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Canon EOS 10D Digital Camera (Canon-8363A013)
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The EOS 10D brings digital SLRs down from their stratospheric prices, giving any serious photographer a powerful and flexible imaging tool.
Canon EOS 10D
EOS 10D Digital Camera (Canon-8363A013) Review, by Tracey Capen April 29, 2003
WHAT'S HOT: In a class of cameras where prices are in the thousands, the EOS 10D strikes a terrific balance among professional features, high-resolution imaging, fine ease of use, and a relatively low price. The 10D is $1500 for the body alone--the way most film single-lens reflex models are priced--but that amount seems pretty reasonable compared with $4000 for the Canon EOS 1D, $8000 for the EOS 1Ds, or $1700 for the Nikon D100.
We tested the 10D with an outstanding EF 16mm-to-35mm wide-angle zoom lens (26mm to 56mm, 35mm equivalent) that costs as much as the 10D body, but more-modest zoom lenses start at just over $400. If you currently have a film-based Canon SLR that uses the EF series of lenses, upgrading to the 10D is a no-brainer--it can use the lenses you already own. (Note that because the CCD on a digital SLR is smaller than a frame of 35mm film, it has a zooming effect on lenses designed for film. For example, a 50mm EF lens mounted on the EOS 10D is the equivalent of an 80mm lens on a 35mm film camera.)
We found the EOS 10D a pleasure to use, for the most part. Its optical viewfinder, though not exceptionally bright, is good enough for all light conditions and workable with or without glasses. It's easy to read the various exposure and status settings arranged along the viewfinder's bottom frame. Two dials, over a dozen buttons, and an extensive menu system let you control the camera's long list of features. Most of the buttons are well labeled, and--given the camera's complexity--the menus are surprisingly fast and easy to navigate. A few of the buttons have more than one function, however, and these can be confusing as you learn to use the camera.
The camera's focusing system is fast and flexible: Automatic focus seemed especially quick and accurate, except when confronted with smooth homogeneous surfaces such as a painted wall. A seven-point zone-focusing system tells you exactly what the camera is focusing on--especially useful when you have subjects in the foreground, middle distance, and background. Using a dial, you can rapidly select one of the seven points as your preferred point of focus within the viewfinder. We used the camera's Custom Functions setting to assign one of the focus points to a button, giving us a simple, fast way to switch between zone and spot focus. We also liked the 10D's image-bracketing options, which include exposure, flash, and white balance.
Most important, however, the EOS 10D takes impressive images. In our lab tests it was among the top cameras for image quality, scoring especially high in our image sharpness test. In our informal tests taking photos of a variety of subjects, the 10D's images had fine, accurate colors, and equally exceptional detail. We were able to print out beautiful 8-by-10-inch photos in which you couldn't see the pixels, and cropped and enlarged images still looked great. Shots with fill-flash were also pleasing; the 10D does a nice job of automatically cutting down the power of the flash, giving high-contrast portrait scenes a subtle lighting.
Powered by a rechargeable lithium ion battery, the 10D goes a long way on a single charge. When we took photos both with and without the built-in flash in our battery tests, it lasted for almost 1100 shots.
WHAT'S NOT: Using this camera is like weight lifting: Since it is nearly 2 pounds, you really start to feel its heft after an hour or so of shooting. Other deficiencies are in the eye of the user--there's no audio or video recording capabilities (rarely found in digital SLRs), and the LCD on the back of the camera cannot serve as a viewfinder. (We like the pop-out LCDs found on a few digital cameras for overhead and on-your-belly macro shooting.) Moreover, the EOS 10D comes with no media, so you'll have to purchase a CompactFlash card before you start using the camera. We also discovered that some of the lenses are not well suited for use with the built-in flash. When we used the wide-angle zoom mentioned above at its 16mm focal length, the lens cast a prominent shadow in the bottom center of the photo.
WHAT ELSE: Using any of the 17 menu-based Custom Functions settings, you can change many of the camera's default controls. But this approach isn't as flexible as the user memory settings found in Nikon and Olympus cameras. The 10D has the full complement of exposure controls one expects to find on a high-end camera, including aperture- and shutter-priority options, a full manual mode that's quick and intuitive to use, and a program mode that lets the camera decide the best aperture and shutter speed. It also has six scene modes (portrait, landscape, and sports, for example), a feature that you usually associate with point-and-shoot cameras.
Canon gave the EOS 10D an extensive selection of white-balance controls. In addition to auto white balance and six presets (shade, cloudy, fluorescent, and others), you can set the color temperature or use white-balance calibration. We found the latter to be a bit of a kludge compared with the function on other digital cameras. With some models, such as the Olympus E-20N, you simply point the camera at a white object (such as a sheet of paper) and press a button. But the 10D requires you to take a picture of the object, go into the menus and select the image you just took, press Set, and then use the dial on the back of the camera to select custom white balance.
Most of the 10D's other functions, such as multishot mode, the various metering modes, image playback, and image delete, are very similar to what you'll find in any higher-end digital camera--all functional and easy to use, for the most part.
UPSHOT: The EOS 10D brings digital SLRs down from their stratospheric prices, giving any serious photographer a powerful and flexible imaging tool.
