Canon EOS 20D

[Hightree]

Apologies if this has been posted already. Although not official yet, Canon will be announcing the EOS 20D. Read more on this at below link:

http://www.pictureline.com/digital/d...on/eos20D.html

Cheers,
Frank

[Franglais]

Apologies if this has been posted already. Although not official yet, Canon will be announcing the EOS 20D. Read more on this at below link:

http://www.pictureline.com/digital/d...on/eos20D.html

Cheers,
Frank

All this week I've been asking myself what Canon would come up with to replace the 10D. The key points of this camera:

- 8Mpix sensor
- 100-3200 ISO speed
- still the small sensor format
- at last what appears to be a wide-angle lens suited to the small format
- no mention of whether it supports the short back focus lens of the 300D


This looks about right compared with the Fuji S3 announcement. Now there's only Nikon left to announce the D90 in February (which will probably be very similar to the 20D)

Charles
(Edited to remove comment on pricing compared with the D70)

[Peter_AUS]

Wow,

Now that will address some inherent problems with the 10D, higher Sync Voltage to 250V which is what I have been trying to get out of Canon here. Now they finally admit in that press release there have been Sync Voltage Problems with the 10D that has been affecting the shutter over time, necessitating replacement.

Burst rate to 23 pics, that is impressive and uses similar info to the 1DMKII as well as new RAW, so will be compatible with the new software developed for the 1DMKII.

Still not a whole lot of difference between current 10D and 20D, wight has dropped a few ounzes and it is slightly smaller.

[kafin8ed]

here's some more dirt from a more reputable source...
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/re...0d-part1.shtml

[Liz]

It finally showed up on the Canon website this afternoon.

http://www.usa.canon.com/templatedat...9_eos_20d.html

More cameras/flash announced - check out Canon Press room

http://www.usa.canon.com/html/CIWPRList.jsp?a=b

Have fun all ye Canon lovers..........

Liz

[Photo-John]

CANON'S NEW 8.2-MEGAPIXEL EOS 20D DIGITAL SLR DELIVERS SPEED, PRECISION AND VALUE TO NEWS, WEDDING AND PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHERS

New 8.2-Megapixel EOS 20D Digital SLR Features DIGIC II Image Processor, 9-Point Autofocus and Up to 23 Consecutive Frames at Five Frames Per Second

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y. Aug. 19, 2004 - Designed for advanced amateurs, photojournalists, wedding photographers and professionals who purchase their own equipment, Canon's new EOS" 20D digital SLR combines speed, image quality, ease-of-use, and ruggedness with compact size and light weight to deliver the highest performance in its class. Available in September, the EOS 20D digital SLR will carry an estimated street price of $1,499 without a lens; $1,599 with the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5 -5.6 zoom lens; and $1,999 with the new EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Wide Angle Zoom lens.

The EOS 20D SLR 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. Uncannily responsive, 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.

News Photography/Photojournalism
The new camera's combination of speed and available light shooting capability make it especially appealing to newspaper photographers. Aside from the five frames-per-second burst rate, the EOS 20D digital SLR delivers superb low light performance and exceptionally low noise, even at high ISOs. In fact, images taken at ISO 1600 are approximately equal in noise to those taken with the EOS 10D model at ISO 400. The EOS 20D digital SLR can be used as a backup camera for the high-performance EOS-1D Mark II digital SLR. It is also an excellent choice in its own right for many professional imaging applications where its smaller size and lighter weight give it an edge.

Wedding/Portrait Photography
The Canon designed and manufactured CMOS sensor has a maximum resolution of 3504 x 2336 pixels, which is sufficient for very large prints (up to 16 x 24 inches) with fine detail. Like its big brother, the Canon EOS-1D Mark II, the EOS 20D digital SLR satisfies the wedding photographer's benchmark: facial details in group-shots. The wedding photography business is changing. Consumers are now looking for more natural and candid documentary coverage of their weddings. With the speed and large buffer of the EOS 20D digital SLR, wedding and portrait photographers have a cost effective solution for capturing both posed and candid event photographs.

"Canon continues to endow advanced amateurs, photo enthusiasts and professional photographers with the highest-quality digital SLR cameras available by combining sophisticated camera features with the latest digital imaging technology innovations," said Yukiaki Hashimoto, senior vice president and general manager of the consumer imaging group at Canon U.S.A., Inc., a subsidiary of Canon Inc. (NYSE: CAJ). "In addition, Canon is one of the only companies in the industry that designs and manufactures the three primary components of its digital SLRs: Optics, Image Sensor, and Image Processor."

