02.22.06

Canon upgrades best selling EOS 20D to EOS 30D

Posted in Cameras, Canon, Latest News on DP at 12:29 am by www.PHALANO.com

Amstelveen, The Netherlands, 21 February, 2006: Canon today announces the EOS 30D, replacing the award winning EOS 20D. Retaining the 5fps, 8.2 Megapixel performance of its predecessor, the upgraded camera enjoys a larger, wider viewing angle 2.5 LCD, extended 100,000 shutter cycle durability, spot metering, and a variety of refinements designed to enhance the photographic experience. Targeted at an increasingly discerning population of serious creative photographers, the EOS 30D replaces a camera that already claims a significant share of the Western Europe D-SLR market, which grew by 120% in the last 12 months*1.

EOS 30D body only ‚¬1,399
EOS 30D and EF-S 18-55mm lens ‚¬1,499

The EOS 30D features

8.2 Megapixel APS-C size CMOS sensor
5 fps and 30 large JPEG frame burst
2.5, 230K pixel, 170º wide viewing angle LCD screen
Picture Style image processing parameters
Spot metering and High Precision 9-point AF system
DIGIC II image processor with 0.15 sec start-up time
Digital Photo Professional RAW processing software
100,000 cycle shutter durability and rugged magnesium alloy body
Simultaneous RAW and JPEG recording
Wide 100-3200 ISO range
E-TTL II Flash
PictBridge compatibility
Complete compatibility with all Canon EF and EF-S lenses and EX-series Speedlites
USB 2.0 Hi-Speed and Video Out connectivity
œA rapidly expanding population of serious and semi-commercial creative photographers is helping drive EOS growth, said Mogens Jensen, Head of Canon Consumer Imaging Europe. œAs well as putting many high-end pro features into their hands, the EOS 30D becomes a launching pad into the world™s most comprehensive interchangeable lens system and huge range of flash units and accessories.

Improved performance

Many improvements over the EOS 20D are made in response to EOS 20D owner feedback. Along with the larger screen, improved durability and 3.5% area spot metering, these include Canon™s Picture Style pre-sets, Canon™s in-camera image processing standard. Picture Styles can be likened to selectable film types for different photographic expression (see appendix ˜Technologies Explained™). Frame rate is selectable between 5 and 3fps and photographers are given finer control over exposure, with ISO settings now adjustable by 1/3 stop increments rather than whole stops. A Print/Share button is included and the camera features new advanced PictBridge functionality . The maximum number of images in a folder is increased from 100 to 9,999, while the in-built flash has been upgraded to match the 100,000 shutter cycle durability, an increasingly important feature in the digital age.

Speed and image quality

The EOS 30D features Canon™s award winning CMOS sensor technology, with large 6.4µm2 pixels for wide dynamic range with low noise. Any remaining fixed pattern and random noise is dealt with by on-chip noise elimination circuitry. A low-pass filter in front of the sensor reduces false colour and moiré effects, while an infrared filter suppresses red fringing caused by sensor reflections and fog. The camera features Canon™s DIGIC II processor now found across the digital EOS range. DIGIC II maximises speed and image quality by processing uncompromisingly complex colour rendition algorithms, clearing the buffer at high speed. (For more on CMOS and DIGIC II, see appendix ˜Technologies Explained).

EOS: The system

One of the EOS 30D™s greatest advantages is the EOS system: compatibility with all Canon EF and EF-S lenses, EX-series Speedlites and EOS accessories such as the Wireless File Transmitter WFT-E1. The EOS 30D™s EF-S lens mount allows connection to Canon™s range of lighter and wider angle lenses, including the new wide aperture EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM standard zoom lens. Indicative of Canon™s commitment to lens development is the release today of the exceptionally fast EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM, for low light and extremely narrow depth of field photography. For high-speed processing of lossless RAW images and complete capture-to-print workflow management, the EOS 30D also comes with Canon™s latest Digital Photo Professional software (see appendix ˜Technologies Explained).

Battery grip

To extend the EOS 30D™s 750 shot *2 battery life and increase handling options, the camera is compatible with the BG-E2 battery grip. The BG-E2 takes two Lithium-Ion battery packs for up to 2,200 *3 frames or six AA batteries *4 in the supplied BGM-E2 battery magazine. For easy vertical shooting, the BG-E2 provides additional shutter release, main dial, AE lock/FE lock and AF point selection controls.
 
EOS Range

Canon™s current EOS range now includes:

EOS-1Ds Mark II      – 16.7 Megapixels, 4 fps
EOS-1D Mark II N    – 8.2 Megapixels, 8.5 fps
EOS 5D                  – 12.8 Megapixels, 3 fps
EOS 30D                – 8.2 Megapixels, 5fps
EOS 350D              – 8.0 Megapixels, 3fps

Software

As well as the latest Digital Photo Professional RAW image processing software, the EOS 30D comes with Canon EOS Solution Disk, containing the new EOS Utility (integrating remote capture software), plus the latest versions of ZoomBrowser/ImageBrowser and PhotoStitch.

