Canon EOS 10D Digital SLR Camera [6MP] - Body Only

Picking up the Eos 10D you can't help but notice the extra weight compared to the D30/60. This is due to the magnesium body. The next thing you notice is the buttons have been rearranged, the body has rounded edges and the new larger LCD panel on the top of the camera which is backlit for use at night.

In use the Autofocus is a huge improvement over the D30/60. There are 7 Autofocus points which can be selected individually or left on auto. The viewfinder lights up showing which AF points are in use. Although not quiet as fast as the Eos1D the focus is fast enough for most applications including sports photography. The next improvement you notice is the shutter lag (the amount of time from when you press the shutter button to the shutter actually opening). The camera feels more like a film camera in operation and there is little shutter lag to worry about.
Images can be reviewed on the back screen which is bright and has good contrast. A useful Zoom allows you to check that the image is sharp, pressing one button zooms in and you can then scroll around the image. This is a feature missing on the more expensive Eos1D.
You will need compact flash cards with a large capacity, a 256mb card will hold around 80 images on fine jpeg and just 37 in Raw.
The E-TTL flash has been improved. This is one area that has caused a lot of problems for photographer before. Using a 550EX flash with previous Canon DSLR's required using the FEL (flash expousure lock) button to preflash on a midtone, locking in the flash expousure before taking the photograph. The Eos 10D works fine with flash without having to use FEL which will be a huge advantage to photographers trying to take candid photographs. The flash expousure is well balanced as gives natural looking photographs.

The white balance is now selectable in Kelvins as well as the preset options including automatic. If a picture taken under tungsten lighting looks a little too orange it's simple to turn the Kelvin setting down slightly for a cooler look. For those who don't want to worry about colour temperatures the Auto white balance mode works well.

The camera can be used in fully automatic modes or with AV, TV, or fully manual modes. ISO speeds range from 100 to 1600 and 3200 can be selected via the menu. Images taken between 100 and 800 show little noise. 1600 looks like film grain, and 3200 is very useable and is better than 3200ISO film.

The image quality is first class providing you invest in good Canon L series lenses. You should be able to print at least A3+ sized prints that compare to 35mm film based images.

At this price there is little competition, the 10D is likely to be a huge sucess for Canon. I am already considering buying a second 10D body as I am that impressed with the camera.

The biggest thing that affects the 10D without question is quality of lenses. Stick a standard Canon zoom on this camera and you will be disappointed with the results, stick a high quality 'L' series lens on, use RAW mode with a non-Canon convertor (like BreezeBrowzer) and you will get absolutely fantastic results, the equal of medium format. The 1.6 factor is slightly annoying if you use wide angles a lot and it really doesn't magnify your lenses by 1.6, it just crops the image. It also means the viewfinder image is quite small.

In use the camera is just what you would expect from Canon, easy to use with masses of sensible features (like a depth of field preview, mirror up function, pc flash socket).

The focusing is not perfect, there is no getting away from that, Canon have used one of their less sensitive focusing mechanisms in the 10D to keep the cost down, only the central focusing point is ultra-sensitive. However in normal use, with the lens stopped down a couple of stops it works absolutely fine and fast.

Digital SLR's are new technology and in comparison with the much more expensive 1D and 1Ds the 10D is good value, better that the new 300D which lacks some features.

Be prepared to spend money on a large CF card or microdrive and GOOD lenses, which will always fit the next generation anyway.

In summary, a fantastic technological marvel which, when tamed will convert you to digital forever, just be prepared to start learning again as it is not such a simple switch from film, but well worth it.