The Canon 20D DSLR: First Impressions in the Field
Pages: 1, 2, 3

Specifications

• Eight megapixels (3504x2336, to be precise)
• Compact flash (type I or II)
• CMOS chip (for low noise in low light)
• Canon EF and EF-S mount (so I can buy lenses off Ebay)
• Fairly light (24 ounces, according to the manual)
• Good selection of automatic, semi-automatic, and manual exposure settings (P, Tv, Av, and M), as well as a nice selection of no-brainer "scene" settings (portrait, landscape, sports, and so on)
• Nine-way diamond auto-focus pattern with manual point selection (with a nice joystick interface)

The Good

One of the most frequent things I find myself doing with a camera is capturing candid shots indoors. For these shots, having the ability to drop into ISO 1600 (or even ISO 3200) is definitely an advantage because I don't have to flip on the flash to interrupt the experience. The 20D is amazing in this respect. I was constantly blown away at the cleanliness of the shots at high ISO figures, and also that the little noise that I saw almost never manifested itself as variations in brightness, just in color. For example, Figure 8 shows a dark interior of a pub lit only by a streetlight outside. I could not even see the wood grain of the floor with my eyes, and yet it's plainly visible in the image.

Figure 8. Seeing what my eye couldn't see (f/3.5, 1/6s, ISO 3200)

Getting the shot when I want it is also important, so having a good autofocus is also essential. And again, the 20D seems to consistently pick out the right focus point and quickly find the sharp picture, almost as fast as I pull the trigger through. For example, capturing the departing helicopter in Figure 9 required a very quick focus as the craft was moving rapidly upward and away.

Figure 9. Helicopter departure (f/16, 1/400s, ISO 400)

Another aspect of getting the shot when I want it is power-up time, because life never works on schedule. Again, the 20D with its "got to be seen" 0.2 seconds of start time wins here. In fact, I no longer flip the camera off; I simply let the one-minute inactivity timer shut the camera down for me, so that when I'm ready to take the next shot, pressing the shutter release halfway is enough to boot the camera and get the focus and exposure as I need it.

Speaking of exposure, my previous experience with automatic exposure on digital cameras led me to the bad habit of always running at one stop under on the compensation, simply because I was tired of the whiter-than-white blowouts that would regularly occur at 0 EV. However, with the 20D, I'm just not seeing that kind of blowout, so I'm back to using 0 EV, finally able to trust that the camera will protect me from those mistakes.

The five-frames-per-second drive speed is also very useful, as I described earlier in my "get the shot" example. I've already seen some amazing pictures shot with the 20D of rodeos and soccer games, where being able to peel off a dozen pictures in a short burst can come in quite handy.

While I probably can't think of a practical use for 1/8000-of-a-second exposure, the pretty frozen pictures of water are artful enough for me to justify that speed.

The user interface is also very straightforward, with a row of buttons with double duty as well as two different wheels to move for each of the settings for that button--although occasionally I would move the wrong wheel. The menu system is color coded to provide fast access to major sections of settings and can be scrolled quickly with the wheels to get to the right section. The view finder display also seems nicely functional, although there's no readout of ISO except when you ask for it and only then on the LCD display on the camera top.

The Bad

Apparently, to get a five-frames-per-second motor drive, Canon had to sacrifice a bit on the noise reduction for the shutter. So, when you take a picture with the 20D, you can hear it. It's a nice solid camera sound though, so it's not like anyone will mistake it for something else more annoying. But don't expect to take a wedding picture in a quiet moment without turning at least a few heads.

As cool as the instant-on feature might be, it's been suggested in a couple of online forums that this might come as some sacrifice to the battery, because the camera appears to be just "sleeping" rather than completely powered off. The time to turn on the camera when you've removed and replaced the battery seems to be a more traditional boot-up time of two to three seconds, which does suggest some sort of sleeping mode. Because I was using the camera too often, however, I did not test the "sleeping" drain of my battery.

The Ugly

During my two-week play period, I watched the various online communities repeatedly speak of "freeze-ups" in their new 20Ds. I had never experienced this event, but apparently the camera completely locks up, and usually at a critical time. The only fix is to pop the battery door open, slide the battery out a bit, reinsert the battery, and then let the camera boot up again (which takes about five to ten seconds, depending on how fast you can get around to the battery door).

I considered myself lucky, because I had not yet experienced this defect. However, on my very last shoot last night, my camera decided to join the pack and freeze up on me. By the time you read this, Canon will likely have figured out the problem and released a new bit of field-flashable upgrade firmware to fix the problem, but beware for now.

Conclusion

If you're a traditional film camera buff and haven't yet entered the world of digital cameras because the point-and-shoot cameras weren't your style, the Canon EOS 20D is a solid workhorse that might just make you retire your 35mm SLR for good.

If you're a digital point-and-shoot camera user and are ready to move on to interchangeable lenses, better low-light sensitivity, and a more professional look, you might be tempted to jump to the Digital Rebel. But for only 50 percent more money, the 20D will give you faster shooting speeds, better low-light sensitivity, easier-to-use controls, eight megapixels (versus six in the Rebel), and a good base of compatibility for future Canon products.

Either way, the Canon 20D is a definite good buy for the money. It's now a permanent addition to my car's back seat or my carry-on luggage for trips. After all, you never know when something might happen that needs a picture, do you?

To see the rest of the pictures from my first two weeks with the 20D, feel free to stop by my website.