Canon Digital Camera Review

Monday, February 20, 2006

Canon EOS 20D Digital SLR Camera Review

Canon EOS 20D 8.2MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens.

Designed for advanced amateurs, photojournalists, wedding photographers and professionals, the EOS 20D digital SLR combines speed, image quality and ruggedness with compact size and light weight to deliver the highest performance in its class. The EOS 20D has a new APS-C (15.0 x 22.5 mm) 8.2 megapixel CMOS image sensor designed and manufactured by Canon. It is the first mid-range digital SLR to offer high-speed continuous shooting of five frames-per-second with a burst of 23 frames at highest JPEG resolution. Very robust - the camera starts up in 0.2-second and has a shutter release time lag of only 65 milliseconds.

The all-new 9-point AF unit with high-precision cross-type sensor raises the bar on speed, accuracy and precision in mid-range SLRs. The new AF system has one full stop better low- light performance than its EOS 10D predecessor. The new E-TTL II autoflash metering system, inherited from Canon’s EOS-1D Mark II professional model, takes into account the distance, reflectance and position of the subject for highly stable, accurate and intelligent exposure calculations.

The EOS 20D digital SLR is both smaller and lighter than the 10D model. The 20D camera is about 3.6 ounces lighter and Canon reduced the width, height and depth by 5.7, 2 and 3.5 mm, respectively. The shutter unit, mirror box, main mirror, pentaprism, focusing screen and viewfinder optical unit have all become smaller as they were optimized for the APS-C sensor. The 20D digital SLR has nearly 100 fewer parts than the 10D model. The new camera retains the rugged stainless steel chassis and magnesium alloy body covers of its predecessor for outstanding durability.

EOS 20D Major Features

Lightweight and durable magnesium alloy body
Canon EOS (EF/EF-S) lens mount, 1.6x focal magnifier
New 8-megapixel, CMOS image sensor, low-noise / wide dynamic range
Recording choice of 6 levels of JPEG, CR2 RAW, or RAW plus JPEG (choice of 6 different levels of JPEG)
All-new 9-point AF unit with high precision cross-type center sensor has one full stop better low-light performance than the EOS 10D
Ultra-fast start-up time of 0.2 seconds, only 65ms shutter lag time
Adobe RGB and sRGB color space selection
New high-speed mirror drive normally found only in pro-level models allows a major reduction in viewfinder blackout time
Processing parameters include 2 presets, 3 custom sets, adjustable for contrast, sharpness, saturation and color tone, and the new monochrome mode which includes built-in digital filtration for yellow, orange, red and green, and print toning in sepia, blue, purple and green.
12 shooting modes, seven Basic Zone modes (Full Auto, Portrait, Landscape, Close-Up, Sports, Night Portrait and Flash Off) and five Creative Zone modes (Standard Program AE, Shutter-Priority AE, Aperture-Priority AE, Manual and Depth-Of-Field AE)
35-zone TTL metering, Evaluative (linked to all focusing points), Center-weighted average, or 9.5% central-area spot metering
White Balance: Auto, six presets and Manual color temperature (2800-10,000°K in 100° increments) and can be corrected for blue, amber, magenta or green.
Continuous mode capture: 5fps up to 23 frames (6 frames in RAW mode)
Shutter speeds: 30 to 1/8,000 seconds, 1/250 sec. flash sync
Eye level TTL viewfinder with diopter adjustment, illuminated AF points, depth-of-field preview and detailed information display.
AE bracketing and White balance bracketing
1.8 inch, color TFT LCD, 118,000 pixels, 5 levels of brightness
Playback histogram and up to 10x image zoom
ISO Range: 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1,600 (3200 with ISO speed extension)
18 Custom Functions with 50 settings available
Built-in E-TTL II popup flash with red-eye reduction.
Hot shoe for Canon EX Speedlites and standard PC flash sync connector
CompactFlash Type II card slot, Microdrive and FAT32 compatible
High-speed USB 2.0 interface for fast image downloads
Video Out with selectable NTSC or PAL timing
Powered by new BP-511A Li-ion battery pack with 25% more capacity. CG-580 rapid charger included
PictBridge, CP Direct and Bubblejet Direct printing
Optional BG-E2 Battery Grip doubles battery power and adds vertical grip, shutter release and controls

posted by Admin @ Canon EOS 20D Digital SLR Camera Review

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