/battery grip. Only time and experience will tell how feasible this scenario turns out to be.

Either way, at the price, the 20D really is impressive as a lightweight compact DSLR with very high image quality and features.

Cheers,

Tony Bonanno

Sep 26, 2004 at 02:57 PM

taob
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p.3 #14 · 24 hours with the Canon 20D

Tony B wrote:
I haven't had a chance to shoot it much with my 70-200 2.8 IS. Like you, I'm waiting for the vertical grip to give it some bulk to hold on to

I tried the 20D without the grip with the 70-200/2.8 IS for a few dozen shots during the film festival, and it was just torture. I switched the lens back to my 1D Mk2, and put the 28-70L on the 20D instead.

I'm thinking it will be a good backup to the MKII primarily because of:
- Similar image quality and low noise at higher ISO
- Similar shooting speed (both are fast cameras)
- And for me, the BIG reason, both are ETTL-II with on-camera flash

Yes, I'm hoping that for straight shooting (e.g., where I typically only need to touch the shutter release, AF lock, Av dial and Tv dial), the two cameras will behave virtually identically. I have my 1D Mk2 set to 5 fps too, to match the 20D. Center AF point only. That should avoid control layout confusion most of the time.

Sep 27, 2004 at 04:48 AM

dean@dmp
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p.3 #15 · 24 hours with the Canon 20D

Fantastic Brian, thank you.

Sep 27, 2004 at 09:54 AM


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