Canon EOS 300D / Digital Rebel camera review

Canon EOS 300D / Digital Rebel camera review

Also known as EOS Digital Rebel in USA and as EOS Kiss Digitalin Japan

I happened to get the European version of the EOS 300D camera. In the EOS line the fewer the zeros, the higher the model's level. The company positions this camera as a lower variant of the 10D and considers that professionals should go with the 1Ds. But such separation is conditional, especially it concerns D60, its successor 10D and 300D. These cameras have close technical characteristics similar versions of the 6 Mp CMOS matrix. The functional differences are not considerable either, and only professionals can really distinguish them. 

Professionals earn money with cameras. And it's quite possible that it is the 300th model that can be an optimal choice as it doesn't make you pay for functions unneeded. Universal solutions are more typical of home PCs than office equipment . 

The price of about $1,000 makes this camera comparable to its film counterparts. Its price is actually equal to a technically identical film camera with three hundred films in addition. Canon redesigned much the 10D camera to cut its price. Look at the film camera EOS 50 and digital models D60 and 3000D, and you will see that they look very similar. But if the D60 has the same controls as the film one (two dials under the thumb and forefinger, LCD and several buttons controlling the digital part), the new camera has buttons instead of the back dial. 

EOS 300D body only

The menu navigation and playback are much more handy now. Shots can be gradually enlarged and shifted up/down of left/right. The other models have fixed enlargement and sequential switching of fragments with the dial.

Shot info in the viewing mode.	Enlarged fragment

But such solution has a downside: exposure correction requires two fingers to press the button (thumb) and rotate the dial (forefinger).

Some changes in the management approach were initiated yet in the D30 . Although the film camera has an LCD , its switches are much more informative. You can tell what most settings are judging by their positions. In digital cameras you control the camera primarily through the menu. That is why most parameters can be read only on the LCD. 

The menu is much more branched than in the D60 and 10D. Sensitivity changes with a dedicated button, ot in the menu. But I don't think that such ascetic menu affects the camera's performance. 

Although the body of the new camera is typical of the EOS line, it has some critical differences. First of all, it has a penta mirror instead of a glass pentaprism. I.e. the image in the viewfinder is inverted not by multiple reflections from the glass/air surface, but by reflections from mirrors the surfaces of which form a pentaprism. It let the developers to reduce the cost and weight. I can't say that such solutions are used mostly in non-professional cameras. The professional roll-film camera Mamiya C33 has a similar penta prism. Although such design is not so durable, I noticed no changes with the pentaprisms of my Mamiya after 30 years os usage. It can't work for centuries, but no one expects such a long life yet. 

The second change is the support of EF-S lenses, i.e. it can use all old EF lenses plus new ones the flange focal length of which remains the same but the lens juts out of the bayonet. If you attach this lens to the old cameras, the mirror would touch it since its distance from the back lens to the focal plane is shorter. A bit of terminology. The distance between the reference surface of the lens mount and the focal plane is called a flange focal length. The Canon EOS has it equal to 44 mm. When the lens is focused at infinity, the distance along the optic axis from the high point of the back lens to the film plane is called back focus. In wide-angle lenses of reflex cameras the back focus is longer than the focal length.

The mirror in the new camera is smaller as the matrix is 1.5 times smaller than the film. According to the developers, the mirror's motion path is different as well. Well, the lighter mirror shakes the camera less, and the smaller back focus allows making cheaper quality wide-angle lenses.

The only aim the developers targeted with the lens (18-55 mm) was to cut the cost price. Its characteristics are almost identical to the film lens for 28-80. But they managed to shorten the focus, and taking into account the smaller matrix size these lenses are equal in the sight angle. That is why you can use the EW-60C blend of the 28-80 film lens with this lens. Fortunately, the lenses have identical blend bayonets. 

The redesigned lens mount has one more advantage. The mirror doesn't touch anymore the back side of lenses of the Peleng type in case of a poor-quality EOS bayonet-to-M42 adapter, and now it's possible to make an adapter for lenses for old Zenits with the M39 thread. 

The accessories have become more democratic. The remote control can be connected to a port like that used in small stereo headphones. Like in the EOS 50, the camera can be controlled in the IR channel as well. You can use both RC5 and the old remote control of the EOS 50 - RC1. The PC connection cable is of the miniUSB standard. However, it doesn't support a non-automatic flash via a separate synchronizer. 

RC1 remote control

The built-in flash is also redesigned. Now it goes up higher. On one hand, it reduces the redeye effect, on the other hand, blends and long-focus lenses do not cover the object from the built-in flash light. 

The flash management features are limited: the second-curtain synchronization is not supported, and you can't change exposure when shooting in the aperture priority mode. 

I think that photo amateurs wouldn't care, and professionals would use an external flash anyway. The tests with the Sigma EF-500 SUPER flash showed that the second-curtain synchronization can be enabled in the Flash menu . The flash floodlight is used to highlight autofocusing in the dark. When you press the aperture repeater button the aperture shrinks to the ready-to-work position and the flash emits a series of pulses in the stroboscopic mode so that you can estimate shadows. 

