The Canon EOS 30D takes
up where the 20D left off. Strikingly similar to the camera
it replaces, the EOS 30D offers a larger LCD monitor, refinements
in areas such as metering, burst speed and duty cycle of the
shutter mechanism, and a number of minor improvements to the
functionality of the camera.
Aside from minor changes to the back of the camera to accommodate
the larger screen and an new Print button (see further),
the EOS 30D is identical to its predecessor. The 30D's body
is built has a stainless steel chassis, covered in a magnesium
alloy mixed with textured, high strength, flat black poly
carbonate with rubberized areas on the right side both front
and back.
The 2-stage
shutter release tops the rubber-clad grip, and is placed
in a area shaped for the index finger.
Directly behind the shutter release is the Main Dial,
which is used mostly to select shooting-related settings including
aperture and shutter speed when the camera is set to one of
the advanced modes.
Nearby, to the right in the image shown here, is the lamp
used for Red-eye Reduction and the Self-timer.
A row of 4 buttons is aligned
above the LCD Panel. The first on the left is a bit smaller
than the others:
Serves to illuminate the LCD
panel. Pressed once the panel lights for approximately
6 seconds. If any other control is used, the illumination
time is extended. And when pressed again, the button turns
off the light.
The other three buttons have
dual functions, as indicated by their labels. Once any one
of these buttons is pressed, the specific function is selected
using either:
the Main dial ,
or the Quick Control dial
which is positioned near the top right of the LCD monitor
on the back of the camera (see further):
When used with Main
Dial
the button allows selecting one of the three Auto Focus
modes:
One Shot AF: focuses when the shutter button
is pressed halfway. If needed the shutter button can
be maintained half pressed to maintain focus while
the shot is recomposed.
AI Servo: maintains focus on a moving subject
while the camera's shutter button is maintained halfway.
The system includes predictive AF which is able to
track a steadily moving subject as it approaches or
retreats form the camera.
AI Focus: automatically switches when needed
from One Shot AF to AI Servo.
When used in conjunction with the Quick Control
Dial,
the button serves to select the White Balance:
Auto: 3000 to 7000 K
Daylight: 5200 K
Shade: 7000 K
Cloudy, Twilight, Sunset: 6000
K
Tungsten (incandescent): 3200 K
WhiteFluorescentLight: 4000
K
Flash: 6000 K
Custom (user selectable under ambient light):
2000 to 10000 K
Colour Temperature (set in degrees Kelvin):
2800 to 10000 K
Selects the Drive mode
when the Main Dial
is used:
Single Shooting: the camera captures a
single shot every time the shutter release is pressed.
Continuous Shooting: captures photos continuously
at up to 5 shots per second, for up to 30 shots (Large/Fine
JPEG) or 11 RAW shots.
Low Speed Continuous Shooting captures photos
at 3 frames per second for up to 37 consecutive shots
(Large/Fine JPEG).
Self Timer Operation: provides a 10-second
delay before the shutter is released.
Selects the ISO sensitivity
when the Quick Control Dial
is used: 100, 200, 400, 800, or 1600 ISO; extendable to
3200 ISO. In the Basic Zone (see further) the ISO
is set automatically between 100 and 400 ISO.
Selects the Metering
mode when the Main Dial
is used:
Evaluative Metering: is the camera's standard
metering mode, and can even be used for backlit subjects.
Partial Metering: meters an area covering
approximately 9% of the viewfinder, at the centre
of the frame.
Centre-Weighted Metering: meters the entire
frame, but gives greater importance to centre of the
frame.
Spot Metering covers an area approximately 3.5%
of the viewfinder at the centre of the frame, and
is new on the EOS 30D.
The same control serves to set Flash Exposure Compensation
when the Quick Control Dial
is used. Flash exposures can be compensated in 1/3 EV
or 1/2 EV increments over ±2EV, and the compensation
setting is retained after the camera is turned off.
Moreover, flash compensation applies not only to the
30D's built-in flash, but also to any EOS-dedicated
EX-series Canon Speedlite.
The LCD Panel that
is behind these buttons serves as the main interface between
the user and the camera, relaying clear and detailed information
about the EOS 30D's current settings.
