1st hands on impression of 400d at comex

[panzerpunk]

Good to see people resisting the BBB virus. Our cell surface recognition proteins are working well :thumbsup:

 

[wanzw]

well for me i have chosen to get the 400D instead of the D80 primarily because of budget constrains. 600 dollars is A LOT. i have used enough canon cameras, i guess i will just stick to it.

perhaps 2 to 3 years down the road i can upgrade my body to semi pro liao.

 

[cire07]

Hi guys,

I haven't been to COMEX yet, but i'm also hankering for a DSLR... torn between Nikon and Canon at the moment... a fren of mine mentioned Canon's CMOS being superior over Nikon's CCD? Should that be a concern?

My 1st SLR (film, not digital), was a Canon AE-1... abt a decade ago... haha... so kinda sentimental over the Canon brand... but curious over what makes pple choose Nikon over Canon instead... any comments?

All this 350D... 400D... D80...30/40D etc etc... it's starting to max me out...

:dunno:

 

[wanzw]

hi, i think there will not be any more 400D available until the end of sep. at least that was what the sales people there told me. i am not sure about the quota over at other camera stores though.

 

[cadence]

Hmmm.... that wasn't what they told me.

They said there are 100 sets for sale during the COMEX. And the 100 sets will arrive on 14 Sep. Confirmed.

Then on 25 Sep, 400D will be officially launched. Those who buy it then will have to wait 1 month for the shipment.

So which is the case? :dunno:

 

[USM]

Hi guys,

I haven't been to COMEX yet, but i'm also hankering for a DSLR... torn between Nikon and Canon at the moment... a fren of mine mentioned Canon's CMOS being superior over Nikon's CCD? Should that be a concern?

My 1st SLR (film, not digital), was a Canon AE-1... abt a decade ago... haha... so kinda sentimental over the Canon brand... but curious over what makes pple choose Nikon over Canon instead... any comments?

All this 350D... 400D... D80...30/40D etc etc... it's starting to max me out...

:dunno:

Brother, you want to know the answer before purchase? Join us for the Canon Users outing and find out yourself.

 

[thw]

You are right about that. 400D is a buy and regret later kinda camera

I have the 350D and absolutely do NOT have the buy-and-regret-later syndrome. As a matter of fact, after handling the 400D, 30D, D80 and D200 today, I am certain I will pick the 400D again if I am starting from scratch. Why? The weight and size are just excellent.

To be fair, I find the Pentax K100D and Oly E500 to have better ergonomics. The Nikon DSLRs are just too big and bulky.

I chose D80 purely for perfromance, features that appeal to shooters thats been shooting for awhile. Just basics alone, metering & grid will be helpful when shooting.

The grid lines on the D80 turn out to be USELESS because they correspond to the quarter positions rather than the rule of thirds. Sigh... Also, spot metering is an over-rated and practically useless feature, just like mirror-lock-up on the Canon DSLRs.

I am however impressed with the ISO 800 performance on both D80 and 400D.

Not trying to say 400D no good, but in the long run D80 will be more useful when buyer starts to pickup photography skills. And its comes with a useable and useful kit lens :bsmilie:

I believe the Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 and Tokina 16-50 f/2.8 lenses are likely to be better than the Nikon 18-135 kit lens. ;p But I love the idea of using an 18-200 VR lens as a walkabout.

 

[kross]

Also, spot metering is an over-rated and practically useless feature, just like mirror-lock-up on the Canon DSLRs.

imo, these are some of the most important functions for a macro/nature shooter.....

 

[+evenstar]

imo, these are some of the most important functions for a macro/nature shooter.....

even landscape and product shooters

 

[myloplex]

what's the shutter sound like? LOUD ?

 

[J-Chan]

sounds almost the same as the 350D..

 

[CreaXion]

I have the 350D and absolutely do NOT have the buy-and-regret-later syndrome. As a matter of fact, after handling the 400D, 30D, D80 and D200 today, I am certain I will pick the 400D again if I am starting from scratch. Why? The weight and size are just excellent.

A matter of opinion when comes to handling. Some prefer big cameras while some small. In general, mature shooters would prefer bigger bodies as it allows the body to be stable when snapping and hence preventing handshakes during slow speed shooting. Some pp regret the light weightedness of the camera after some time. For me 350D is just too small and when u mount the L lens, it became imbalance resulting in strain of the wrist. The front part is just too heavy for the hands to hold properly. This also happens even when I was using my 30D body. Problem only resolved when I mount the vertical grip.

 

[TrailsofLife]

Shall refrain from firing back to thw. But like what Creaxion says, the time will come when you'll want those features that you said useless.

 

[CreaXion]

The grid lines on the D80 turn out to be USELESS because they correspond to the quarter positions rather than the rule of thirds.

Grid lines are never useless. If u do table shots, dais shots, stage shots, u will appreciate the grid lines. Can u imagine in a comunity function where u shoot hundred of table shots and u have to realign them in photoshop:sweat: or when the stage is never straight? Group shots on the stage where u need to see the banner? Many many more. Rule of the thirds is generally used for art but when comes to practical photography, u need both.

 

[thw]

A matter of opinion when comes to handling. Some prefer big cameras while some small. In general, mature shooters would prefer bigger bodies as it allows the body to be stable when snapping and hence preventing handshakes during slow speed shooting..

