Canon EOS 10D Digital Camera Review

Introduction

This review isn't meant to be a regurgitation of what you've probably already read online and elsewhere about the Canon 10D. What it is meant to be is the following:

  1. A direct comparison of the Canon 10D and 35mm film (no, I'm not going to line them up pixel by pixel... I'm going to make a subjective judgement as to how the prints and digital files compare).

  2. A assesment of the 10D on its prowess as a camera used for the type of shooting I like to do... which is just about everything, but with a heavy emphasis on street work.

Overview

What is the Canon 10D? Well, if you don't know, you might want to read up on it at www.dpreview.com. His review is more in depth than anything I'd care to write here. At the highest level, it's the successor to the Canon D60, and Canon's latest "consumer" level digital SLR. It's got all the latest gizmos, including a 6.3mpx imaging sensor.

Let's jump into the meat of things now...

First Impressions

Please note that I'm not using any sort of methodology to test this equipment. I won't be shooting line charts or anything ridiculous like that (and yes, I think shooting line charts is a bloody waste of time). Whether or not a camera suits your style and expectations is a very personal matter, so in that regard, my findings are probably only useful to myself. Never the less, I'll continue in the hopes that perhaps you'll find my experiences with this camera of some interest.

What do I think of the 10D? Very impressive. It's solid... very solid. It's also not too big, which is a good thing. People tend to expect SLR's to be big and heavy these days. Heavy I don't mind too much, because some weight on a camera is necessary to provide a good stable platform for shooting. But bulky I don't like. And the 10D isn't bulky at all. In fact, Canon appears to have offset the lens quite far to the left of the body, leaving a nice hand grip, but not alot of extra meat on the camera. It's very compact, and ergonomically fits the hand very well. So we're off to a good start.

I only have one lens for this camera (discounting the other EOS lenses my fiancee has for her Elan II, which I'll probably use as well): the 28mm f/2.8. This is one of the ultimate bargains in EOS lenses, along with the plasticky but very good 50mm f/1.8 and the outstanding 50mm f/1.4. While the 28mm f/2.8 isn't a USM lens, it nevertheless focuses quickly and quietly. Build quality is also good compared to other EOS lenses... it certainly doesn't feel like it's going to fall apart at any moment like the 50mm f/1.8 does. At about $140, the 28mm f/2.8 is a great buy. Mounted on the 10D (which has a 1.6x muliplier... again, read up on dpreview if you don't know what I'm talking about), the 28mm lens provides a 45mm field of view. For me this is perfection. When it comes to lenses, I've learned over the years that I only shoot with 2 focal lengths 99.9% of the time... 50mm and 35mm. So, if I had to pick only one lens to use forever and ever, 45mm would be it.

The 10D and the 28mm f/2.8 pair up well, and together make an astoundingly small package. Certainly smaller and easier to carry than the Mamiya 7, and it really isn't much bigger than a Leica.

Pros/Cons

Fast forward to the end of my first day shooting with the 10D:

Cons:

  1. Autofocus. You'll find this listed in the "Pros" section as well. Sometimes it's fantastic, other times it's a hinderance. But you can't really have it both ways, so don't consider this a complaint so much as my split personality getting the better of me.

  2. Lots of buttons. Sometimes it can be confusing as to what button does what, at least initially. After some use, I'm sure all the functions will become second nature, but you can get bogged down in them at first.

  3. Viewfinder. The viewfinder isn't a whole lot better than, say, my Contax G2's. It's small, doesn't offer much eye relief, and you have to have your eye perfectly centered behind it or the image will look blurry. That being said, I've used plenty of cameras with worse, so it's not that big a deal to me, but other people might not like it.

  4. Storage. I've got a single 512MB flash card. Shooting in Large/Fine jpeg mode, that gives me about 120 shots per card, or the equivalent of about 3.5 rolls of film or so. Not bad, especially when you consider that I can review the images I've shot and delete the obvious junk. But it's harder to just pop into the local Walmart and plunk down another $120 on another flash card (although it's certainly getting easier). I'll likely buy another 512MB card before going on any trips.

  5. Archiving. Not really a shot against this camera, but against digital itself. You've got to store your "negatives" somewhere. In traditional film photography, you stick them in a binder. Done, end of story. With digital, you're committed to archiving your files onto hard disk, making backups of that data, and upgrading when the situation demands it of you to keep all your data accessible. Not for the non-computer savvy.

Pros:

  1. Handles well. It isn't heavy. In fact, it doesn't weigh any more than my Leica, which is fantastic.

  2. LCD review. This is another of those features you need to be careful with. You can get so lost in looking at what you shot that you forget to keep shooting. But if you're out and about being methodical in your work, it can be a big help to go back and review what you've already shot and evaluate any changes you want to make.

  3. No film changes.

  4. Image quality! Wow... this is where things start to get really impressive. Photo quality 8x12's are possible with no resizing in Photoshop (meaning the image out of the camera will provide an 8x12 with 240ppi or more). They can be resized and printed up to 12x18 with some interpolation and still look really good.

  5. ISO on the fly. Ever get stuck with 100ASA film in the camera when the clouds show up, or you have to go inside and shoot? I hate that. You end up either not shooting, or rewinding mid-roll, putting in a roll of 400, trying to mark the old roll so you don't double expose any of the shots you alread took, etc. etc... in short, a big pain in the ass. With the 10D, that's no longer an issue. You can shoot from ISO 100 to ISO 3200 on a shot-to-shot basis!

  6. ISO 3200. Speaking of ISO range, the 10D has true ISO ranges from 100-1600, with the added bonus of an ISO expansion to 3200. In a word, AMAZING! The ISO 3200 shots have grain, but no more than what I'd expect from ISO 400 or 800 B&W film. Shots taken at ISO 3200 provide great prints. I'm truly astounded by this. Not to mention that ISO's 100-400 show almost no grain, and 800 only marginal.

The Final Word

Buy one. It's not cheap, so don't sell your soul to Lucifer or anything, but if you can, I highly recommend it. It opens up a whole new world in terms of shooting that can be very enlightening. But remember... people take great photos, not cameras. It's a great tool, but it won't make your work any better.

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