The LCD panel is able to provide a great deal of information,
some of it using the characters at the top of the panel which
can display messages such as buSY or FuLL
CF:
Shutter speed
ISO
White balance
White balance correction
Battery check
Beeper
Custom function
Red-eye reduction
Flash exposure compensation
Image quality and size
Metering mode
Exposure level
Aperture
AF point selection
Error messages
Processing parameters
Shots remaining
Self-timer countdown
Bulb exposure time
Monochrome shooting
Drive mode
Auto exposure bracketing
AF mode
CF card writing status
The TTL viewfinder of the
EOS 30D shows 95% of the frame horizontally and vertically,
and has an eyepoint of 20mm. A dioptric adjustment (-3 to
+1 diopter) is available on the top right side of the exit
pupil, behind the soft, rubber-trimmed eyepiece that can be
removed to attach the eyepiece cover during long exposures.
The focusing screen, precision matte, is fixed and does not
offer on-demand composition guidelines, but the image is very
crisp and bright. The 9 AF points of the camera are etched
in black and light up in red when active, and can be selected
using the Multi-Controller (see further).
The viewfinder information
is presented in green, and although it shows only relevant
settings, it indicates shutter speed, aperture, AE lock and
AEB in-progress, exposure
level, metering, exposure warning, flash ready and Improper
FE lock warning, red-eye reduction lamp, high-speed synch,
FE lock, High Speed Flash, FEB in progress, flash exposure
compensation, white balance correction, maximum burst, and
memory card info such as Card Full, No CF Card, and CF Card
Error.
Mode Dial.
As is common with Canon cameras, the Mode Dial is divided into
2 areas. One area is called the Basic Zone, and includes
the Auto mode in addition to the scene modes which are
part of the Image Zone. The modes in this zone share
some common features like the automatic release of the flash
when the mode allows it and if it is needed, and the use of
Auto sensitivity from 100 to 400 ISO. The other area of the
dial is the Creative Zone, and it covers the more advanced
shooting modes: P, Tv, Av, M and
A-DEP.
The Auto mode is the
division between the two zones:
Set to Auto the EOS
30D is as simple to operate as a point and shoot camera,
and a number of the external buttons are disabled (autofocus
and white balance selection, ISO, metering, compensation,
continuous mode, etc). With the Auto mode, metering is
set to Evaluative, a 9-point wide area autofocus, and
sensitivity (ISO) to Auto, allowing the camera to adjust
it over a range of 100 to 400 ISO.
The Image zone contains
6 Scene modes. As with the Auto mode, the camera controls
all parameters including CCD sensitivity (100-400 ISO), and
most external controls are purposefully disabled to prevent
the scene-specific camera settings from being unintentionally
altered:
Portrait mode selects
a wide aperture to blur the background of the subject.
The pop-up flash is automatically controlled, while the
Drive mode is set to Continuous shooting, the AF mode
to One Shot, and the metering to Evaluative metering.
Landscape mode selects
small apertures to maximize depth of field. This mode
prevents the release of the flash, sets the camera to
Single shooting and uses Evaluative metering. This mode
can also be used to shoot a night scene as it offers a
maximum 8-second exposure time.
Close-up mode works
to balance the depth of field and the shutter speed, but
with an overall preference for a shallow depth of field.
This mode also controls the release of the pop-up flash,
and uses Single shooting.
Sports mode optimizes
the shutter speed so as to freeze action. The pop-up flash
cannot be released, the Continuous shooting mode is activated,
as is the AI Servo mode which allows the camera to track
the subject and maintain focus using all 9 AF points.
Night Portrait mode
uses a longer exposure and flash to capture a well-lit
foreground and a visible background. The flash is automatically
opened and only the Single or Self-timer/Remote control
drive modes are available. The mode automatically uses
Evaluative metering, Single shooting and One Shot AF.
Flash Off mode
prevents the flash from being opened automatically and
can be used for interior shots, or long exposures (5-second
maximum exposure time, controlled by the camera).
