My recent purchase of a Canon 30D has re-sparked my interest in and passion for photography. Now this doesn't mean I haven't been actively capturing the world around me. It means I hadn't been considering the technical characteristics of my photographs. First a little history.
When I made the switch to digital in 2002, I dove in with a Kodak DC4800 (http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=593 and http://www.steves-digicams.com/dc4800.html) - although I wasn't completely sold on digital photography and wasn't ready to part with my Canon AE-1. I soon discovered my trusty Kodak was extremely more flexible than my Canon AE-1 due to it's size and weight. Unlike my Canon AE-1 with its complement of lens that I felt compelled to bring with me when I was "shooting" I accepted the limits of the Kodak and began carrying it with me more frequently. This lead to thousands of photos as I began photographing my life. While snapping these photos, I forgot about aperture and shutter speeds (even though the Kodak DC4800 has manual settings) and let the camera take over (with a few manual exceptions as I played with White Balance and Metering). My parents don't use the Internet and so I wasn't able to share online photo albums with them. I needed to reduce my thousands of photos to a few hundred or so that could be included in a physical photo album. As I went through the exercise of creating these albums I started viewing the information stored for each image. I began experimenting with aperture and shutter speeds and more extreme photo settings (shooting action in low-light, macro shots with a limited depth of field, etc.). I started reaching the limits of my Kodak and grew restless for a more versatile digital camera.
In February 2005, I decided after careful consideration to purchase a Canon 20D. I read that the Canon 30D scheduled for release, so pre-ordered the 30D (the 30D unlike the 20D had spot-metering which I'd gotten used to with my Kodak and used regularly). Unfortunately before the 30D came in, I was laid off. I decided to wait and to experiment more with my Kodak. This February I grew frustrated with the limits of my Kodak and purchased the 30D (http://www.dpreview.com/news/0602/06022114canoneos30d.asp). After shooting a dynamic band in low-light conditions with the 30D with an ISO of 1600 and no flash (a situation I'd shot just a few months earlier with my Kodak with an ISO of 400 and Flash), I realized I'd grown sloppy with exposure. So off I went to the bookstore. I discovered the art of raw conversion. Unfortunately, I discovered that raw conversion was extremely dependent on quality images to start with. This lead to the re-sparked passion for photography. I signed up for two classes - Introduction to Photographic Expression and Introduction to Photoshop at Foothill College. The first class would help me finetune the images I was shooting on the front-end. The second class would help me refine the images I shot.
Specifications of the Kodak DC4800:
When I made the switch to digital in 2002, I dove in with a Kodak DC4800 (http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=593 and http://www.steves-digicams.com/dc4800.html) - although I wasn't completely sold on digital photography and wasn't ready to part with my Canon AE-1. I soon discovered my trusty Kodak was extremely more flexible than my Canon AE-1 due to it's size and weight. Unlike my Canon AE-1 with its complement of lens that I felt compelled to bring with me when I was "shooting" I accepted the limits of the Kodak and began carrying it with me more frequently. This lead to thousands of photos as I began photographing my life. While snapping these photos, I forgot about aperture and shutter speeds (even though the Kodak DC4800 has manual settings) and let the camera take over (with a few manual exceptions as I played with White Balance and Metering). My parents don't use the Internet and so I wasn't able to share online photo albums with them. I needed to reduce my thousands of photos to a few hundred or so that could be included in a physical photo album. As I went through the exercise of creating these albums I started viewing the information stored for each image. I began experimenting with aperture and shutter speeds and more extreme photo settings (shooting action in low-light, macro shots with a limited depth of field, etc.). I started reaching the limits of my Kodak and grew restless for a more versatile digital camera.
In February 2005, I decided after careful consideration to purchase a Canon 20D. I read that the Canon 30D scheduled for release, so pre-ordered the 30D (the 30D unlike the 20D had spot-metering which I'd gotten used to with my Kodak and used regularly). Unfortunately before the 30D came in, I was laid off. I decided to wait and to experiment more with my Kodak. This February I grew frustrated with the limits of my Kodak and purchased the 30D (http://www.dpreview.com/news/0602/06022114canoneos30d.asp). After shooting a dynamic band in low-light conditions with the 30D with an ISO of 1600 and no flash (a situation I'd shot just a few months earlier with my Kodak with an ISO of 400 and Flash), I realized I'd grown sloppy with exposure. So off I went to the bookstore. I discovered the art of raw conversion. Unfortunately, I discovered that raw conversion was extremely dependent on quality images to start with. This lead to the re-sparked passion for photography. I signed up for two classes - Introduction to Photographic Expression and Introduction to Photoshop at Foothill College. The first class would help me finetune the images I was shooting on the front-end. The second class would help me refine the images I shot.