Canon uses design and technology for customers' sake, not for the sake of technology. Canon has listened to owners of the EOS 10D digital SLR and has considered their opinions carefully. This accounts for the new menu format, the color-coded menu display icons, the reduction of buttons and the addition of the highly efficient Multi-controller, among many other features.

When Size Matters
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.

New 9-Point Autofocus System
The sophisticated 9-point autofocus system has a high-precision cross-type sensor in the center position. This new design seen for the first time in the 20D model provides full cross-type performance with maximum apertures as small as f/5.6, yet it achieves up to 3 times the standard focusing precision when used with EF lenses featuring maximum apertures larger than or equal to f/2.8. A new, convenient Multi-controller provides fast and easy AF point selection.

New High Speed Shutter
The EOS 20D has a newly developed shutter with a top speed of 1/8000 sec., user-settable in 1/3 and 1/2 stop increments (in shutter speed priority AE and manual modes) and a maximum flash synchronization speed of 1/250 sec. First or second curtain flash sync is possible. The shutter's APS-C configuration allows a reduction in the size of the unit, smaller shutter blades with lower inertial mass, and shorter travel distance. Stronger magnets are used for each shutter curtain, permitting better control of the blades. A semiconductor switch replaces the traditional sync contacts, ending scorching and frictional wear while at the same time increasing the limit for trigger circuit voltage to 250V. The result of these changes is a more rugged and reliable shutter unit with substantially improved performance.

EF and EF-S Lenses
Particularly among advanced amateur and professional photographers, there has been a growing need for affordable zoom lenses that support true wide-angle and ultra-wide-angle photography. In response to this market demand and to provide users with a truly comprehensive lens system, Canon has expanded its EF-S lens offerings to now include four lenses - the new EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM and EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM zoom lenses as well as standard and USM versions of the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom lens. (Canon U.S.A., launched the standard EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom lens in August of 2003 in conjunction with the EOS Digital Rebel SLR.) The EOS 20D digital SLR is also fully compatible with all Canon EF lenses and with the entire system of Canon EX Speedlites and accessories, including the new Speedlite 580EX flash.

White Balance Compensation
The EOS 20D camera has professional level white balance controls. In addition to Auto, it has six presets, a Custom setting and direct specification of color temperature. White balance can be corrected for blue, amber, magenta or green; white balance bracketing, up to +/- 3 whole stops, can be performed for magenta-green as well as blue-amber.

Flash Forward: Canon Speedlite 580EX
When the EOS 20D digital camera is used with the built-in flash or the new Speedlite 580EX, color temperature data transmission is enabled. The camera has an extensive complement of white balance controls, processing parameters, bracketing options, shooting modes and custom functions that permit the camera to be configured for any situation; the revised menu format, simplified control layout and clever new Multi-controller make the camera easy to use.

Evolved E-TTL II Flash Exposure Control
Though still compatible with all EX-series Speedlites, the "smarter" E-TTL II system captures the subject as a "plane" and ensures that images containing various colors and levels of reflection are captured accurately and optimally. The system compares the ambient light with the reflected pre-flash off the subject reported in all 35 metering zones and selects the areas with a small difference to be weighted for flash exposure calculation. This system also eliminates or under weights areas with large difference recognizing them as an extremely reflective object in the background or as a highly reflective subject, smartly ensuring it by considering the distance information data provided from compatible EF lenses. The system similarly prevents over-exposure when photographers lock focus and recompose the shot by considering the flash output level calculated according to the broader distance. The camera also allows users to select an average metering pattern by using its custom function settings.

New CMOS Image Sensor and DIGIC II Image Processor
The EOS 20D digital SLR includes Canon's latest CMOS image sensor technology as well as the new DIGIC II Image Processor. The CMOS features high-speed 4-channel data reading, brilliant new microlens technology, a 2nd generation, on-chip noise-reduction circuit, and low-noise, high-speed amp, which produces accurate color, extremely low noise and fast recording even at ISO's of 400 and above. Canon's DIGIC II image processor is without question, the most powerful imaging processor that the company has ever put into a digital camera. It boasts improved color reproduction of high-saturation, bright subjects, improved auto white balance precision, and wider dynamic range in highlight areas. In addition to its image quality improvements, the DIGIC II chip is also responsible for speeding up camera performance in areas such as start-up time, autofocus calculation, card-writing speed, direct printing and data transfer speed through the new USB 2.0 High Speed interface.