The Creative zone, on the other side of the Auto mode,
starts with the Program mode:
The Program mode chooses
the most appropriate combination of shutter speed and
aperture, and displays it in the viewfinder's display.
Program Shift is also available, and another
combination of aperture/shutter speed can be selected
using the Main Dial .
Shutter Priority mode,
Tv, provides access to the full shutter speed range
of the EOS 30D: from 1/8000 sec to 30 seconds with the
Main Dial ,
while the camera sets the aperture.
Aperture Priority mode,
Av, allows selecting the aperture, using the Main
Dial
while the camera matches the selection to a shutter speed.
The range depends on the lens in use. Depth of field preview
is available by pressing on a button located on the lower
left side of the lens mount of the body, beneath the larger
lens release button.
Manual mode provides
control over the shutter speed using Main Dial ,
and the aperture using the Quick Control Dial .
The aperture range depends on the lens in use, the shutter
speed range covers from 1/8000 second to 30 seconds, and
adds a Bulb mode that is unlimited, and which can
be used in conjunction with mirror lock-up, and a Long
Exposure Noise Reduction option (see the Characteristics
section of the review).
Automatic Depth of Field
AE works much like the Program mode, but serves to
obtain a wide depth of field between a near and a far
subject, and is effective for group photos and landscape
shots. The camera uses all 9 focusing points to determine
the nearest and the farthest points in the frame and sets
the aperture accordingly.
Six buttons are arranged below the Mode Dial, on the left
side of the 2.5-inch, 230,000 pixel LCD monitor,
the uppermost being immediately to the left of the viewfinder:
New on the 30D, the Print/Share
button can be used to make a print of the image under
review when the 30D is connected to a PictBridge, Canon
CP Direct, or Bubble Jet Direct printer via USB, or to
start the transfer of images to a computer when connected
to one that is running the Canon software supplied with
the camera. Either during printing or image transfer,
a blue LED at the centre of this button blinks.
MENU
Calls up the menu of the
30D. The menu is composed of three main sections that
flow from one to the next looping back to the beginning
once the last option of the third section has been reached.
(See the Characteristics section of the review
for more details.)
INFO
With the camera set to
a capture mode, pressing the INFO button displays
a screen that summarize the current menu settings. The
display shows the date and time, the picture style including
detailed settings for the style, the colour space in
use, white balance shift and exposure bracketing, colour
temperature setting, ISO speed, auto rotate setting,
auto power off, flash exposure compensation, CF card
remaining capacity, and even indicates when a wireless
transfer of images has failed while using the optional
WFT-E1/E1A wireless file transmitter.
In Playback
the button controls the quantity of information superimposed
on the monitor. One presentation superimposes a grey
box on the lower left of the screen, showing shutter
speed, aperture and the image's position amongst those
contained in the current folder. Pressing the INFO button
once switches the presentation to a display with the
thumbnail, a histogram of the image, and the most pertinent
shooting data below. Should any part of the image be
overexposed, the area appears as flashing. Pressing
the button once more removes all superimposed data,
leaving only the image.
The next three buttons are only
effective when the camera is set to the Playback mode:
JUMP
When pressed the JUMP
button serves to jump images in groups of 10 images, or
100 images, or jump to a shot date forwards or backwards.
When the thumbnail view is selected (9 pictures per screen),
the JUMP button jumps 9 images at a time, and when
the image is magnified on the monitor (see further)
the jump maintains the same magnification level and position.
Starts the playback mode.
Deletes one image at a time,
or all images.
Six more controls are positioned on the right side of the
monitor. Starting in the upper right corner of the EOS 30D's
back, two buttons control capture and playback related functions.
On the left side:
serves to lock the Auto
Exposure (AE-Lock) or the Flash Exposure (FE-Lock)
if the flash is raised or an EX-series Canon Speedlite
is mounted on the camera.
In Playback, the button
serves to display an index (9 thumbnails per screen)
of the photos on the card, or zoom out of a photo that
has been magnified for a closer look.
On the right side:
serves to select the focus
point when the camera is set to P, Tv,
Av, and M modes, any one of 9 AF points
can be selected manually by pressing this button, and
then using the Multi-controller(see further),
which is a joystick-like control.
