troy12n wrote:
Right now, you can pay roughly 30% more and get a brand new camera with better features than a 1-3 year old body of unknown quality. The 20/30D are overpriced at this point, IMHO, I think anyone paying $600 or more for a used 20/30D is getting ripped off. Especially for a 20D, even though they are pretty much the same camera, capability wise. I guess if you could find a new or very low actuation mint 30D for ~$600, it wouldnt be too bad, but I see these things go for well north of $600 for just the body, here and on places like ebay and craigslist and I just scratch my head. I just think right now considering the outrageous prices people are expecting for 20/30D's, the 40D is a bargain. And yes (although it wasnt my primary point) it will be worth SOMETHING in 2-3 years (likely as overpriced as the 30D's are now) whereas the 20/30D's are going to be in the sub $200 range, or maybe lower and worn out. ...Show more →
Troy, this just doesn't make sense to me. First, as I said earlier, I just bought a refurbed 30D for $550. Once I sell my XT, for around $400-450, the upgrade will only cost me around $150. If I was to go for a 40D, at $950 (as quoted in this thread, haven't checked myself) the upgrade would cost me over $500. That is a 300% difference compared to 30D, not 30%. For someone like me, who still doesn't have a full arsenal of lenses, the difference there is a 70-200 f/4. This is all the money I can spend on photography for this year. Would it really make more sense to get a 40D and shoot with a kit lens?
Secondly, the 10D is still not under $200, so no way will the 30D drop that much in 2-3 years. The newer technology 40D will depreciate at a higher rate than the 30D. All technology works this way, not just cameras.
Now when it comes to buying your first camera vs. upgrading, you may have a point. There you are talking about $900 vs. $600, rather than $500 vs. $150. Not necessarily trying to argue with you, but just pointing out that no one reading this thread needs to feel about about upgrading their xxxD to a 30D.
I haven't had the pleasure of owning a 20D, but I have owned a 30D and 40D.
Granted, the 40D has a few new features, but in terms of image quality, the 20D and 30D will shoot the socks off most of what's out there, save the pro bodies.
Funny actually. My 30D takes great pictures. I bought a 40D for my girlfriend to upgrade her from the XT. Now my 30D takes crappy pictures. So I bought a 5D. When the new 5D comes out, the old 5D will take crappy pictures.
ScooberJake wrote:
Now when it comes to buying your first camera vs. upgrading, you may have a point. There you are talking about $900 vs. $600, rather than $500 vs. $150. Not necessarily trying to argue with you, but just pointing out that no one reading this thread needs to feel [bad] about about upgrading their xxxD to a 30D.
Good points made -- I just purchased a 20D used as my first cam. At the time, it was between an XTi (~500 body) vs 20D (~475 body). Anything else (D80, 30D, 40D) would have bumped my price point way over what I was prepared to spend. The 40D's cost to me would have been $1000 vs $500 (incl. shipping).
Everybody has their budget, and there's a population of people here that think $1k is nowhere near affordable. Beyond that, there are those who think the premium for new/unused/peace of mind is well worth it, and a segment who think the money saved is worth the sacrifice in wear&tear. I will grant that some asking prices are high but I've found that enthusiast sites like FM/PotN/Nikonian usually have enough smart people that the high-ballers eventually drop prices to something reasonable anyway. You can make this case for any gear-related hobby (skis, snowboards, mountain bikes).
Michael Cary wrote:
Funny actually. My 30D takes great pictures. I bought a 40D for my girlfriend to upgrade her from the XT. Now my 30D takes crappy pictures. So I bought a 5D. When the new 5D comes out, the old 5D will take crappy pictures.
I stepped across from an XTi to a 20D from Luvwine over on Buy and Sell. I ride a motorcycle and write/shoot in southern Africa. I had Camera Armor on the XTi, but the 20D is a different class of build/ease-of-control with nearly identical performance (lower mp but higher fps), for the same money at the moment. I got my 20D for $420 all-included and have seen XTi's used for the same. And if it gets stolen, drowned, or crashed, I'm not crushed. And while the rebates are tempting, I'll be even happier in a year when I buy some new 50D owner's "old" 40D for $650 (or E-3 or K20D for the same).
John Power wrote:
This is a ridiculous statement. $600 for a 30d in good shape is a very fair price.
I cannot even count the amount of used like new 30Ds that went for 700$ just prior to the rebates. I wonder how many will still go for that when the rebates stop? (I mention the rebates, because why spend 700, if you can swing another 200 and get a 40).
When I first started, I was going to get a rebel XTi, with the kit lens. I signed up here and asked what people thought. They heralded the 20/30D's. I was going to pick up a used 20D, or 30D, but then BH had this awesome special on the 30D and 17-85IS lens. It's just a shame though, because I would end up not wanting th 17-85.
You can't go wrong with either a 20 or 30D. I cannot speak for the rebels, since I've only handled them, and not owned them.
An items value is what someone who wants it will pay. No more, no less. Personally, I would never pay more than half the current retail value for used electronic equipment. That's its value to me. Others may disagree and its their money, they may spend it as they want.
I just bought a second hand 5D to replace my 20D. While I was waiting for the 5D to arrive I was printing some 8x10s shot with the 20D. After seeing them I wondered if I was nuts to be spending what I did to upgrade. The 20D images looked fantastic.
If you don't intend to print extremely large prints and can live with the limitations of the 1.6 crop sensor the 20D still makes a lot of sense.
A lot of people knows that 30D is a BETTER camera than 40D at high ISO values(ISO 800 and higher)and also they know why(I'm not gonna explain again about how important is a larger pixel).40D only has some new features that for me are totally useless.So,from these four cameras(Canon 10D,20D,30D and 40D) The Canon 30D is the best.
gabimaster wrote:
A lot of people knows that 30D is a BETTER camera than 40D at high ISO values(ISO 800 and higher)and also they know why(I'm not gonna explain again about how important is a larger pixel).40D only has some new features that for me are totally useless.So,from these four cameras(Canon 10D,20D,30D and 40D) The Canon 30D is the best.
gabimaster wrote:
A lot of people knows that 30D is a BETTER camera than 40D at high ISO values(ISO 800 and higher)and also they know why(I'm not gonna explain again about how important is a larger pixel).40D only has some new features that for me are totally useless.So,from these four cameras(Canon 10D,20D,30D and 40D) The Canon 30D is the best.
Owning both the 30D and 40D, I don't see the 30D being better at higher ISO.
The 30D is a very nice camera, and if I upgrade anytime soon it will be to
get a much larger viewfinder and sensor (i.e. 5D). The files from the 30D look
very good to me. An excellent value on the used market.
Edit:
I will also add that even my XT gets regular use. Yeah, it's only worth
about $250 now, so why bother to sell it? I won't. I use it as my backup
body. The XT has less than great autofocus, but in good light it works well.
With the 35 f/2 it fits in a coat pocket and makes a great combo for a
compact walk-around. Excellent image quality that is comparable to
the 30D at low ISO.
Wouldn't buy a 20D, but the 30D has the same features as the 5D and is pretty cheap nowadays.
OTOH the 30D isn't enough of an improvement IMHO to replace the 20D.
My 20D collects dust, but as a spare and "easy to replace" I'll keep it along.
I am not impressed by the 20D at 800iso, but many others are. If the lighting permits 400iso or better, there is little left to complain. Beats using an extender on my 5D.
Don't understand this gear driven notion that a newer model makes your previous type redundant. The 20D remains relevant until it is kaput!
