Canon EOS 300D / Digital Rebel 6.3 MP Digital SLR Camera - Silver (Body Only)

A very practical digital SLR camera with the possibility to change between Play mode and Record mode at the touch of a button. When in Play mode, touching the shutter button will instantly return the camera to Record mode, so you are always ready to take the next image. Landscape enthusiasts will appreciate the depth of field button together with a special program mode called A-dep. This mode uses the seven AF points to determine the nearest and most distant points of the subject thereby determining the aperture to shoot at for large depth of field while using the fastest shutter speed possible.

Battery life was very good throughout. You can expect to take about 600 images without flash and 400 with it. Obviously this is helped by the fact that there is no live preview option on the LCD screen before taking an image. This feature, as compact digicam users will only know too well, eats batteries at an alarming rate. The live preview is missing because the optical viewfinder system uses a pentamirror to intercept the image and send it straight to the viewfinder. When pressing the shutter the mirror locks up and lets the light through to the sensor to record the image.

In the box
The box should contain the familiar BP511 Li-ion battery (as used in the older D30 and D60, 10D, Powershot G2/G5, among others) together with a compact charger, neck strap, USB and AV cables and 139-page manual. Also included was Canon's Digital Solutions Disk v6.0 and Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0. Canon's Digital Solutions Disk contains Zoom Browser, Photostitch, Remote Capture and File Viewer Utility plus TWAIN drivers for Windows. NOT Vista. However if you change the settings from Normal to PTP in the menu (Communications) and Vista can then see it.

Image quality
Thanks to Canon's DIGIC image processor all pictures show excellent image quality with nice balanced tones and clean colours. Of course the 6-megapixel CMOS sensor ensures that everything is recorded in minute detail, leaving enough room for enlargement or cropping of images. The new EF-S lens provides surprisingly high optical quality for such an inexpensive lens and this is no doubt helped by the new, shorter back focus design. Because the EF-S lens extends further into the Canon Digital Rebel body and projects an image circle that closely matches the size of the sensor (which is significantly smaller than a 35mm frame) it is easier to design a small and light, distortion free lens at reduced costs.

Roundup
The Canon Digital rebel is a terrific camera, especially if you look at what it has to offer for the price you pay. You get most of the features of the 10D for a much lower price.

Admittedly to distinguish the Canon Digital Rebel from its bigger brother the 10D, Canon have had to lose a few features, otherwise nobody would consider buying the 10D anymore. Most notably the lack of adjusting flash output or freely choosing the desired metering options will be missed by some. What you get in return is really good image quality with silky smooth detail thanks to the CMOS sensor and DIGIC processor, low noise at all ISO settings, fast AF and full compatibility with all EF-lenses.

All in all, this 2003 camera may be a bit outdated by newer models but it is still a very good practical camera with great quality pictures.

So after some research I had found out that Canon EOS DSLRs are pretty good at astrophotography. The reason for this is that the imaging device has lower "noise" than other DSLRs an as such a lot of astronomical software support them. This is important as noise can swamp faint images. There are specialist cameras but for the same size images (6M pixels) you would have to pay hundreds if not thousands of pounds.
There are various differences between the EOS models. The newer ones have more computer control options but sell for more. Anyway I eventually won a 300D with the original lens for less than £100.
The Ebay listing mentioned that autofocus doesn't work. Apparently this is fairly common. Anyway telescopes don't do auto focus and personally I hate autofocus so it didn't bother me.
On receiving the camera I was able to shoot with it within minutes. It was was easy. No stupid shutter lag which makes you miss action shots. Easy to focus and zoom. I think it would make an excellent everyday camera if you want something better than point and shoot. Although being a DSLR it is a bit bulky. It certainly is better then a fairly sophisticated Kodak digital camera I have.
Canon provide a lot of support software for it's cameras. The software is described a upgrade but a few moments Googleing came up with an easy way of adding entries to the Windows registry that allow the upgrades to be installed.
There doesn't appear to be much support for MAC or Linux but there are plenty of third party programs that support these cameras.
The software is really high quality. I was particularly impressed with the plugin to allow RAW images to be viewed like any other images in Windows explorer and Digital Photo Professional is really useful.
For a few pounds I got an adapter to attach it to my telescope. And was easily able to control the camera via USB. There is a limitation to the exposure time of 30 seconds but there are alternatives. A remote controller can be purchased for a few pounds. If you want to use it with a telescope do not get a wireless one as the infrared sensor is on the front of the camera obscured by the telescope.
With the camera attached to the telescope there is good news and bad news about the viewfinder. The good news is that it can be used without powering the camera. The bad news is it is quite hard to see through it in the dark. You need a bright star to focus and then check using a computer controlled exposure.
Anyway I took dark frame to subtract noise from the exposed images and then took several image at various exposures of the Orion nebula.
As soon as I saw the first unprocessed images I knew it had worked. Working with Digital Photo Professional and BlackFrame NR (third party software) my first deep sky image was revealed. It is stunning. Not quite as good as the Hubble Space Telescope but unbelievable for my back garden :)

