On 10/11/04, Ryan Lee, discombobulated, unleashed: >So, time to make the announcement. After returning my ist D, I now find >myself with a C***n 20D, 17-85 f4-5.6IS USM, a 580EX speedlite, a BG-E2 >battery grip, an E1 hand strap, an extra battery and a B+W MRC UV filter. I >miss my kidneys.
One question. Why? Please answer truthfully. > >Anyway, having had a chance to play with both, here are some comparisons. > >1. The most obvious one, I miss the sleekness of the tiny ist D (even with a >grip) holding the 20D and grip. It's chunky. A monstrous monstrosity. And no >matter what people tell you, the 20D is ugly. The battery grip doesn't make >an effort to be tiny either. The ist D's grip takes 4 AA's sideways while >the 20D's grip takes 6 AA's side by side. And what's more, my 16 beloved >2500mah Inca Nimh batteries which I spent a fortune on, seem fine browsing >the 20D, but don't supply enough voltage to shoot! In fact, AA's in the 20D >hardly work at all, and Canon will tell you that (like they told me). On the >other hand, my Inca's lasted forever in the ist D (using a 50 1.4). Felt >like I never had to recharge them. I'm probably going to end up selling them >now :-( Do yourself a favour and buy a few third party BP511 batteries. The Canon ones are expensive and I've seen reports saying the 3rd party's work fine. You may notice that you can go for days if not weeks without changing a battery pack in the grip. > >2. The ist D sounds a lot better. The 20D (because of a new mirror design to >accomodate the short back focus EF-S lenses) sounds, literally, like the >whole camera was made of wood. Imagine the ist D's to be a 'chlick' vs the >20D's 'chlock'. I should capitalise some of that for emphasis too.. Very >ironic considering the 17-85 is quieter than a dog's tail wagging. It is not a quiet camera. I have a cool facility on the 1D that offers a very quiet operation: P.Fn-21 enables a quiet mode when the camera is in Single Frame shooting mode by greatly reducing mirror slap noise. This function can be combined with the mirror lockup function to further reduce noise and is useful in noise-sensitive environments. If you switch to continuous shooting mode, this function is over-ridden. This is great for shooting from the hip with a wide lens. I walk about for ages with the camera (no strap except a hand strap over the knuckles) shooting candids, never once looking throught the viewfinder. I love it. Otherwise the noise from the 1D is louder than the 20D. > >3. The 20D, unfortunately, does have superior image quality. I'm probably >not comparing in the same price/spec range that's why. Amazingly, while the >ist D produces significant noise at 1600, the 20D at 1600 produces possibly >the same noise as the ist D's 400. For non RAW shooters, the 20D also >provides more control over in camera settings e.g. more range to set >sharpness, contrast etc. Is this why you changed? >4. The 20D's TTL with the 580EX seems to provide more accurate exposures >than the ist D with the AF360fgz. In low light without AF assist, the 20D >with the 17-85 focuses much faster than the ist D with the SMC F 50 1.4. Or this? > >5. The 20D does not feel like a walkaround camera. Feels like it should live >in a studio. This might present problems when I'm backpacking London and >Paris in a few days. Dahhh, you yunguns, no stamina. My walkaround kit: 1D+14 2.8 on shoulder, 24-70 2.8 in the pocket. > >6..Probably other stuff to talk about, but the 20D doesn't allow me to post >to the PUG. I hope I don't end up Franken-lensing like some. Well funny you should mention that. I have a lovely Pentax K50mm f 1.2 in an EOS mount that will act just like an 80 mil portrait lens...I was going to clean it up and eBay it as a curio but always willing to entertain PDMLers first. You can then submit to the PUG and do it with pride! Cheers, Cotty ___/\__ || (O) | People, Places, Pastiche ||=====| http://www.cottysnaps.com _____________________________
