Canon EOS 300 / Rebel 2000

Author: Tarikh Jumeer, advanced Amateur PHOTO GALLERY Date: Wed, Nov 22, '06 at 11:50 CET
Pro	Light, compact, easy to use, battery grip was widely available and allows use of cheaper batteries, vertical shutter button in the grip, DOF preview button, integrated flash, good kit lens
Contra	bad ergonomics, light construction, dark viewfinder, no custom functions
Thoughts	The EOS 300 was my second SLR camera. I initially bought an EOS 3000 but for some reson, wanted to "upgrade" to the 300. I then realized that there were no big differences between the two. I am no great user of the seven AF points. I like to use the central point and lock focus, so what`s the real utility of 7 points compared to the 3000`s 3 points? The two cameras are rather complete, with the 300 being more complete. Anyway, I took many great pics with this camera. In fact, with such a camera, and with any other, it`s the lens that counts most. With a good, bright lens, this camera is perfect for any non-pro user.
Author: melayu, normal Amateur Date: Sat, Feb 11, '06 at 02:41 CET
Pro	It´s small,light,convinient,with iso setting,aperture button.
Contra	silver.the lens kit is sucks.there is no on offswitching button but instead dial to red or to the .i wish they had the onoff switching button like the nikon so i can switch without to dial to av or m or tv.rubber eye cup easily to be broken.
Thoughts	Throw the lens kit away and take the 50mm f1.8II.Then u´ll know the performance of this camera.I like this camera better than 350D when i got the 50mm onto it.
Author: Jackie, normal Amateur Date: Wed, Oct 19, '05 at 17:45 CEST
Pro	Light-weight cheap
Contra	a little small, especially for vertical shots...
Thoughts	It's a fantastic camera. I've taken some GREAT landscape shots with a 20mm lense. LOVE IT. BUT, if anyone has the manual in English, please email it to me? THanks!!
Author: praxis0344, normal Amateur Date: Thu, Aug 7, '03 at 19:25 CEST
Pro	good autofocus, even in poor light. small enough to carry all day without it becoming annoying. packed with features some of which i have still to use. as an amateur, i couldn't ask for a better camera for the price. so far, it has done everything i have asked of it. battery life is great.
Contra	mostly plastic. grip is made for small hands.
Thoughts	as i have other cameras, i use the rebel 2000 mostly for street photography at night. it focuses fine in low light. i keep an ef 50mm f/1.4 lens on it most of the time, and it has given me some great pictures. it's small enough to conceal under a coat in cooler weather and it is light enough not to bother you as you walk around. so far it has held up wonderfully. it still looks unused even though i have been using it regularly for about a year. nice little camera.
Author: Juan, professional Photographer Date: Tue, May 6, '03 at 05:50 CEST
Pro	cheap, fully auto & manual, many programs, very simple interfaces to select any program or setting, great quality pics at any circunstance
Contra	many plastic, fancy color, small for big handed, battery, the rubber in the "viewer" (sorry Im not so good in English languaje)
Thoughts	is a great camera, I have one since 2001 and I have never had any problem at all, using it a lot, I work with it, partys, marriages etc... and also in my freetime and landscaping, getting really great night exposures with a tripod and self timer. over 5 rolls a weak since 2001 and still new! what is a must: is the battery pack, really a must because of the battery and the extra grip and shutter you get!!!!!
Author: Bob-o, advanced Amateur Date: Thu, Jan 30, '03 at 04:17 CET
Pro	Cheap, lightweight, like the AF, even though its sluggish at times, like the control on the bracketing and the AE comp.
Contra	AF flash assist anoys me, too small for my hands, lack of traditional cable release & X-sync sockets, mirror prism is too dark
Thoughts	even though it is a shade too small for my hands (get the BP-200, yur gonna need it), lack of traditional cable release & X-sync sockets, and the mirror prism is a shade too dark, i like it alot better than any entry level nikon, sigma, or pentax i've used. it just can't take on a Maxxum 5 in preformance, but beats it in that kinda blocky feel, but I'd take ECF(sorry, I like it),IS, and the L series lenses anyday over the Maxxum series (EOS 1V-HS to a Maxxum 9, who wins?)
