What is the best digital camera under £1K?

Question

I made my mind to buy Canon. But what is the real difference between the EOS 400D and the EOS 30D?? I shoot a lot of landscapes, urban architecture, some portraits and a bit of macro both in B&W and colours.

Answer 1

I'd get the 400D.
The 400D provides a fantastic 10 megapixel sensor in a cheap body. The cameras feels tiny and fragile, and a lot of the controls are tucked away in menus, but it does take magnificent pictures. It also has the same auto-focus system as the more expensive 30D.
The 30D is an 8 megapixel semi-pro camera. It has a metal body vs. plastic, it shoots 5 frames per second vs. 3, it has a deeper buffer for continuous shooting, it has a shutter rated to last 100,000 actuations vs. 50,000, it has buttons & switches to change settings on the fly, the ISO goes up to 3200 vs 1600, and for most uses it's a better camera. The higher price is entirely justified.
The thing is, you don't really need any of those extras. If you're serious about landscape/ architecture/ portrait/ macro photography, you'll be using a tripod 90% of the time. You have all the time in the world to change camera settings, you won't need 5 frames per second, you won't bang your camera into walls, you won't need ISO 3200... you won't need a lot of the extras that the 30D offers. All you need is a great sensor.
In terms of image quality, and at normal ISO settings, the 400D and 30D are equal. And since the 400D has more resolution, in this case the cheaper camera is the better choice. So get the 400D and spend the price difference on lenses.
You'll want a selection of lenses to cover a range from 10mm to about 60mm. (effectively 16-100mm after the 1.6 focal length multiplier) The Canon 10-22mm is a great lens for landscapes and architecture. The Sigma 10-20mm, Tokina 12-24mm, and Tamron 11-18mm are cheaper alternatives. Then add something like a 60mm macro for... well, macro photography and portraits, and perhaps add a cheap standard zoom for a walk around lens.
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ADDED:
James, I just popped back to see what the new response was, and I'm intrigued by your comment that the 30D's sensor is 'quicker and more accurate'. True, at stratospheric ISO levels the 400D's smaller photosites result in more noise. This is why Canon limits the 400D to ISO 1600. But how is the 30D's sensor better from ISO 100 to 400? This is contrary to everything I've read about both models in various reviews, image samples I've seen, and feedback in user forums at places like dpreview.com
I don't have any interest in plugging the 400D... or any Canon, for that matter. I personally use a Nikon D200. I'm just curious if you can elaborate.

Answer 2

Everything OMG I LOVE.... says is true except the bit about the 400D being better in sensor terms. Resolution isn't everything. The 8MP 30D will produce better images because, as the sensors are the same size in both cameras, the individual pixels are bigger on the 30D's sensor and therefore able to react quicker and more accurately.
Make no mistake, the 30D is the better camera in EVERY way. That doesn't mean that the 400D wouldn't be perfectly capable of doing everything you would ask of it though.
It's been said many times before, go to a shop and handle the two side by side. This is a tool you will be living with for a good while and how it feels to use will make a vast difference.

Answer 3

The 30D is considered the more pro of the two, extra metering options and better build quality, little details like pc synch output for flash etc.

The 400D is more recent, with a higher resolution, however the 30D is considered old in DSLR terms and may well be up for replacement in the very near future, any new model is likely to have at least 10MP and perhaps even 12, to raise the bar a bit.

Whichever you buy don't waste any time on the cheap supplied lens, if you can find a body only this is better and put the difference towards a sigma EX f2.8 18-50mm lens instead.

Answer 4

Although the 30D is slightly older and has less mega pixels than the 400D it is a much better camera. it has much better low light performance than the 400D at higher ISO plus spot metering and 8.1 megapixels are more than enough for most peoples needs I would suggest you have a read up at these websites

http://www.photozone.de/active/news/index.jsp
http://www.dpreview.com/
http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/
http://www.clarkvision.com/photoinfo/index.html

Steve

Answer 5

i use the fujifilm s500 10x optical zoom 5.7 mm and it's awesome...i got a new memory card bigger then the one i originally used and the pictures are great...mine was about £500 or so when i first got it...have a look in ARGOS.com, you'll see some nice ones the for less than £1k, believe me you'll be surprised...i do like canon too they are on of the top camera manufacturers, also brother, they make great camera's too....check them out in ARGOS.com...

Answer 6

The new Canon Powershot

Answer 7

Checkout the Nikon D200 10.2MP (Body) Digital Camera .Its pretty awesome .

Answer 8

my suggestion
go to yahoo shopping
digital cameras
digital camera GUIDE
be sure to check titles on the left side
the guide should answer your questions