Technologies Explained
Picture Style

Picture Style pre-sets simplify in-camera control over image quality. Picture Style pre-sets can be likened to different film types “ each one offering a different colour response. Within each easily selectable pre-set, photographers have control over sharpness, contrast, colour tone and saturation. The camera™s factory default configuration is set to deliver immediately-usable JPEG images without need for additional menu settings. Picture Style presets applied to a RAW image do not degrade the image in any way and can be revised with Canon™s Digital Photo Professional software.

The six pre-sets include: Standard “ for crisp, vivid images that don™t require post-processing; Portrait “ optimises colour tone and saturation and weakens sharpening to achieve attractive skin tones; Landscape “ for punchier greens and blues with stronger sharpening to give a crisp edge to mountain, tree and building outlines); Neutral “ ideal for post-processing; Faithful “ adjusts colour to match the subject colour when shot under a colour temperature of 5200K; Monochrome “ for black and white shooting with a range of filter effects (yellow, orange, red and green) and toning effects (sepia, blue, purple and green). The User Defined pre-set can be used to store up to three customised pre-sets, or any of the pre-sets available for download from Canon™s web site.

DIGIC II

Now found across the EOS range, DIGIC II is a purpose built, dedicated image processor responsible for the high speed calculations necessary in order to providing exceptionally accurate colour reproduction in real time. Canon™s second generation imaging engine, DIGIC II performs the duties of a number of separate processing units to speed processing, save space, and optimise battery life.

To avoid the trade off faced by other manufacturers between camera responsiveness and image quality, Canon has created a processor so fast it can read, process, compress and write image data back to the buffer between exposures. This allows for longer continuous bursts at maximum frame rates before the buffer fills. Moreover, each image can be subjected to the full complex processing algorithms required in order to deliver superb image quality.

CMOS

Canon™s award winning CMOS technology is one of the company™s key competitive advantages. With noise reduction circuitry at each pixel site, Canon™s CMOS sensors have lower noise and lower power consumption characteristics than CCD sensors.

CCD sensors use a bucket relay system to transfer each pixel™s accumulated electrical charge to a corresponding gutter. The operation is time consuming and draws considerable power, which limits battery life and generates unwanted heat, further increasing noise and lowering image quality.

By contrast, signal conversion in Canon™s CMOS sensors is handled by the individual amplifiers at each pixel site. Unnecessary charge transfer operations are avoided, vastly speeding up the process of getting signal to the image processor. Noise generation is reduced and power consumption limited.

Canon EOS 30D specifications

List price (body only)  ¢ US: $ 1,399 ¢ EU: ‚¬ 1,399
List price (with EF-S 18-55 DC)  ¢ US: $ ? ¢ EU: ‚¬ 1,499

Body material Magnesium alloy
Sensor ¢ 22.5 x 15.0 mm CMOS sensor
¢ RGB Color Filter Array
¢ Built-in fixed low-pass filter
¢ 8.5 million total pixels
¢ 8.2 million effective pixels
¢ 3:2 aspect ratio
Image processor  DIGIC II
Image sizes ¢ 3504 x 2336 (8.2 MP)
¢ 2544 x 1696 (4.3 MP)
¢ 1728 x 1152 (2.0 MP)
File formats ¢ RAW (.CR2)
¢ JPEG (EXIF 2.21) – Fine / Normal
¢ RAW + JPEG (separate files)
 
Lenses ¢ Canon EF / EF-S lens mount
¢ 1.6x field of view crop
Focusing ¢ 9-point TTL
¢ CMOS sensor
¢ AF working range: -0.5 – 18 EV (at 20°C, ISO 100)
Focus modes ¢ AI Focus AF
¢ One shot AF
¢ AI Servo AF
¢ Manual focus
AF point selection ¢ Auto
¢ Manual
¢ Home position
AF assist ¢ Stroboscopic flash
¢ 4.0 m range (at center)
Metering ¢ TTL 35 zone SPC
¢ Metering range: EV 1.0 – 20 EV (at 20°C, ISO 100, 50 mm F1.4)
Metering modes ¢ Evaluative 35 zone
¢ Partial (9% at center)
¢ Spot metering (approx. 3.5% at center) *
¢ Center-weighted average
¢ Metering range: 1 – 20 EV (at 20°C, ISO 100)
 
AE lock ¢ Auto: One Shot AF with evaluative metering
¢ Manual: AE lock button
AE bracketing ¢ +/- 2.0 EV
¢ 0.3 or 0.5 EV increments
Exposure compen. ¢ +/-2.0 EV
¢ 0.3 or 0.5 EV increments
Sensitivity
(1/3 EV steps) * ¢ Auto (100 to 400)
¢ ISO 100
¢ ISO 125
¢ ISO 160
¢ ISO 200
¢ ISO 250
¢ ISO 320
¢ ISO 400
¢ ISO 500
¢ ISO 640
¢ ISO 800
¢ ISO 1000
¢ ISO 1250
¢ ISO 1600
¢ ISO 3200 (Enhanced H)
 