The electronic part is also redesigned. All electronic components are mounted on fewer boards, the buffer is smaller and now it houses only 4 frames in series shooting the rate of which is 2.5 shots per second. It's equal to the D60 but less than in the 10D.

The matrix is identical to the 10D. It seems that the company follows a very thrifty approach using the matrices which do not satisfy the 10D. However, they say that the matrices in the new cameras have a different package. That is why the culling, if it takes place at all, is performed at a much earlier stage, before the die is packed, which is hardly possible. 

First I thought that the matrix is noisier, but it turned out to be wrong. The camera has two sets of parameters. In the first mode (Parameter 1) the sharpness, contrast and saturation are increased by 1, which at high sensitivity level accentuates noise; in the second mode (Parameter 2) when the correction is equal to 0, there's almost no difference from the D60. 

Here are two tables demonstrating the Parameter 1 and Parameter 2 modes. Shots taken with the halogen lamp. The white balance set to the incandescent lamp mode. In such illumination the noise level must be maximum in the blue channel.



The rectangles of 40x50 pixels are cut out from the above grey tables. Shots recorded in CRW . Parameters set before shooting. Two shots were taken at both sensitivity levels, though in CRW the parameters can be changed right in the shots. The rectangles are brought together and recorded into one JPEG file. The size is enlarged twice. Below you can see average brightness and standard deviation.

	EOS 300D
	P1		P2
ISO
1600	113	5.62	118	4.35
126	6.50	128	4.89	-
111	6.09	116	4.84	-
92	9.35	97	7.18	-
1000	-	-	-	-
-	-	-	-	120
-	-	-	-	111
-	-	-	-	97
800	111	3.95	116	3.16
122	4.60	126	3.85	122
109	4.31	114	3.51	111
93	6.17	97	4.90	98
400	119	2.02	114	1.86
134	2.53	126	2.43	126
116	2.33	111	2.18	115
96	3.72	93	3.20	102
200	120	1.42	115	1.27
135	1.86	128	1.52	125
117	1.78	112	1.64	114
96	2.38	94	2.50	100
100	121	1.07	117	1.02
135	1.55	130	1.40	124
117	1.30	115	1.28	111
99	1.86	98	1.45	99

The new parameters which determine shot pre-processing let the camera work without PC and send shots directly to the printer. Digital Print Order Format (DPOF) and Exit Print standards supported.

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Software

Canon provides both PC and Mac users with a comprehensive selection of image processing and viewing software. These are pretty much the same programs that we have seen with most Canon digital cameras over the past couple of years. Also included is a copy of Photoshop Elements , a $99 value and a good place for newcomers to image processing to start. But...

As good as Canon's camera's, lenses and digital technology generally are ( and regular readers know that I'm a long time Canon user ), Canon's RAW conversion software continues to be dreadful. It's created by the same mentality as designed Kodak's DCS Photodesk application, another RAW converter that has no regard for the user's time.

What's this all about? It has to do with RAW files. If you're new to this let me explain. Digital camera's generally can produce both JPG files and RAW files. JPG files are by definition compressed, and lossy . Lossy means that every time the file is saved or resaved it looses information. Also, a JPG file from a camera has been pre-processed. Parameters like White Balance, colour balance and sharpening have all been applied. If you shoot JPGs this means that you have to set the camera's White Balance when shooting or let the camera select it in "Auto" mode. You're then stuck with whatever the camera set.

If you let the camera shoot RAW, the file you end up with is exactly what the imaging chip recorded, with no in-camera processing. RAW means raw. Everything from linear conversion, Bayer interpolation, White Balance, colour balance and more is done afterward on your computer using RAW conversion software. Also, though the files are compressed they are losslessly compressed, and therefore no information is lost when the files are saved and reloaded.

Why not work exclusively in RAW you say? Because it takes extra time and work. You have to make decisions and need to adjust the files to the way that you want them to look. Some users prefer to be able to simply shoot and print. If that's you, fine, shoot JPGs and enjoy. But serious photographers will want to work in RAW mode and that's where Canon lets its users down.

The strength of digital image processing is that it's WSIWYG — What you see is what you get . If your monitor is properly profiled and calibrated, and so is your printer, ( much more on this is found elsewhere on this site ), then what you see on the screen should be essentially identical to what comes out of your printer. When working in Photoshop , for example, if you change an image's colours, brightness or contrast the changes happen instantly. Get it too look the way you want it to on-screen and Bob's your Uncle .

But with Canon's RAW conversion software the smallest change that you make to any of the required settings means that the computer has to recalculate the entire image to show you what it will look like. This means that making the critical image adjustments needed to prepare an image for RAW conversion can take far longer than it should. For the hobbyist with just a few files to process and with time to burn, no big deal — maybe. But for someone with a lot of images to process, or anyone trying to do exacting work, this can be exasperating to say the least.