In the Playback mode,
the same button can be used to magnify an image up to
10X, while the Multi-controller serves to move
around the image. In addition during the magnified view
the Main Dial []
or the Quick Dial []
can be used to move to the next image, forwards or backwards,
and see it at the same magnification and position.
The Multi-controller comes next. It is a small joystick
that can be moved around in eight distinct directions, or
be clicked just like a mouse button. It serves to move around
on a magnified image, or select the focus point when the camera
is set to P, Tv, Av, or M modes, and return the focus point
to the centre when clicked.
The Quick Control Dial
is the large wheel directly below. By default it serves to review
images, navigate the menu, set the aperture in the Manual mode,
or set exposure compensation However, if so selected in Custom
settings (see the Characteristics section of the review
for more information about Custom settings), it can be used
to setting the exposure compensation (±2EV in in either
1/3 or 1/2 increments) when the 30D is set to P and A-DEP
modes. Alternatively, it can be used to select the focus point
by cycling through each AF point in turn, when so set in the
Custom menu.
The small button labelled SET
in the middle of the dial serve to confirm the selection of
specific settings for options. In addition it can be set,
again in the Custom Settings, to immediately access a pre-chosen
function such as the image quality, picture style, menu display,
or image replay.
The last external control on the back of the EOS 30D is the
Power Switch. The switch has three positions: OFF,
ON, and which indicates ON with the Quick Control Dial
operational.
The only remaining external
controls of the EOS 30D are on the right side of the lens
mount. At the top, is the Flash Release button, used
only when the 30D is set to P, Tv, Av,
or M modes (see below).
The large rectangular button below is the lens release. The
EOS 30D is compatible with EF and EF-S lenses.
And at the bottom is the Depth of Field Preview button,
which stops down the lens from the brightest aperture that
is used for the viewfinder to the aperture selected by either
the camera or the user, and reveals the depth of field which
will be visible in the image.
The built-in flash of the
30D opens automatically when the camera is set to a Basic
zone mode, with the exception of the Sports, Landscape,
and Flash Off modes. While with the Creative zone programs
it must be released manually.
Flash metering is E-TTL II autoflash, and is fully compatible
with Canon Speedlites that can be mounted on the hotshoe above
the prism housing. The pop-up flash has a Guide No. of 13/43
(meters/feet) at 100 ISO, and a recycle time of approximately
3 second. The flash covers a 17mm focal length.
Since the external differences between
the EOS 20D and the 30D are minor, our comments about the ergonomic
design of the camera remain similar to our observations about
the 20D. The first is that the power switch requires the use
of the left hand and even with familiarity with the camera,
is not as fast and efficient as a grip or shutter mounted power
switch. The second is that the position of the red-eye reduction
lamp/self-timer light can be partially masked while holding
the camera or by a larger lens, which lessens its effectiveness.
It would have been better placed near the flash.
Compare Prices for Canon EOS 30D Digital SLR Camera - Body Only
Ergonomics
,
which is positioned near the top right of the LCD monitor
on the back of the camera (see further):
Single Shooting: the camera captures a
single shot every time the shutter release is pressed.
Continuous Shooting: captures photos continuously
at up to 5 shots per second, for up to 30 shots (Large/Fine
JPEG) or 11 RAW shots.
Self Timer Operation: provides a 10-second
delay before the shutter is released.
Evaluative Metering: is the camera's standard
metering mode, and can even be used for backlit subjects.
Partial Metering: meters an area covering
approximately 9% of the viewfinder, at the centre
of the frame.
Centre-Weighted Metering: meters the entire
frame, but gives greater importance to centre of the
frame.
Spot Metering covers an area approximately 3.5%
of the viewfinder at the centre of the frame, and
is new on the EOS 30D.
exposure
level, metering, exposure warning, flash ready and Improper
FE lock warning, red-eye reduction lamp, high-speed synch,
FE lock, High Speed Flash, FEB in progress, flash exposure
compensation, white balance correction, maximum burst, and
memory card info such as Card Full, No CF Card, and CF Card
Error.
which indicates ON with the Quick Control Dial
operational.