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Reviewed by: Tomymoty
Strengths: Flash Exposure Lock,Canon Remote capture software for studio, High ISO,PC Sync, Fast AI Servo 50 kph (31 mph) With a few leans
Weaknesses: Price, A lot of strange dots in the picture, price the new Nikon 70D, No benefit from low aperture on Canon lenses (dpreview, Canon EOS-300D Rebel, lens)
Overall: To understand what I am talking about go to:dpreview (he overlook of using the Sony DSC-F828 at lower aperture like F 2.0) He has good comparison to canon lenses under Canon EOS-300D Rebel Look at the dots in the picture at the Canon EOS-10D luminous-landscape (he compare Sony DSC-F828 to Canon 10D and he think the quality at lower aperture is the same )Go to bestbuy and use the camera Sony DSC-F828 (tern the flash of and in manual mode try to adjust the shutter speed or the aperture you will see right away the result for the picture and what you see is what you get Note:The 40 x 80 Camera: Built by Polaroid in 1976, the 40 x 80 Camera, the world's largest instant camera and the only one of its kind, produces prints measuring 44 inches wide and up to 100 inches long. The 40 x 80 Camera is now hosted in Manhattan at Moby c, a 2500 square foot studio in the East Village. 40 x 80 inches film (960 x 2000 mm) (0.96 x 2 M)2000/35 = 57 time bigger than 35 mmIf 3.5MP (million pixels) equal to 35 mm film 3.5 MP x 57 x 57 = 11372 MP It is a long way for the digital camera to give you quality like the film camera
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Reviewed by: hayesg31
Strengths: Very robust it has a nice, professional feel and can work hard all day long. Great workhorse once it gets out of the starter pen! Shutter responsive and menu and controls intuitive
Weaknesses: Lack of immediate delete function (ability to take an image, review immediately and delete before committing to card - consumer snap models have this feature, v useful). Battery life could be longer.
Overall: Have had this camera a good time now, nearly a year. It is somewhere between the professional feel of a Nikon F5 (and Canon equivalents) and a robust film 35mm. I have taken the camera round the world, it has been in 45 celcius heat in Western Australia, freezing in the winter of UK and wet several times on boat trips in Hawaii. I have taken over 9500 images with the first camera (yes I had to have it replaced, more to follow) and have had consistenly good results. I would not use the camera with independent lenses (tried them all, sigma, tamron etc) and will now only use prime Canon lenses (20, 50 1.4 etc) Have the Sigma 8mm for very wide shots, would prefer Canon to put a 12mm together though! Are you listening? I had real problems with the first body that gradually deteriorated over the first 6 months (although I had to send it back to Canon within the first month as the 50 1.4 would not work) in the end I was in San Diego and the shutter problem got unbearable (would take 200 shots or so and then not take 200 shots or so - the shutter would sound like it got out of sync, lock and the dreaded error 99). I got a new body as this problem was supposedly fixed twice by Canon - do not believe them, if you get shutter related error 99's request a new body, I learnt the hard way, miles from warranty base...anyway have managed to get some wonderful images, the new body seems actually sharper unbelievably, the results from the 20mm 2.8 are stunning, great combination. My partner has the 16-30mm L,does not take it off the body now!
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Reviewed by: ahijado
Strengths: ISO speed variability. Depth of Field finder. File transfer is a snap: take picture, remove CF card, put CF card in reader, view files on computer.
Weaknesses: Camera body is slightly bigger and heavier than the typical film SLR. ISO speed only goes down to ISO 100.
Overall: This camera is by far one of the best investments an amateur photographer could make. Saves time and money. You'll never have to spend time waiting to get your film processed. You'll never have to spend the money to get your film processed. When you don't care about composing shots using ISO speeds less than ISO 100 than this or Nikon's version is the camera for you. You can do everything you could do with, say, a Minolta Maxxum 4 or Canon EOS and more. Spend the extra cash and buy a 1 GByte Compact Flash card (only $200 if you search around - I got mine from NewEgg.com) and you'll be able to take 200 plus jpeg images at the higest resolution setting (about 2.5 to 3 MBytes per picture) in one sitting. The fact that it's an SLR means that lens options are almost limitless. Astrophotographers will be in heaven: ISO speed setting can max out at ISO 3200, while a couple nice shutter release remotes are also available to top it off. Maybe I'll update this review after a month when I have a bit more experience with the camera, but for now I can tell that it's everything I've needed in an SLR for amateur photography.
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Reviewed by: whirlwindcove
Strengths: Built well, very good auto focus system, correct color balance, very long battery life and the list goes on and on
Weaknesses: somewhat soft focus even when set to highest settings. Does not like non-Canon lenses very well
Overall: Have 7 years experience in Nature photography. 3 Years in Wedding and portrait work and 7 years using Canon cameras. This camera works well for all my requirements. Have not finished the roll of slide film in my Canon EOS 3 since I got this camera. Can blow up the shots to 20x30 prints! While there are things I like better about some of my Canon film SLR'S I have not yet found a reason to use them in 6-7 months...
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Reviewed by: MIKEC
Strengths: Super fast focus,Great quality construction,this camera does everything,with the correct lense it will do anything.
Weaknesses: big and bulky, but to be expected, hard to get use to all the settings, you have to think every shot through it is a Pro camera
Overall: One needs to be good with a camera to get the full benefits of this camera. You need to go to the "L" series lenses to derive the best benefits. Doing 13x19 prints is a snap with this camera and the colors are rich.
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