Specifications of the Kodak DC4800:
- CCD Resolution: 3.3 megapixels
- Image Resolution: 3.1 (2160 x 1440), 2.2 (1800 x 1200), 1.6 (1536 x 1024), .8 (1080 x 720) MP
- Image Quality Modes: 3.1 MP (uncompressed) 3.1 MP3.1 MP (highly compressed) 2.2 MP 1.6 MP 0.8 MP Custom resolution
- Viewfinder: 1.8" LCD, Optical real image viewfinder with AF frame
- Field of View: 90%
- Diopter Adjustment: -1 2 diopter
- Finder Eyepiece:
Exit pupil: 5 mm diameter
Eye point: 12 mm (from top of eyepiece frame)
Semi-Field-Angle: 10.5 degree (diagonal) - Lens: 3X optical zoom capability, 28-84 mm f/2.8-4.5 (35 mm film equiv.), 2X digital zoom, power zoom with two driving speeds, mechanical shutter and apertures Accepts accessory lenses and filters (43 mm thread size, requires adapter)
- Digital Enhancement: 2x digital zoom
- Auto Focusing: TTL Video-AF
- Auto Focus Modes: Multi spot, Center spot, Center weight 0.5m-Infinity (standard distance mode), 0.2-0.5m (near distance macro mode), less than 1.5 sec. to focus lock, @ <>
- Focus Distance: Wide/Telephoto: 1.6 ft (0.5m)-Infinity Close-Up: 0.7 ft-2.3 ft (0.2 - 0.7m)
- Exposure: Auto, or manual override (2 EV in 0.5-EV increments), automatic white balance and exposure lock
- Exposure Control:
Full Range: EV-1-16AE
Range: EV6-16
Program AE: (Automatic)
Aperture Priority AE: (f/2.8, f/5.6, f/8)
Manual: (1/1000s-1/2)
Long time exposure mode: (0.7 - 16 sec.) - Exposure Compensation: 2EV with 1/2 EV step
- White Balance: Auto, Daylight (5500k), Tungsten (semi auto), FL (semi auto), Manual (one push hold) and selectable color temperature (2500-10,000 Kelvin)
- Shutter Speed: 16s . 1/1000s
- Aperture Range: Wide (28 mm): f/2.8, f/5.6, f/8 Tele (84 mm): f/4.5, f/9, f/13* Effective f/stop varies through the zoom from wide to tele.
- ISO Equivalent: 100, 200, and 400 (Auto/User-selectable)
- Self Timer: 10 seconds
- Flash: Strobe flash to 3.2 meters wide, 2 meters at tele (10 feet) (auto, red-eye reduction, fill, off)
- File Format: TIFF/JPEG, EXIF 2.1
- Special Effects: B/W yellow filter, B/W red filter, B/W, sepia mode, neutral mode, saturated mode, burst
- Click to Click: Maximum 5 pictures with 2.0 sec interval (target: 5 pictures)
- Burst Frame Rate: Between 2 and 5 fps
- Burst capture: Max number of pictures (at different resolutions) 4 pictures at highest, 16 at lowest
- Preview Frame Rate: 15-30 fps
- Dimensions:
WxDxH (mm) 120x65x69
Weight: Without batteries (ounces): 11.45; Without batteries (grams): 320
Specifications of the Canon 30D:
- Body material: Magnesium alloy
- Sensor
• 22.5 x 15.0 mm CMOS sensor
• RGB Color Filter Array
• Built-in fixed low-pass filter
• 8.5 million total pixels
• 8.2 million effective pixels
• 3:2 aspect ratio - Image processor: DIGIC II
- Image sizes
• 3504 x 2336 (8.2 MP)
• 2544 x 1696 (4.3 MP)
• 1728 x 1152 (2.0 MP) - File formats
• RAW (.CR2)
• JPEG (EXIF 2.21) - Fine / Normal • RAW + JPEG (separate files) - Lenses
• Canon EF / EF-S lens mount
• 1.6x field of view crop - Focusing
• 9-point TTL
• CMOS sensor
• AF working range: -0.5 - 18 EV (at 20°C, ISO 100) - Focus modes
• AI Focus AF
• One shot AF
• AI Servo AF
• Manual focus - AF point selection
• Auto
• Manual
• Home position - AF assist
• Stroboscopic flash
• 4.0 m range (at center) - Metering
• TTL 35 zone SPC
• Metering range: EV 1.0 - 20 EV (at 20°C, ISO 100, 50 mm F1.4) - Metering modes
• Evaluative 35 zone
• Partial (9% at center)
• Spot metering (approx. 3.5% at center) *
• Center-weighted average
• Metering range: 1 - 20 EV (at 20°C, ISO 100) - AE lock
• Auto: One Shot AF with evaluative metering
• Manual: AE lock button - AE bracketing
• +/- 2.0 EV• 0.3 or 0.5 EV increments - Exposure compen.