Is there a solution? Yes, there is, but it isn't available from Canon.

Capture One Rebel

Capture One Rebel showing file browser, thumbnails, interactive preview and palettes selector

In my opinion the best RAW image processing software available for any camera is Phase One's Capture One . Phase One is a hardware and software company with years of digital image processing experience because they are the manufacturer of some of the industry's most advanced (and expensive) medium format digital camera backs.

When Canon introduced its industry leading 1Ds in the Fall of 2002 Phase One introduced Capture One DSLR , a version of their image processing software that for the first time supported a camera or digital back other than their own. I tested it early on and was knocked out by its speed, features and functionality. It now supports not only the 1Ds but also the Canon 1D, 10D, D60, D30 , and Nikon D1x , D100, and will soon support the Canon 300D and Fuji S2 . The Mac version supports the Canon 1Ds and 1D, with 10D , 300D and D1x support on the way.

The only concern that I had was that the price was $499. Even so, I consider it a must have for anyone using one or more of these cameras, and its popularity with professional photographers has shown that others agree with my assessment.

In early 2003 Phase One introduced Capture One LE , a version that supports the Canon D30, D60 , 10D and Nikon D100 , with 300D support coming soon. At $99 its price is more appropriate for owners of these cameras.

Now, with Canon's introduction of the 300D Rebel we have Capture One Rebel — Phase One's version of their famous software designed specifically to support the Rebel (and only the Rebel) . In keeping with the aggressive pricing of the camera itself this software will have an introductory price of just $49. I have been working with a Beta version of this software and can tell you that it has essentially all of the functionality of its more expensive predecessors.

What is it that sets Capture One (C1) apart, and why should every Rebel owner download a test copy for evaluation? The answer lies in the concept of workflow . This is common digital image processing jargon that simply means the steps that we take when working with an image and the order in which we make them.

With C1 the efficient workflow begins with pointing the program to a directory containing some Rebel RAW files. The first thing that one sees is that a window with thumbnails appears almost instantly. Once these have loaded the program spends a few seconds per image processing them so that you can work efficiently. This all takes place in the background, and you can choose any thumbnail and click on it to start work right away.

Capture One Rebel Gray Balance Palette

You are then presented with a large detailed image that you can enlarge to 100% magnification instantly. You can also apply a full range of image processing controls and also instantly see what these changes will accomplish. When you're done you can process this image or a group of images and immediately turn your attention to adjusting others while the program does the RAW conversion in the background. If you like you can also work in batch mode on a number of images that require the same or even different processing parameters.

C1 Rebel will become available in late October and when it does I will have a more complete review and complete workflow suggestions.

(For those who are interested — what Capture One does, invisibly to you, is produce a high-res work file that's small enough to work on instantly, yet big enough to show you everything you need to know. When you apply a change to the image the program doesn't need to process a huge file, just the work file. When you are finished and want to move the file to Photoshop for further processing Capture One takes the charges that you made and applies them to the large file. What Canon's RAW processing software does is to apply charges to the full file every time, making it slow and inefficient.)

Other Image Processing Options

There is currently a plug-in for Photoshop called Camera RAW . It does a very fine job with most digital camera files, but does not currently support the Digital Rebel . The next generation of Photoshop (not Elements) will have Camera RAW capability built in and it's fair to assume that support for the Rebel will be included.

One of the long time RAW conversion programs for Canon cameras, Breezebrowser , already supports the Rebel . It is priced at $45.

While I'm on my soapbox, here's a word of unsolicited advise for Canon. Photographers have been telling you for years that your RAW conversion software is below par. Yet, you persist on having your customers go to other vendors to have their RAW processing software needs properly met. It's time that your programers in Japan recognize that they simply are not producing world-class software. With products like Capture One and Camera RAW we see how it should be done. Either match their capabilities (and preferably exceed them) or acquire a product that can do a proper job. Canon camera purchasers shouldn't have to buy extra cost third-party solutions to be able to work efficiently with your cameras.

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Features

6.3 Megapixel CMOS sensor
7-point wide-area AF
High-performance DIGIC processor
100-1600 ISO speed range
Compatible with all Canon EF lenses and EX Speedlites
PictBridge, Canon Direct Print and Bubble Jet Direct compatible – no PC required

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Technical Specification

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Conclusion

So, this reflex camera can be of much interest for those who have removable optical systems and want to use it with digital cameras as well. This model can be an optimal solutin for those professionals who need a reflex camera for micro and astro shooting. Most scientific devices were designed to match the M42 thread. This camera can successfully replace a film one in such devices. It makes no sense to buy a more expensive model as in this case the requirements for the body life are minimal and the potentially shorter life compared to the 10D is long enough to wait till the next generations of cameras the price of which will be lower than the price gap between the 300D and 10D. 

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