Author: LL, advanced Amateur Date: Mon, Jan 27, '03 at 01:55 CET
Pro	Depth of field preview. Reliable exposure metering. Fast, 7 points AF. Very small and light, but still ergonomic.
Contra	Still no manual selection of exposure and motor mode. Still no LCD panel light. Still 1/90 sinc. Still no flash compensation. Terrible flash AF auxiliary light.
Thoughts	The only real advantage respect the old 500n is the depth of field preview. Anyway, a good cheap camera.
Author: Martin_B, advanced Amateur Date: Mon, Nov 4, '02 at 12:29 CET
Pro	Light weight Easy to use Has depth of field preview
Contra	35 - 80mm lens is cheap and not great quality. Plastic feel - probably wouldn't survive a drop. Perhaps too lightweight for a heavy lens Viewfinder small and not very bright
Thoughts	Good camera for the money. You would have to pay a lot more money to better it - I'd be tempted to get an EOS 5 or EOS 3 as an upgrade but these cost much more.
Author: Therion, professional Photographer Date: Tue, Jul 9, '02 at 09:31 CEST
Pro	-Good price, -metering system -perfect canon lenses, but don´t buy Canon 28-90!!!! it is really crap, making poor pictures with big distortons and heavy vignetting
Contra	-poor plastic bayonet -poor build -autofocus senzor - hmm, this is not very usable, who has good enough of time to choose the right point of the focus, while watching the composition?
Thoughts	I´m sorry, but I would prefer Minolta Dynax 5 or Pentax MZ-6
Author: Eric Schoonard Date: not recorded
Pro	Cheap, Light weight, Good for beginners
Contra	Auto-focus not precise enough. Kit lens is really bad, flash metering is bad
Thoughts	Only buy if it is the only thing you can afford, better than Nikon N60 worse that N65
Author: Jim Date: not recorded
Pro	Good value for price. A lot of features for the beginners and for more experienced photographers. I take this backpacking and on mtn bike rides. It has never failed me in 2 years.
Contra	Yes, there are a lot of plastic parts, and it won't partially rewind, and the viewfinder is not as bright as the more epensive models, but again, consider the price. However, I do worry about heavy lenses on the plastic lens mount, so I only use them on my Elan body.
Thoughts	If you want pro features, then spend more.
Author: Jan Kowalski Date: not recorded
Pro	Light (easy to carry), cheap (think of losing EOS 1V ;-) ), packed with features. Film pre-wind. Flash AF assist is great, really! Sometimes I use it as a flashlight during night travels. :-))))
Contra	Light :-) (it shakes - must set shorter exposures). Kit lens sucks. Don't leaves end of the film outside the casette. Not too tought - be careful. Plastic lens mount. User setting (time, aperture, EV correction, AF point) resets when swithched to "green" modes.
Thoughts	Very good money value BUT not with the kit lens. Buy a body + 50/1.8 II or better. EOS300+EF50/1.8 II is the lightest SLR set I ever seen.
Author: Vladimir (Slovakia) Date: not recorded
Pro	-
Contra	-
Thoughts	I have the opportunity to buy 1 year old Canon 500N with 28-80 3,5-6 lens and battery pack for 250 USD. Is it a good price for this camera? For another 120 USD the guy offered me 70-300 tele lens. I am new to SLR photography. Do you think I should buy this?
Author: Dmitry Date: not recorded
Pro	The good design, conveniently sits in a hand, is convenient in management, exact enough focussing. Be relative the reasonable price.
Contra	Confuses an abundance of plastic, very easy. Some problems with an automatic exposition under complex(difficult) conditions of illumination. An objective simply awful! On all focal lengths are essential ïîäóøêîîáðàçíûå distortions, at ìàêðîñúåìêå chromatic àáåðàöèè are visible even on a format 10*15. I even have gone to shop where the camera was bought, with the purpose to check up, can to me have got íåêîíäèöèÿ. Still strongly complicates life very low ñâåòîñèëà (f/4 at 28ìì and f/5.6 at 90ìì): at low light exposure of capacity of the built - in flash it is obviously not enough, and at shooting without flash it is necessary to establish too much long endurances(quotations). The basic lack of optics - good objectives have the transcendental prices.