Firstly I should say that I am an ex 35mm slr amature photographer, so I understand the basics and some more. A few years ago I ditched my whole 35mm slr kit, and bought a compact digital. At the time DSLR's were just coming out, and were way too expensive for most mortals. But that is now not the case. There are many sub £500 DSLR's around now. So with this in mind I decided it was time to rekindle my old passion. At first I looked at new cameras and found that the slightly more expensive Canon's had better 3rd party support, so you could save the extra you paid on the camera if you plan to buy another lens or two. I had prety much decided on a Canon EOS 400D at under £400, but with an open mind I started to look at used earlier models. In particular the 300D Rebel which first came out in 2003 for around £900, but can now be picked up for around £200. So the question is, is it worth considering the used 300D for half the price of a new 400D. I studdied as many proffessional and independant reviews as I could, and was supprised to find that other than the amount of megapixels not much has changed. The 300D is 6.3 megapixel and the 400D is 10 megapixel. So the next question is do I need 10 megapixel? After studying a mirriad of photo's taken with both camera's at varying sizes, I came to the conclusion that unless you wanted to make pictures the size of bill boards, 10 megapixel isn't necassary. And as for the overall quality of of varying types of photo, there really is nothing to choose between them. Essentially the bits of the camera that make the picture are the same in both models. So I found myself a 300D for £195 that was in mint condition. It really is an unbelievable piece of kit for the price. I have already tested it over a range of conditions and am getting superb results. It has a fully automatic mode which is great for snapshots and general everyday photo's. But then there is an array of manual and automatic options for your more serious pictures. It is suprisingly light for the size of it, and is very comfortable in the hand. all of the main controls are in easy reach of your fingers. The lcd panel is easy to understand, and the menu is very easy to work through. As for those extra lenses you might decide you need, I have just ordered a Tamron 55mm-200mm zoom lens for under £70 new. WOW! Ok so are you going to want to put the pictures onto your computer using the USB cable and software that comes with it. This will be no problem if you are using windows xp, but vista is not so well supported for this earlier model, and even worse if like me you are using vista 64bit. Have no fear I have found a solution. In the menu if you find communication and select PTP, you can then use the USB lead provided or a compatible lead and plug into your vista computer. According to the instruction manual PTP is for use with any printer supporting Pictbridge, and allows you to send your pictures straight to the printer. Although this works well, there is no facility for editing your pictures. Here comes the good bit. provided your vista is up to date, when you plug the cable in vista will recognise it as a Canon camera, install the necassary drivers, and treat your camera as another drive. you can then open up your pictures with any software package you are using. You will not read this in the manaul, it is just a clever thing that vista does. So in conclusion: If you can pick at a 300D in good condition at the right price, you have a winner.

This Camera is a real nice!, I am not an expert in cmaera's so went for a the Canon as everyone I spoke to sugested them.The 300D seemed a good price and choose for someone just starting out. I also have not seen any other camera to compare to so this is based purely on what I have seen on this camera.

Picture - 6.9MP and the quilty is Fantastic, it really does that so fablious pictures, and i haven't really tried to much yet.

usability - Coming from a point and shoot camera then this to start with was a little over whelming but I soon got to grips with it, as it has the same dial pictur type setting as most cameras plus alot of other stuff.

Size and layout - Out of the box my first thoughs were, WOW thats big, but as I said I have no bases for comparsion so all DSLR may be the same and the camera isn't that heavy. The layout seems well though out with a few bits I am still working out but on the whole very easy to figure out. Personally I think the view screen is a little same given the size of the camera and I will probably be shoot by all camera experts but that you cannot use the screen as a view finder was a big shock to me?

Battery Life - Doesn't seem that great but then I have no idea how old the battery is and so might not have a lot of life in it. But with out flash I would say you could easily get 150 - 200 shoots, with built-in flash 80 at a guess!

bought a canon eos 350d for myself which i am pleased with,then bought a canon eos 300d for my father in law,which he was really pleased with,testing the 2 together there is no differance in quality that i could notice,i now prefer the 300d,bigger and easier to hold,cheap to buy,cheap grip,lenses,and extras,set 300d to iso 800 great pic,set it to 1600 iso no differance in noise or quality,the grade of megapixels between both cameras makes no differance to the quality of the printed image,don't much like the silver colour of the 300d,but for taking pics it is brilliant,batteries last for ages,very fast to start up and focus,if you are looking for a cheap entry into digital go for the eos 300d,i wish i had i much prefer the 300d,the 350d has a few more features,but do you really need to use them-no,get a large capacity cf card as you can set 300d to large and the pics are excellent,i am so impressed with the 300d that i am going to get one for myself,and keep the 350d as a back up,the menus are easy to set and understand,so simple that you don't really need the handbook,any body could use the 300d including a child,if you see one and the price is right £150-200 should buy a very good one with extras,a bit more if you are after a grip,cheap price for an outfit that was nearly a thousand pounds just a few years ago,also the controls are easy to work,as is reviewing pics and deleting them,good manuals supplied,plus software,the kit lens 18-55mm is not very good,but the canon 28-90mm lens made a big differance,buy one and start taking great pics.