I find it harder to keep camera stable when it's too heavy. The same irony applies to the 70-200 f/2.8 IS lens.

For me 350D is just too small and when u mount the L lens, it became imbalance resulting in strain of the wrist. The front part is just too heavy for the hands to hold properly. This also happens even when I was using my 30D body. Problem only resolved when I mount the vertical grip.

I agree when you try to mount a heavy lens on the 350D body, it feel very unbalance and awkward.

But as you say, some prefer smaller cameras while others want something light. I use my camera mostly when travelling and therefore appreciate smaller bodies more than the heavy ones.

 

[thw]

Can u imagine in a comunity function where u shoot hundred of table shots and u have to realign them in photoshop:sweat:

Leveling and aligning seems very easy to me. Hmmm...

 

[CreaXion]

I find it harder to keep camera stable when it's too heavy. The same irony applies to the 70-200 f/2.8 IS lens.



I agree when you try to mount a heavy lens on the 350D body, it feel very unbalance and awkward.

But as you say, some prefer smaller cameras while others want something light. I use my camera mostly when travelling and therefore appreciate smaller bodies more than the heavy ones.

That will explain a lot cause u are not involve in professional photography. Can u imagine every week u have to bear with the imbalance weight when shooting events?

The first statement u made regarding the irony is not an irony cause it is due to the CG's problem. That is why they invented the monopods. What we are talking abt is the CG of the camera when mounted with general lenses.

I am using the Sigma 70 to 200 2.8 and F4L 70 to 200 for my two Nikon and Canon bodies. The weight of the camera body itself allows me to have a more balanced grip. My apollo grip on my D70s is only used as a weight so that it can counter heavy lenses (The vertical button is useless.) I have tried mounting the F4L 70 to 200 on 350D before and it is really straining on the wrist. I am not sure whether u are a guy or not but generally guys have big hands and they will therefore appreciate big grips. For girls, I would suggest smaller grips so that they can grip their camera properly

 

[CreaXion]

Leveling and aligning seems very easy to me. Hmmm...

Not everybody have the eyes to start with. I for one have difficulty aligning. It took me quite sometime and now I am independent of the grid lines. Therefore, your talk abt grid lines are misleading to newbies.

 

[unseen]

That will explain a lot cause u are not involve in professional photography. Can u imagine every week u have to bear with the imbalance weight when shooting events?

Not everybody have the eyes to start with. I for one have difficulty aligning. It took me quite sometime and now I am independent of the grid lines. Therefore, your talk abt grid lines are misleading to newbies.

:bsmilie: haha I believe most of your comments are misleading to the newbies too. I'd safely say ALMOST all the newbies are not involved in professional photography, so they will never have the issue of imbalanced weight etc..

In fact, I believe most newbies would not be able to afford expensive lenses, so your statements are further misleading. They're more likely to be buying consumer lenses, with which a heavy body is a chore and is more likely to destroy their shots, granted that they're unlikely to have been carrying 2kg of camera equipment to shoot before their 1st dSLR.

With the mindset of a newbie going from a small PnS with which they can get excellent photos (and more often than not, better photos than 1/2 the dSLR users in CS), a heavy camera is likely to be unweldy. Experienced photographers often fail to consider that.

Don't think anyone will admit it, but carrying a heavy camera + heavy lens kills a photographer faster than a light camera + heavy lens. Even more true if the photographer is a new SLR user.

As for the camera feature sets.. I believe ANY of the dSLRs are with MORE than enough features that most newbie will touch for a long time. In fact, AFAIK and AFAIsee.. more than half of the current day photographers with dSLR are shooting only in program mode/auto mode. (their logic: Get dSLR liaoz, cannot screw up shots, so better be safe) As can be seen, their main point of having a dSLR is.. because they can afford it, not because they really want to do something with it, or learn to use it.

 

[CreaXion]

:bsmilie: haha I believe most of your comments are misleading to the newbies too. I'd safely say ALMOST all the newbies are not involved in professional photography, so they will never have the issue of imbalanced weight etc..

In fact, I believe most newbies would not be able to afford expensive lenses, so your statements are further misleading. They're more likely to be buying consumer lenses, with which a heavy body is a chore and is more likely to destroy their shots, granted that they're unlikely to have been carrying 2kg of camera equipment to shoot before their 1st dSLR.

With the mindset of a newbie going from a small PnS with which they can get excellent photos (and more often than not, better photos than 1/2 the dSLR users in CS), a heavy camera is likely to be unweldy. Experienced photographers often fail to consider that.

Don't think anyone will admit it, but carrying a heavy camera + heavy lens kills a photographer faster than a light camera + heavy lens. Even more true if the photographer is a new SLR user.

I dun think it is misleading. As what I said before, it is a matter of opinion. When a new user wants to upgrade from PNS to DSLR, they need to make an informed choice as to what are the possibilities. If they wish to move further, they will need better lenses, and the factors that I mention will come in. If they are still sticking to their current setup, then the issue will not be obvious. There is also another thread discussing on 350D or 30D and many of the 30D users also suggested that in the kng run, a 30D will be better. It is a choice that the users themselves must decide. We only provide the different side of the coin.