New .CR2 Raw Format
The Canon EOS 20D digital SLR incorporates the same new RAW format featured in Canon digital cameras from the EOS-1D Mark II model onward. The file extension is .CR2 (Canon RAW, 2nd edition). The RAW data records the white balance data, processing parameters, and other settings. All these settings can be edited freely with compatible RAW file conversion software such as Canon's EOS Viewer Utility and Digital Photo Professional software, which are supplied with the camera.

Exif 2.21 Metadata and Adobe Color Space
There is no need to worry about color space any longer. The EOS 20D complies with DCF 2.0, revised to support Adobe RGB, and Exif 2.21. Images taken in Adobe RGB will have the Adobe RGB color space information, not the ICC profile, appended to the Exif information. (If Adobe RGB is selected from the 20D digital camera's Color Space menu, all processing parameters are available.) Therefore, applications and devices compatible with DCF 2.0 and Exif 2.21 will be able to handle Adobe RGB in the same way as sRGB. When software compatible with Exif 2.21 is used, images captured with the EOS 20D will open automatically in the Adobe RGB color space. When a printer that complies with Exif 2.21 is used, the printer will adjust the color saturation of the print suitably.

Camera Direct Printing
As with the EOS 10D model, the EOS 20D digital SLR is compatible with PictBridge, CP Direct and Bubble Jet Direct print transfer protocol. It also enables DPOF Print Ordering, Version 1.1. The basic specifications are the same as those of the EOS-1D Mark II digital SLR. Printer communications can be set to Normal or PTP (Picture Transfer Protocol) with the menu's Communication setting (PTP is required for PictBridge direct printing). PictBridge compliant and Compact Photo Direct printers allow up to eight steps of horizontal trimming, up to five steps of vertical trimming, and a range of print sizes.

Updated Software
The EOS 20D will be supplied with the latest versions of Canon's popular Digital Photo Professional and EOS Viewer Utility software, as well as Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 for image editing.

Kit Configurations
The EOS 20D will be available in body-only or two separate zoom lens kit configurations. All three kits include the camera body as well as the BP-511A lithium-ion battery pack, Battery Charger CG-580, USB Cable IFC-400PCU, Video Cable VC-100, a wide neckstrap, 3 software CDs, printed instruction manuals, and a 1-year Canon U.S.A. limited warranty. The first zoom lens kit includes the standard EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lens and the second kit includes the EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Wide Angle Zoom lens.

For more information please visit, www.usa.canon.com

[another view]

And more stuff I saw today: http://www.photo.net/equipment/canon/20D/Looks like you Canon guys are getting a wide angle lens too !

[SmartWombat]

Direct to the product: http://consumer.usa.canon.com/ir/con...&modelid=10464

Now, any rumours about what Nikon will do next?
I'm about 2-3 months away from taking the plunge, providing I can sell the A1 & A2.

[Photo-John]

We should be learning what Nikon has up their sleeve, any day now. The bi-annual Photokina show is in Germany next month. The Canon announcements are in preparation for that show. I'm sure Nikon announcements will follow shortly. There's been a lot of talk about a Nikon D2X. I think that's a pretty sure bet. I don't have any idea what the specs will be like, though.

[SmartWombat]

Thanks!

The one thing that's confusing me is lens mounts.
I'm planning on buying the best body I can afford, either Canon or Nikon.
I think it's down to usability in my rather small hands.
I'm not convinced that either Nikon or Canon has the camera system for sports photography. They seem fiercely competitive, comparable at the same price, and having tried both there's not much difference in image quality with the kit lenses.

But on buying lenses, I want to look forward and invest in glass that can also be used on whatever higher end body I can afford in a few years.

So what are the pitfalls I'm likely to find, after the kit lenses, in buying with a eye to the future?

[bfujii]

here is a link to 3 sample images from the jp website.

http://www.canon.co.jp/Imaging/eos20..._sample-e.html

[Franglais]

Thanks!

The one thing that's confusing me is lens mounts.
I'm planning on buying the best body I can afford, either Canon or Nikon.
I think it's down to usability in my rather small hands.
I'm not convinced that either Nikon or Canon has the camera system for sports photography. They seem fiercely competitive, comparable at the same price, and having tried both there's not much difference in image quality with the kit lenses.

But on buying lenses, I want to look forward and invest in glass that can also be used on whatever higher end body I can afford in a few years.

So what are the pitfalls I'm likely to find, after the kit lenses, in buying with a eye to the future?

