What's Hot: A cost-effective, user-friendly, DSLR with good design and rugged metal chasis. Noise control and color rendition are plus sides of this camera
What's Not: Annoyingly limited buffer which restricts the multiple shot to 11 Jpeg and 9 RAW- a disappointment for the action photographers.
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Review: The 20D is a very cost-effective, user-friendly DSLR that can fully meet the requirements of amateur and semi-professional user's who like low price-tag and quality in one solid package. The body is just the right size for most of the users, designed to provide good grip and controls ergonomically within acceptable performance style. The jog dial under the thumb is really a smart design that, when compared to push-buttons in cameras like 350D and 400D, provides fast control over aperture setting. The other buttons are within the reach quite nicely except perhaps the DoF review button, the location of which I have never got used to.The multi-control button which can be assigned to control the focus points directly is relatively accurate and a testimony to a smart solid design though reaching it, when the grip is mounted, is a little bothersome.
Performance-wise, 20D stands among the top 10 cannon cameras. It can control the noise level within a reasonable range even in ISO 800 and in the dark regions of the image. ISO 1600 is a bit noisy, but the image is still survivable using softwares such as
Neatimage and Noise Ninja. The custom-function can tweak the ISO performance up to 3200 (H) which is quite noisy, but that can be avoided on the part of the photographer if a little planning is done prior to setting out to shoot.
20D boasts accurate, reliable focusing, using 9-point TTL-CT-SIR ( through-the-lens, secondary-image-registration, phase-detection using a CMOS sensor)focus with a central cross type focus sensor which is very precise even
in low light condition and even when slow lenses such as 70-200, f6.3 are mounted. Other focus points are vertical-line or horizontal-line sensitive, but I have never encountered a problem during even action shots. single-shot mode is flawless with the AI SERVO (predictive) and AI FOCUS modes doing really fine when shooting moving subjects in case that fast-focusing USM (ultra-sonic motor) lenses are used. Multi-shot capability is 5 shot/second considered to fully meet the requirements of a semi-professional in action and sport photography.
Light-metering modes are the plus sides of the 20D, the best and the most reliable of which is the EVALUATIVE light-metering which relies on 35 zone light-metering algorithm and the fine-tuning adjustment using focus points as biases in the calculation and adjustment. In the course of many years, I have come to fully rely on this hassle-free light-metering mode. The PARTIAL is 9% of the center and a big question why canon hasn't incorporated the more accurate SPOT metering 3% of the center. The AVERAGE metering is 75% center/25% perimeter with a result that can hold its own in somewhat contra-light situations.
White balance adjustment Provides AWB - a convenient mode that can save many shots if you can bear a little warmness specially when shooting subjects under lamp light; Custom WB - a sweet, accurate WB adjustment with adjustment procedure second to 350D in terms of complexity but with a superb result; Kelvin adjustment for photographers who know what they are doing; and several preset modes such as Sunlight, Florescent, cloudy, and Tungsten light which deliver somewhat acceptable results.
The color LCD monitor (TFT drive, 118000-pixel, 1/8 inch) monitor delivers good color rendition, and if the small size can be forgotten in the light of accuracy, the image viewed is the one you get on your color computer monitor and on the print.
The software ( firmware 2.0.3 being the latest ) is user-friendly with variety of controls and options in Four categories. Auto Exposure Bracketing option and White Balance Bracketing ( with 81 X 4 biases- Blue/Green, Blue/magenta, Amber/Green, and Amber/magenta ) having replaced a roomful of the analogue white balance filters of ancient times) are provided to
deliver the professional capability of controlling the exposure and white balance for the advance users.
All in all, 20D is a sure investment for anyone who has taken the art of photography seriously with the capabilities that are guaranteed to stay on the forefront of semi-professional photography literature when anxious budget planning demands " the best my money can buy."
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