Thoughts	I am deeply disappointed by purchase of this camera. If you removed other camera and want to buy CANON EOS300 you obviously will not accept a regular objective .Òàê as the camera is first of all an objective, and good firm objectives are very dear(expensive), I would recommend to be guided by better optics, and proceeding from this to buy the camera compatible to it(her).
Author: john lanza Date: not recorded
Pro	very affordable lots of features for the price, takes all eos lens easy to use
Contra	plastic lens connection so light it feels like a toy(dont know wether thats a pro or con)
Thoughts	has all the features a serious amature needs. instead of getting an elan used the difference and got a tamron 100-300 lens.
Author: veerpal Date: not recorded
Pro	it's canon sureshot metering price....packed up with nice features best for biggners
Contra	plastic lens mount....though I used it very roughly and every night it was by my side....SAFE
Thoughts	very nice camera and give excellent results...at this price, no other camera can beat it....best for the serious starters....easy to use and all features are placed very well.....best buy
Author: Venkat Date: not recorded
Pro	unbelievable value for money.very light. evaluative metering is gr8. gr8 economical way to learn concepts of SLR photography. even if u do pick up a few lenses now, when u grow into a better body, the lenses can always be used.
Contra	build quality could have been better. flash sync is supposedly less. (though i haven't reached the threshold yet..but i realise it IS less) .. flash use info on viewfinder could be better. it could have a film leader "out" function-that would have been real useful. no LCD light up display-gets a bit difficult in the darkness for beginners especially who need to check whats happening with the settings b4 an exposure. however its better than that of the nikon f-65. no manual cntrol of flash curtain sync with built in flash. the f-65 does that.
Thoughts	all in all i'm DAMN SATISFIED.got myself a EF 50mm f1.8 II...awesome combination. don't think will use the zoom that came with the kit anymore. the above cons aren't really major issues...almost all of them have workarounds.
Author: Lee Shively Date: not recorded
Pro	Low cost. Light weight. Good ergonomics. It uses all my EOS lenses, including the "L-series". Lots of good features usually not included at this price level. Resulting photos are as good as those from my more expensive EOS cameras.
Contra	Not a build quality to inspire confidence (plastic lens mount, etc.). No mirror lock up. Focus point sensors do not light up. No thumb dial on the camera back which causes some "fiddling" with the controls at times.
Thoughts	I bought this silly little camera to have one handy during those times I do not want to carry a camera. I really fell in love with it in no time. I can carry it with Canon EF 35, 50, 28-105 & 100-300 lenses, filters and film in a small Lowepro Nova 2 bag which weighs next to nothing and can be handy at all times. It doesn't look like a "serious" camera which is an asset when I don't want to draw attention. The resulting photographs have been excellent which is the best comment I can make.
Author: ang Date: not recorded
Pro
Contra
Thoughts	There's no FLASH EXPOSURE COMPENSATION. BUT you can easily solve the problem (as I do) with the manual ISO setting! Eg. Using ISO200 film and wanting +1EV compensation you can easily set it to ISO 100, and it'll be nice.
Author: Barbar Onan Date: not recorded
Pro	cheap
Contra	mirror sucks, too dar viewfinder, poor plastic body, AF sucks - with so many points of focusing you will never know where this shit focused, only central one is usable, slow motor, DOF preview sucks, on big apertures viewfinder is so f´n dark
Thoughts	it´s shit suitable for amateurs and babys
Author: Ferry de Leur. Date: not recorded
Pro	I have the EOS300 with the newest Tamron XR 28-200mm lens about 8 months, and a love it more and more. Light and easy to use.
Contra	The built-in flash is anoying when it pops out.
Thoughts	Check www.ferrydeleur.nl for some result taken with the Canon EOS 300 with the newest Tamron XR 28-200mm lens.
Author: Josh Rael Date: not recorded
Pro	-
Contra	-
Thoughts	This is a good camera for the beginner such as me! It takes better pictures than my wifes point & shoot. I also recommend reading John Shaw's Nature Photography Field Guide, to quickly increase your knowledge if you are new to photography.
Author: Stefan Date: not recorded
Pro	Light, not expensive, therefore fine for hiking or backpacking. Quite a lot of nice features like DOF preview. Battery pack for AA size batteries available.