If you're looking long term then you should consider lens mounts AND sensor size. I'm going to express sensor size in terms of the multiplication factor compared with 24x36 film (i.e. a 50mm lens on a 1.5x sensor gives you the image you would expect from a 75mm if it was film).

With Nikon it's easy - they have committed to one sensor size (1.5x) and one lens mount for the forseeable future for their whole range. Buy a kit lens or any current Nikon lens and they will work on any digital body.

Canon have three sensor sizes:

1.6x = 30D, 60D, 10D, 20D, 300D
1.3x = 1D Mark II
1.0x = 1Ds

Any of Canon's standard EOS EF lenses will work on any body. However there is now a range of EF-S lenses designed exclusively for the 1.6x sensor which will only fit on the 300D and the 20D. The kit lens that comes with the 300D is an EF-S type so it won't fit on the 10D or the 1D Mark II, for example.

Charles

[SmartWombat]

With Nikon it's easy - they have committed to one sensor size (1.5x) and one lens mount for the forseeable future for their whole range.
Any of Canon's standard EOS EF lenses will work on any body.

However there is now a range of EF-S lenses designed exclusively for the 1.6x sensor which will only fit on the 300D and the 20D.

There's no point for me to buy the EF-S lenses then, thank you.
Particularly since I plan to buy a film body to go with the lenses and digital body.

[Franglais]

There's no point for me to buy the EF-S lenses then, thank you.
Particularly since I plan to buy a film body to go with the lenses and digital body.

Look closely at the tests before buying. Digital sensors are more demanding than film (chromatic aberration should be really low). Don't buy a low-end 28-80 film body kit lens and expect it to excel on a digital body.

I've checked out my film lenses against the press reports and most of them should do fine. When I (finally) buy a digital body I will buy a made-for-digital lens for the shortest focal lengths and for the rest use my film lenses.

Charles

[Peter_AUS]

Already taking pre orders for it here in Australia, expected street price to be $2,599Aus. Not buying one just passing on info for others Aussies.

[berrywise]

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/mul...id=7-6458-7153

The article really heaped a lot of praise on the new camera though they have only had it for a week. I really like the 5 fps mixed with 8MP. This might be the new body I was looking for. I could ebay my D1h for the price of a new one of these. Not so concerned with having a rugged body anymore as I am not shooting for a newspaper these days. I really need more power as magazines have been giving me grief over the output size of my D1h files.

[Clemmie]

Always be wary of those early test reports - as the results are often driven by advertising dollars. Unless you're one of those who just has to be FIRST with something new, it's best to wait for reports from actual users.

While we're talking new products - Minolta will be rolling out their new Dynax/Maxxum 7D at Photokina. With styling and layout based very closely on the popular Maxxum 7 film camera, it is generally known that it will accept all current Maxxum lenses, with an expected 1.5x factor with an APS-sized sensor. Also will have Anti-Shake built into the camera, and thus usable on all lenses.

It has long been rumored it would come in at 6mp, but is now widely rumored that will be 8mp. Most recent price speculation has hovered around the $1499 bracket. Minolta is, as has always been their normal habit, being quite mum on the particulars until the introduction date - thus nothing is 'for sure' until the formal announcement at Photokina.

So if you're sitting on a Maxxum system and have been pondering 'jumping ship' for a DSLR, just hold off a few more weeks before taking the leap. You may be very glad you did. And remember what should be Minolta's formal motto (and has in fact been featured on trade show buttons before): Good Things Come To Those Who Wait.

[Amberchun]

CAN ANYONE HELP ME PLEASE!!!!! I'm in the market to buy a 20D Canon to take proffetional wedding pictures. Can anyone give me some advice as to which lens I should purchase? Would the 17-85mm wide angle lens be good? why or why not? Or should I go with a 18-55mm lens? why or why not? Or any other recomondations. I will be taking pictures inside and outside. If anyone can take the time to inform me I would so greatly appreciate it. Thanks Amber

[Photo-John]

CAN ANYONE HELP ME PLEASE!!!!! I'm in the market to buy a 20D Canon to take proffetional wedding pictures. Can anyone give me some advice as to which lens I should purchase? Would the 17-85mm wide angle lens be good? why or why not? Or should I go with a 18-55mm lens? why or why not? Or any other recomondations. I will be taking pictures inside and outside. If anyone can take the time to inform me I would so greatly appreciate it. Thanks Amber

Amberchun-
This is a news forum. Probably, no one besides me will notice your question here. People are here to look at news on new cameras. You should repost your question on either the Help Files or Digital SLRs forum. You'll definitely get some advice on those boards.