Rating:  Summary: **Great** Camera, especially for current Canon users... Review: All of the nice things you're hearing about this camera are true. If you already own a camera in the Canon EOS line and are ready to upgrade to digital, this is the path you want to take. It has all the features a sophisticated amateur wants, plus a healthy serving of "professional" features thrown in. And as others have said, all the lenses and most (not all) of the accessories you already have will work with the D30.There are a few drawbacks, however... For one thing the autofocus relies on an incandescent lamp rather than the infrared found in nearly all other EOS models. This is a curious choice on Canon's part, it almost seems like they didn't throw in professional-quality autofocus for marketing reasons, since there's a true pro-level Canon digital SLR due out later this year. Another drawback is that the included software, called ZoomBrowser EX, is not that great. It's designed to help you capture, download, and catalog your digital images, but it runs out of steam once your image library grows to a non-trivial size, and if you want to merge databases because you've done collection on another computer, the software more-or-less becomes unusable. Also, you end up paying a lot more than $3000, even if you already have the lenses from your other Canon EOS camera. First comes the Compact Flash cards (you really need to get at least two of these so you always have a spare). Figure on getting at least two 128MB CF cards, if you really must have a microdrive that will cost you more. Plan on getting an extra battery too. Then there are the Canon accessories, like a better (infrared) autofocus lamp, an electronic timer for long exposures and intervalometer work (which the included remote-capture software does not do well), and you get the idea... you really have to budget $4000. Having said all that, this camera really is a joy to use, and once you get used to the instant feedback, your shooting skills will improve, and you'll start getting compliments on how good you are. It really *is* that *good* of a camera. Just be warned that you are jumping into the deep end of digital photography if you get this camera. ... ;-).
Rating:  Summary: Best Quality Digital Photos for Price Range Review: Awesome Camera. If you are interested in the sharpest digital photos this is the camera for you. I recommend the Canon EOS D30 unequivocally; it is the best you can buy without breaking the bank. If you already own one of the Canon EOS' then your lenses will fit. The compact flash included is pretty skimpy and my Speedlite 430EZ didn't work. Picture quality is outstanding. Read some of the comparisons with the Nikon and you will see that the D30 beats it for about two grand less. I am totally enthusiastic about it. The instruction booklet is clear and easy to follow. You can use the new 340MB to 1 gig mini-drives to store a whole vacations worth of pictures. I recommend the Speedlite 550EX to expand your abilities.
Rating:  Summary: Great learning tool! Review: This camera was the best investment in my photography that I could have imagined. Without the cost and concern of film and processing, I was free to make as many photos as I wanted, and to adjust the settings to learn about the effect of such control. With my EOS lenses, my existing investment was prolonged. I have printed and posted much of my work, and the quality has met or exceeded local labs.
Rating:  Summary: Canon D30 - Top Prosumer Digital Still Camera of 2000 Review: If you want the ultimate in digital photography, the Canon D30 is the ticket as of December 2000 -- especially if you already own Canon EOS lenses, because they're completely compatible. Canon won't call this a "Pro" camera, because it's not as weather-tight as pro models, but the body is rugged and the output is first-rate. The D30 has enough features for professional photographers, yet a novice can get great looking pictures from the start. As you learn more about the camera and its capabilities, your images really start to shine. Want to experiment with long-exposure photography? Go right ahead! Feedback is instant. No more waiting for processing. No more developing costs. Want to blow up your photo to 8x12 inches? No problem. With a little massaging via Adobe Photoshop (tm) and/or Genuine Fractals (tm), even poster-sized prints look great, using photo paper and a photo-quality inkjet printer. Software to get you going, including Photoshop LE, is included. The D30 accepts IBM Microdrives (1 gigabite of storage in the camera!) as well as compact flash. The included 16 meg flash card is enough to test the camera, but you'll really want to get something bigger, right away. The D30 offers a variety of image compression options -- including the Raw format, which allows the most flexibility and avoids jpeg artifacts. The wide variety of storage options means freedom to shoot at will and experiment. An included cable allows you to connect your camera to your computer's USB port and download images at will. As I said, all Canon EOS lenses will work with the D30, but there is one difference to consider. Because the CMOS chip is smaller than a 35mm negative, the field of view is different. For example, a 100 mm lens on an EOS film camera works like a 160 mm lens on the D30. They call it a 1.6x multiplier effect, but what it means is that long-distance shooting is easier, and to get wide angle shots, you have to get a REALLY wide lens. For example, a 14mm aspherical wide angle results in a 22mm wide angle shot on the D30. When the D30 was first released in the Fall of 2000, the demand was far beyond what Canon could produce... in the United States and around the World. As of this writing, the cameras are still in short supply, but well worth the effort and the investment. Kudos to Amazon for adding the D30 to their digital photography offerings.
Rating:  Summary: Great Camera Review: The D30 is a great camera and takes outstanding photos. I will put it up against my friend's Nikon any day and his camera cost much more. The battery life on the D30 is amazing as I expected the same life as that on the Nikon. Instead, the battery on the D30 just keeps shooting after the Nikon is dead. This is not to knock the Nikon as it is one of the premier cameras around and is a true professional camera, but the Canon will match it picture for picture for less money. Either camera will make you a very happy photographer. I regularly use a Canon EOS 35mm. camera so the transition to the digial is very easy as the controls are so similar. The fact that I can use my Canon image stabilized lenses makes it even better. The D30 does call for one of the EX flash units, so that will add to the cost; however, the on-camera flash also works well . Picture quality is outstanding. I have had no problem with the software, but I generally download all pictures to my computer and do any adjusting, etc. with Photoshop. Hookup to the computer by way of USB is a snap and downloading is fast.
Rating:  Summary: Excellent for Aspiring Intermediate Photographer Review: You need to take a lot of pictures to become a better photographer, and you need to learn from the pictures that you take. You get immediate feedback from this camera. I've owned mine now for over a year and I can see the vast improvement in my abilities. The biggest drawback is its slowness, and the second is that you have to multiply your lens by 1.6 to get the true focal length. But it takes all of the Canon lenses so I switch around between my film camera and this one. In all, I've been very happy with this camera and it has gone everywhere with me.
Rating:  Summary: 5000 pictures and I am still wanting another D-30 camera Review: I purchased a D-30 from Amazon last year and I previously had been using a Digital Nikon. The improvement was monumental in all aspects. I subsequently drowned my camera, and I am getting ready to repurchase another D30. They are not ready for water yet? I have taken approximately 5000 pictures and saved them all in the most usable format and I will continue to do the same. The Photoshop software that comes with the camera is very user friendly, I am sure there are many features yet to learn, but I have been extremely happy with what I have already used. I hesitate to say mastered.
Rating:  Summary: Passion for pictures? Review: I recently moved into the prosumer level of digital. The Canon D30 has proven to be an awesome camera. There maybe better (D60), but if you are serious about digital, the D30 has to be one of the best cameras for the price. There is a slight lag between shots, but if you are not photographing speeding bullets and express trains, the time between shots is hardly a distraction.
Rating:  Summary: Excellent Choice Review: A wonderful choice for advanced amateurs, especially those who already have EOS lenses and flashes. The resolution is high enough for any consumer application, and the firmware updates from Canon solve many earlier glitches.
Rating:  Summary: Expensive Review: I used it at my school once, but I did not find it worth the steep price tag. I would reccommend sticking with a cheaper megapixel camera which has the same photo quality, though it may lack the bells and whistles.
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