Contra	Slow X-sync (1/90) My camera leaves scratches on the first 5 frames of every roll of film. I guess, there is a sharp corner in the surface behind the film reel. Seems to be a rather commen problem (see other reviews on this page). The sevice dept. (CANON Europhoto Germany) proved repeatedly unable to fix that problem. problem.
Thoughts	Could be quite a nice camera, but the problem with the scratches (see above) is disappointing. On print films it is probably hardly visible, but be careful when shooting slide films. CANON service was not helpful.
Author: Rene & Angela Date: not recorded
Pro	Just bought it... looks great, feels light and we're really looking forward shooting some pics!
Contra	Only Dutch manual included... Looking for an English manual. Portuguese would be even better. If anyone has it in a digital form, please e-mail to [email protected] Thanks alot!
Thoughts	We bought just the body cause we preferred the newest Tamron XR lens. Hope we love it...
Author: William Tsui Date: not recorded
Pro	A SLR with professional features like DOF preview at a budget price.7 focusing points very convenient to use. command dial quite hard to turn
Contra	max.flash syn. speed too slow. centerweighted average metering only available in manual mode. no manual lift of the flash viewfinder offers 90% image area only no cable release socket,only remote switch<-expensive
Thoughts	very suitable for beginners and would-be pros. budge-priced,still rooms for improvements
Author: Sanjin Date: not recorded
Pro	I just got it recently, and what can I say - I love it. If you're looking for a best buy camera, look no more. It's packed with features that you'll not find in other cameras in this price range.
Contra	Hate the plastic. Hope it lasts.
Thoughts	IF ANYONE HAS THE USER MANUAL IN ENGLISH, PLEASE EMAIL IT TO ME - [email protected] It's my first Canon and my manual is in German.
Author: Juergen Dittes Germ Date: not recorded
Pro	Fast AF, the depth of field preview unexpensive, accurate
Contra	If you use it in combination with an heavyer lens and a bigger flashlite like th 420EZ or the 540EZ... the Body is to light. Most of th wight is to far away fom the hand.
Thoughts	I like the camera but the plastic hull is not very good. But it is perfect for beginners (as me) or as a second camera.
Author: Glenn. Sweden Date: not recorded
Pro	Light,accurate,unexpensive
Contra	Cheap biulding quality, my 1000 F was better No good biult in flash, dark viewfinder
Thoughts	A bit underexposed, I use +1 when shooting slides. AND my 300 leaves one or two nasty "telephonewires" on almost every picture. Apperently this is something not so unusual! BUT I have shot a number of great pictures so the camera itself is well worth the money.
Author: Svante, Sweden Date: not recorded
Pro	Aim and shot and camera always used the right exposure. That was my experience after 35 rolls of slide in Borneo last summer. OK, I am still a beginner, but I could´t not complain about one thing except...
Contra	...that the b..(foul word) actually scratched my film. Some of my wonderful shots from the top of Mt Kinabalu has got a "telephone-wire" separating the top one-fifth of the picture from the rest. A handful of pictures from every one of my last 10 rolls was like that. Of course I sent it to repair and Canon admitted it was the... (not sure if I use the correct translation here)..."pressureplate" that keeps the film in place that did the damage. So they changed it for free and added the comment "Extremely unusual". So far so god, but the thing is, the "telephone-wire" was there again on my last roll. OK, very very indistinct and I wouldt have seen it on a colourprint. But on a slide you can!
Thoughts	So my verdict can only be that they have put a wonderful camera in a very very fragile shell. After 1½ year the silvercolour on the top of it is flaking off, and I can only asume that is synonymous with the rest of the fragile plastic inside it. Since then have have bought myself an eos 30 which has become my new housegod. To compare the wonderful silent motion of the film with the 30 with the terrible noise of the 300 is like comparing a big silent cat to a small barking dog. Yes the 30 is twice as expensive as the 300, but I sincerly believe it will hold 10 times as long.
Author: Dr. Stephen Wilson Date: not recorded
Pro	Very well-made and works great 99% of the time. (Even I dont work all that great 90% of the time!) Added a Sigma 70-300 mm DL Macro Super (Wonderful!!) and a Vivitar Series 1, 19-35 Wide-angle zoom, 7-element TelePlus C-IX 2-X convertor. Have had some REALLY GREAT insect and people shots. I run strictly ASA 400 print film and then scan into my comuter at 600-plus dpi for publications.
