Canon EOS 30D

Reviewed November 2006

Image Quality

Just like the 20D, the EOS 30D occupies the space between Canon's amateur SLR, the Rebel XTi /Canon 400D, and the even more expensive professional models that start with the EOS 5D. The EOS 30D has a rugged construction, using a steel chassis and a magnesium alloy exterior, which in combination make it a relatively heavy SLR. The 30D offers a number of improvements over the 20D it replaces, some of these being external, and some internal.

Of the external changes, the most obvious is the use of a large, 2.5-inch LCD monitor composed of 230,000 pixels. Aside from being bigger than the 20D's monitor, it also has a much sharper image, making it easier to see detail and ascertain the sharpness of a photo.

Similarly, the 30D can show the current ISO setting in the viewfinder at a press of the Drive/ISO button, ideal when the sensitivity needs to be boosted on the fly.

The internal changes the 30D brings to the 20D design are also important. With the 30D, ISO increments are in 1/3 EV steps, offering a much greater range of sensitivity settings than were available with the 20D.

Now, the ISO can be set to 100, 125, 160, 200, 250, 320, 400, 500, 640, 800, 1000, 1250, or 1600 ISO. And, if necessary, the 3200 ISO level can also be used once enabled in the Custom settings.

Although noisy, the 3200 ISO level is no more noisy than the 200 or 400 ISO settings of most compact cameras, and if the image size is reduced from the 8.2 megapixel resolution, the image is generally quite useable, even in colour, and even more so if it is captured in, or converted to, monochrome.

Another internal change is the extension of the range of controls given to the user. With the 30D, greater precision is available in setting contrast, sharpness, saturation and tone. In addition, as part of the Picture Styles, presets are offered for a number of image styles (see the Characteristics section of the review) and even these can be tweaked by the user.

An additional metering mode is also a feature of the EOS 30D.

While the 30D offers Evaluative metering, a trustworthy complex metering pattern that evaluates separate parts of the frame and combines them into an average, resulting in an exposure that rarely needs to be compensated, it also adds a metering mode the 20D lacks.

The 20D offers "Partial Metering", a variation on spot metering, which uses an area at the centre of the frame that represents approximately 9% of the frame.

The 30D retains this pattern, but adds a true Spot meter that concentrates the reading on a small circle at the centre of the frame that represents only 3.5% of the entire frame. With some applications, this allows for much greater precision, and much more accurate exposures. Regrettably, however, it cannot be set to follow the focus point.

By optimizing the image processing, the EOS 30D is able to capture a few more photos in a burst than the 20D can. With the 30D, at least 30 frames at a maximum speed of 5 frames per second can be captured when set to the Fine JPEG image format.

Again, just like the EOS 20D, finding any serious fault in the image quality of the EOS 30D is difficult. The 30D yields high quality images, even when set to Fine JPEG.

An example of this can be seen at left. The photo is captured with an EF 100-400 mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM zoom lens set to the maximum telephoto. At this setting, 400 mm, the focal length is equivalent to 640 mm on a 35 mm camera.

The image sharpness is as good as could be achieved with 35 mm film. The sharpness and detail that this Canon lens can capture is well-illustrated by the image at right, cropped from the full-size image: the plane's pilot can clearly be seen, watching the approaching runway.

Be it this lens, or any number of others, the Canon EOS 30D, in combination with a high quality lens, yields images that are absolutely excellent.

In our opinion, the Canon EOS 30D is well-suited to both professional use, and to the desires of a dedicated photography enthusiast. It offers all the critical capabilities, and is unencumbered by a surfeit of convoluted custom modes that tend to become potential pitfalls when an image needs to be captured immediately.

Now, as to whether any of these improvements make it worthwile for a 20D owner to upgrade to the 30D — we'll admit to being sceptical.