Canon 350-d Slr Camera

[Crushdepth]

Work has finally - after 6 years - agreed to upgrade the office camera and we're looking at the Canon 350-D digital SLR. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with it ? Is it worth the price ?

One of the attractions is that I can supposedly use my existing Canon zoom (EF 75-300mm) from a film SLR, though the magnification is not quite the same. Is this practical, or would we be better off buying dedicated lenses ?

We mainly shoot outdoor rural scenes, and are hoping larger images will enable us to upgrade the quality of our publications.

Edited April 6, 2005 by Crushdepth

[Firefoxx]

It's a revision of the older 300D ("rebel" in the US) camera. It's got better resolution, a better processor, bigger buffer, and better response, among other things. These 3xx Canons have very good resolution and best of all take very good pictures even at high ISO values (up to 1600).

Yes, you can use any canon lens. The 3xx's have "EF-S" mounts, which accepts both normal EF canon lenses and newer EF-S lenses which were made specifically for digital SLRs. The magnification factor is around 1.6, so your existing lens would become around 120-500mm.

You can certainly get large images, suitable for very large prints. Both the megapixels and resolution on this camera are very high. Couple it with a prime lens and you'll be a very happy camper.

The older 300D is now being dicounted, and is also a good camera. The 350D is fairly new, and so is being sold with a high markup here.

[Crushdepth]

I just went down and had a play with one...holy cow, it was beautiful ! Sorely tempted to buy one myself.

The price is very high here though- 46,000 baht (the list price is $950 - say 38,000 baht), a bit annoying that. But then the Nikon D70 sold well above its list price too (despite being *made* in Thailand).

Edited April 6, 2005 by Crushdepth

[Khun Jean]

I i remember correctly i saw this camera for sale in Zeer Rangsit for 39.000 (The kit including the standard lens). (3 weeks ago)

They had a small booth seup where you could test all the different Canon cameras. Don't know if it is still there, but worth a try for that price difference.

Good luck.

Zeer Langsit (Rangsit) is de name of the building. It is opposite Carrefour on the road from the airport to Rangsit.

[Khun Jean]

One small remark about resolution.

When the resolution gets higher the picture will loose a bit of its "vibrance". When you put more pixels in a sensor, but keep the same area a senser pixel has to be amplified a little more. It will lose some of its natural color by this proces. I've seen tests where a 2m pixel camera had better colors than a 4 or even 10 m pixel camera.

I remember the title of that article was something like "camera is now your film". Meaning that before you could experiment with different film and their characteristics. Now you have to do the same with a whole camera because of the sensor that is an integral part of it.

More pixels is not always better.

The 300D camera has a good reputation because it makes "vibrant" pictures. It is personal taste but a little bit exacerated green and blues can make a real difference.

[astral]

The Canon is a good camera.

I have the slightly higher model the 10D, which has now been superceded

by the 20D.

The 20D is bit more expensive, but more solidly built. You mentioned office use!!

Like the 350D it will take all Canon lenses, just remember the effective

focal length is 1.8X what is marked on the lens. This is why you may also need

the dedicated wide angle lens that comes with the camera.

I went the Canon route because I already have a Canon lenses and a good flash gun.

If you are starting from scratch then you should also consider the Nikon.

The whole digital concept is wonderful.

I was taking photos at the aquarium in Bang Saen on Tuesday.

As I could see the results immediately I was able to adapt my technique

to get the best results. Including using the 3200ASA setting and available light

at the main tank.

[Firefoxx]

If you want to wait, a couple of new cheap Nikon D-SLR cameras will be introduced later this month. I still like the Canons more, they have superb performance at high-ISO, which makes for clean images even in low light situations.