I need help deciding....

[Bartelby]

Sorry to ask a dumb question, but I am stuck and need a nudge in the right direction.

I have a Sony Cybershot and then bought a Minolta Z1 (which is just starting to act funky) but I would like to move onto a nice SLR as I have had a lovely time with my old 35mm.

Anyways, I was stuck between the EOS 20d and the Minolta 7d before I was told that the Cannon has had problems with colour clarity during processing (I cant find anything to back this up though?) and then the local *expert* couldnt tell me the difference between the Minolta 5d and 7d...so I am confused

I will be using the camera for people and sports (I event horses) but I like to do some creative shots for framing and I have just taken up scrapbooking blah blah blah.

Price wise, I am in Australia so looking at $2700AUD for the EOS 20d, $2200 for the Minolta 7d (with 18-70mm lens) and $1300 for the 5d (with 18-70mm lens).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Lexie

[Franglais]

Sorry to ask a dumb question, but I am stuck and need a nudge in the right direction.

I have a Sony Cybershot and then bought a Minolta Z1 (which is just starting to act funky) but I would like to move onto a nice SLR as I have had a lovely time with my old 35mm.

Anyways, I was stuck between the EOS 20d and the Minolta 7d before I was told that the Cannon has had problems with colour clarity during processing (I cant find anything to back this up though?) and then the local *expert* couldnt tell me the difference between the Minolta 5d and 7d...so I am confused

I will be using the camera for people and sports (I event horses) but I like to do some creative shots for framing and I have just taken up scrapbooking blah blah blah.

Price wise, I am in Australia so looking at $2700AUD for the EOS 20d, $2200 for the Minolta 7d (with 18-70mm lens) and $1300 for the 5d (with 18-70mm lens).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Lexie

Nobody answered. I don't have any of these cameras but the latest Chasseurs d'Images has a comparison with these cameras in it so to resume:

- if there was something wrong with the 20D we would have heard about it. This is a mature design and a lot of people have been doing good work with it. People say it's due for replacement next year and prices are already falling in Europe.

- the 7D is comparable with the 20D. On the plus side it has built-in vibration reduction system that works with all lenses. On the minus side it has 6Mpix rather than the 8Mpix of the 20D but this is not a big deal. Sometimes next year it should get the 10MPix sensor from the D200.

- the 5D is a cheaper 7D with a crummy viewfinder and different controls. Otherwise it does the same job.

My own thoughts:

Minolta is a niche player in the DSLR world and I would be afraid of them going out of business one day. Canon will always be there but the 20D plus image stabiliser lens is far more expensive than the 7D - and it will lose value very quickly if the replacement camera has a full-frame 24x36mm sensor.

Charles

[JSPhoto]

The problems the 20D has had is with the AF and lens errors (ie err99 ). It's not a color issue. Bot much to it and Canon does repair it ASAP if it pops up. I haven't heard of any problems lately so they must have finally fixed in the production line as well.

JS

[SmartWombat]

Canon for me. I've been using my 20D for a year now and have shot over 20,000 pictures.
Colour rendition is subjective, your expert may not like the "correct" colours - preferring more vibrant colours or more contrast.
Shoot in RAW mode and then in post processing you can do what you want.
Or get the colour, sharpness, contrast settings to your preferences through the camera menu if you shoot JPEG files.
I don't think there's anything wrong with the camera, but it is a complicated piece of equipment and you can look forward to seriously studying the manual (you should for any camera) to get the best out of it.
I've had mnine a year and just about know how to handle it without looking or even thinknig sometimes. That's when the camera stops getting in the way of making good images.

[Bartelby]

Thanks so much for the replies

I will go have another play with the 20D I am glad to hear that there doesnt seem to be any problems that are worth worrying about!