Contra	The autoexposure has problems when shooting into shade from a sunny position, but then most cameras do. Solution? Force flash on. The standard batteries are very expensive here in Mexico ($17.50 US each and it takes two!) I added the BP-200 bottom battery pack, which takes 4 AA batteries and they lasted some 23 rolls of film. Also love the extra shutter release on the battery pack for vertical shooting.
Thoughts	Bpought the camera in Singapore, and used it quite extensively in Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore and here in Mexico. GREAT CAMERA!! Just upgraded to an EOS-3. I would highly recomend for first-timers, or even a backup for advanced users. I lent it to my teen-age son,and he took some great photos with little previous experience. The camera survived him!!
Author: unknown (legacy entry) Date: not recorded
Pro	Excellent metering, depth of focus control button (rare in this class)
Contra	Noisy, heavy mirror vibration
Thoughts	plastic lense mount gave me some sleepless night before buying the camera, but it is no problem at all I found after 2 years of usage.
Author: unknown (legacy entry) Date: not recorded
Pro	Great camera. Very good auto-focus (APART FROM IN LOW-LIGHT SITUATIONS!). Unbeleivably accurate + versatile evaluative metering for a camera of its price. Very light weight, but reliable nevertheless.
Contra	The 28-80 USM V lense with which the EOS300 is often packaged is a simply DREADFUL lense. It produces almost universally 'bad' results. The lack of sharpness is pronounced at all focal lengths + in most shooting conditions + even at the supposedly optimum aperature (f8). Poor build quality + serious distortion at 28-35mm. My advice: get another lense, ANY other lense, with this camera! That way, you'll see what it's capable of!
Thoughts	Great camera. Few weaknesses, apart from low-light focussing. Plastic lense mount shouldn't be an issue. Remember, Cannon budget lenses are surprisingly poor quality. Invest on something better: e.g. A 50mm 1.4/1.8 + a 28mm 2.8. ...or a 28-135 IS USM (this lense is good, but not all that it's been made out to be). Image quality is above average, no question. But it's nothing spectacular. Good value for the price, though.
Author: unknown (legacy entry) Date: not recorded
Pro	Great camera, which makes it almost impossible to take a bad shot.
Contra	28-80 zoom lens received was faulty, but was replaced by supplier. This was ahowever cause for concern as general quality is not very good.
Thoughts	Otherwise - I'm most pleased with the product.
Author: unknown (legacy entry) Date: not recorded
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Contra	-
Thoughts	Overall, it is the best buy with the included functions against the price. It really can fulfill the need of amateur or 'semi-pro' photographers. However, the difficulty in using the AF spots at dark is still a room for improvsment. It is suggested to have superimpose light in the AF spots for confirmation of focus rather than by the indicator underneath the viewfinder, just like the EOS 30, 50, 5, 1N, 1V, 3..... The 1/90 max. flash sync is far from satisfaction. It would be better if it got 1/125s.
Author: unknown (legacy entry) Date: not recorded
Pro	-
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Thoughts	"i've had my EOS 300 for months now.....which proves that all that bickering about the plastic body and lens mount is bunk." Shady, how about waiting until you've had the camera for a year or two before deciding if "bickering about the plastic body and lens mount is bunk"? Canon apparently think it's not bunk, and loudly advertise that fact in the EOS-30 brouchure, where they loudly sings the praise of metal. - Tuesday, December 05, 2000 at 01:15:05 (PST) well, i'm a semi-professional photojournalist from Amman, Jordan, and i've had my EOS 300 for months now. to tell you the truth, i've done so beautiful things with it that even the guys with EOS 1Vs and Nikon F5s envied me! its a great camera, not only for beginners, but also for the most demanding of situations. i've taken it through everything from simple ceremonies to dusty desert auto races and violent street demonstrations, and i still have it on my bedside table every night, which proves that all that bickering about the plastic body and lens mount is bunk. as for the manual, i have it in english, and i'll try to scan it in ASAP, so i could send it to all of you who need it.