• +/-2.0 EV• 0.3 or 0.5 EV increments - Sensitivity (1/3 EV steps) *
• Auto (100 to 400)
• ISO 100
• ISO 125
• ISO 160
• ISO 200
• ISO 250
• ISO 320
• ISO 400
• ISO 500
• ISO 640
• ISO 800
• ISO 1000
• ISO 1250
• ISO 1600
• ISO 3200 (Enhanced H) - Shutter
• Focal-plane shutter
• 30 - 1/8000 sec
• 0.3 or 0.5 EV increments
• Flash X-Sync: 1/250 sec
• Soft touch electromagnetic release *
• Bulb - Aperture values
• F1.0 - F91
• 0.3 or 0.5 EV increments
• Actual aperture range depends on lens used - White balance
• Auto (3000 - 7000 K)
• Daylight (5200 K)
• Shade (7000 K)
• Cloudy (6000 K)
• Tungsten (3200 K)
• Fluorescent (4000 K)
• Flash (6000 K)
• Custom (2000 - 10000 K)
• Kelvin (2800 - 10000 K in 100 K steps) - WB bracketing
• +/-3 levels
• 3 images
• blue/amber or magenta/green bias - WB shift
• Blue (-9) To Amber (+9)
• Magenta (-9) to Green (+9) - Color space
• sRGB
• Adobe RGB - Picture style *
• Standard
• Portrait
• Landscape
• Neutral
• Faithful
• Monochrome
• User 1
• User 2
• User 3 - Custom image parameters *
• Sharpness: 0 to 7
• Contrast: -4 to +4
• Saturation: -4 to +4
• Color tone: -4 to +4
• B&W filter: N, Ye, Or, R, G
• B&W tone: N, S, B, P, G - Viewfinder
• Eye-level pentaprism
• 95% frame coverage
• Magnification: 0.9x (-1 diopter with 50 mm lens at infinity)
• Eyepoint: 20 mm
• Dioptric adjustment: -3.0 to +1.0 diopter
• Precision matte screen - Viewfinder info
• AF points
• Focus confirmation light
• Shutter speed
• Aperture
• Manual exposure
• AE Lock
• Exposure compensation amount
• AEB level
• Partial metering area
• Flash ready
• Red-eye reduction lamp on
• High-speed sync
• FE Lock
• Flash compensation amount
• Warnings
• Maximum burst for continuous shooting
• Buffer space - LCD monitor *
• 2.5 " TFT LCD
• 230,000 pixels
• 5 brightness levels
• 10x zoom playback - Record review
• Off
• On (histogram via INFO button)
• 2 / 4 / 8 sec / Hold - Flash
• Auto pop-up E-TTL II auto flash
• FOV coverage up to 17 mm (27 mm equiv.)
• Guide number approx 13
• Flash compensation +/-2.0 EV in 0.3 or 0.5 EV increments
• X-Sync: 1/250 sec - External flash
• E-TTL II auto flash with EX-series Speedlites
• Wireless multi-flash support
• PC Sync - Shooting modes
• Auto
• Program AE (P)
• Shutter priority AE (Tv)
• Aperture priority AE (Av)
• Manual (M)
• Auto depth-of-field
• Portrait
• Landscape
• Close-up
• Sports
• Night portrait
• Flash off - Drive modes
• Single
• Continuous: 5 fps (CH) up to 30 frames or 3 fps (CL) *
• Self-timer: 10 secs (or 3 sec with mirror lock-up) - Dimensions
144 x 106 x 74 mm (5.6 x 4.2 x 2.9 in) *
Weight (no batt) 700 g (1.5 lb) *