Author: unknown (legacy entry) Date: not recorded
Pro	-
Contra	-
Thoughts	Have my camera for 13 months now but I had to bring it to Canon three times till now!!! Shit! My brother owns a canon eos 650 for over 12 years now and he never had to let it check! I don´t know what went wrong with my camera, somthing with the AF is damaged! I`M SO DISAPPOINTED!!! I think about upgrading to the new eos 30.
Author: unknown (legacy entry) Date: not recorded
Pro	small, light, has everything you 'really' need including depth of field preview and settings lock
Contra	poor built in flash, no continuous autofocus, no mirror lockup, no shutter speeds faster than 1/2000.
Thoughts	Have mine for a month now. Together with the 28-135 mm IS lens, it's an excellent package for everyone who can do without pro features. The IS lens is a babe and I can take sharp landscape pictures even up 1/8th of a second.
Author: unknown (legacy entry) Date: not recorded
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Thoughts	Great first camera, packed with (almost) all the features. Only other things I would have appreciated are 1) mirror lockup, and 2) ability to handle infra-red film. You can't beat the light weight and price.
Author: unknown (legacy entry) Date: not recorded
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Thoughts	Bought mine yr ago. I have to say I'm very pleased, the plastic frame doesn't bother me, metal was the material of the previous century anyway =) (read: Plastics, carbon fibre - the future) With the added battery pack, the grip is very good. You won't find better within it's price class. Hint: Don't take the optics it's most commonly bundled with. I changed the 75-300 EF II to 70-200 f4 L and can't wait to have my first slides taken... =)
Author: unknown (legacy entry) Date: not recorded
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Thoughts	Even too small with the vertical grip. Not a serious camera, it´s more technique-toy for me. Sold....
Author: unknown (legacy entry) Date: not recorded
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Thoughts	my a2e broke so i grabbed this at the last moment . pluses 1 price 2 easy to use 3 minus's 1 no spot metering and thier partial metering is just too vague in the area covered 3 tends to over expose by 1/2-2/3 stops
Author: unknown (legacy entry) Date: not recorded
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Thoughts	I bought one 2 months ago. I'm really satisfied with it, great camera. There's only one little nasty thing: I feel like pictures are underexposed by -1/2. No problem, it can be corrected at developing the photos, but I don't know if it's my paranoia or is it a true problem. If anyone runs into the same problem, please drop me a line: Tamas Rell [email protected]
Author: unknown (legacy entry) Date: not recorded
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Thoughts	my a2e broke on my way to a shoot so i picked a 2ooo up spur of the moment.the only feature on themore expensive camera I miss is spot metering but this is partially compesated for by the way it works with my 330ex flash .At night I can do things with it I can't do on the more expensive camera . over all I'd say it's the best camera for the money you can buy -high end features at a budget price !!!!!
Author: unknown (legacy entry) Date: not recorded
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Thoughts	I bought one last week. It produced good pictures under tricky light. It is multy-feature, easy to use. I love it.
Author: unknown (legacy entry) Date: not recorded
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Thoughts	imho: 1) Very-very good beginner camera (since probably the best is a good fully manual camera). Smart novices don't part with their bucks for that cheapo zoom in the original kit. Instead, if willing to learn, buy the cheapo but performing EF 50/1.8 and get unbeatable weight/price/performance. If you need even-more good and very-good pictures in the end, count on no beer for a while and spend the greens for a EF 28-135/3.5-5.6 USM IS or EF 24-85/3.5.-4.5. Now, for some time you won't have to buy anything really expensive. Any of these lenses + this little camera will give you a totally auto-anything manual como and more good shots per reasonable film than anything else on for that money. Really. 2) The best third camera for a Canon pro (since the best second camera is likely the same model as the main shooting machine). Because of the unbelievably light weight and compact size this thingy goes with you almost anywhere. And it costs almost nothing, so it can surely take THE shots. And you WILL smile when you WILL put 550EX flash on top of it behind 17-35L zoom. I did.
Author: unknown (legacy entry) Date: not recorded
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Thoughts	Small, but packed with (almost) all features one may expect a middle class camera to have. Main its disadvantage is the absence of mirror pre-fire and metal mount: 35 zone evaluative metering makes spot (I mean true 2-3% spot) metering virtually unnesessary. I still do not know if it lacks second curtain sync., but I also do not remember any case I used it. Anyway it seems to be the best camera for it's price.