Shutter ¢ Focal-plane shutter
¢ 30 – 1/8000 sec
¢ 0.3 or 0.5 EV increments
¢ Flash X-Sync: 1/250 sec
¢ Soft touch electromagnetic release *
¢ Bulb
Aperture values ¢ F1.0 – F91
¢ 0.3 or 0.5 EV increments
¢ Actual aperture range depends on lens used
White balance ¢ Auto (3000 – 7000 K)
¢ Daylight (5200 K)
¢ Shade (7000 K)
¢ Cloudy (6000 K)
¢ Tungsten (3200 K)
¢ Fluorescent (4000 K)
¢ Flash (6000 K)
¢ Custom (2000 – 10000 K)
¢ Kelvin (2800 – 10000 K in 100 K steps)
WB bracketing ¢ +/-3 levels
¢ 3 images
¢ blue/amber or magenta/green bias 
WB shift  ¢ Blue (-9) To Amber (+9)
¢ Magenta (-9) to Green (+9)
Color space ¢ sRGB
¢ Adobe RGB
Picture style * ¢ Standard
¢ Portrait
¢ Landscape
¢ Neutral
¢ Faithful
¢ Monochrome
¢ User 1
¢ User 2
¢ User 3 
Custom image parameters * ¢ Sharpness: 0 to 7
¢ Contrast: -4 to +4
¢ Saturation: -4 to +4
¢ Color tone: -4 to +4
¢ B&W filter: N, Ye, Or, R, G
¢ B&W tone: N, S, B, P, G 
Viewfinder ¢ Eye-level pentaprism
¢ 95% frame coverage
¢ Magnification: 0.9x (-1 diopter with 50 mm lens at infinity)
¢ Eyepoint: 20 mm
¢ Dioptric adjustment: -3.0 to +1.0 diopter
¢ Precision matte screen
Viewfinder info ¢ AF points
¢ Focus confirmation light
¢ Shutter speed
¢ Aperture
¢ Manual exposure
¢ AE Lock
¢ Exposure compensation amount
¢ AEB level
¢ Partial metering area
¢ Flash ready
¢ Red-eye reduction lamp on
¢ High-speed sync
¢ FE Lock
¢ Flash compensation amount
¢ Warnings
¢ Maximum burst for continuous shooting
¢ Buffer space 
LCD monitor * ¢ 2.5 ” TFT LCD
¢ 230,000 pixels
¢ 5 brightness levels
¢ 10x zoom playback
Record review ¢ Off
¢ On (histogram via INFO button)
¢ 2 / 4 / 8 sec / Hold
Flash ¢ Auto pop-up E-TTL II auto flash
¢ FOV coverage up to 17 mm (27 mm equiv.)
¢ Guide number approx 13
¢ Flash compensation +/-2.0 EV in 0.3 or 0.5 EV increments
¢ X-Sync: 1/250 sec
External flash ¢ E-TTL II auto flash with EX-series Speedlites
¢ Wireless multi-flash support
¢ PC Sync
Shooting modes ¢ Auto
¢ Program AE (P)
¢ Shutter priority AE (Tv)
¢ Aperture priority AE (Av)
¢ Manual (M)
¢ Auto depth-of-field
¢ Portrait
¢ Landscape
¢ Close-up
¢ Sports
¢ Night portrait
¢ Flash off
 
Drive modes ¢ Single
¢ Continuous: 5 fps (CH) up to 30 frames or 3 fps (CL) *
¢ Self-timer: 10 secs (or 3 sec with mirror lock-up) 
Direct printing ¢ Canon Compact Photo Printers and PIXMA Printers supporting PictBridge
¢ PictBridge
Other features ¢ Orientation sensor
¢ Automatically writes FAT16/FAT32 depending on capacity
¢ LCD panel illumination
Auto rotation ¢ On (playback uses orientation data in file header)
¢ Off
Playback mode ¢ Single image
¢ Single image with info (inc. histogram)
¢ Magnified view (1.5 – 10x in 15 steps, browsable)
¢ 9 image index
¢ Auto play
¢ Image rotation
¢ Jump
Custom functions 19 custom functions with 53 settings
Menu languages ¢ English
¢ German
¢ French
¢ Dutch
¢ Danish
¢ Finnish
¢ Italian
¢ Norwegian
¢ Swedish
¢ Spanish
¢ Simplified Chinese
¢ Japanese
¢ Traditional Chinese
¢ Korean
¢ Russian
 
Firmware User upgradable
Portrait grip  Via BP-E2 battery grip (option) 
Connectivity ¢ USB 2.0 Hi-Speed
¢ Video out
¢ N3 type wired remote control
¢ PC Sync flash terminal
 
Storage ¢ Compact Flash Type I or II
¢ Microdrive supported
¢ FAT 12/16 and FAT 32 support
¢ No CF card supplied
Power ¢ Lithium-Ion BP-511A rechargeable battery (supplied & charger)
¢ Supports BP-511 / BP-511A / BP-512 / BP-514
¢ CR2016 Lithium battery (date/time backup)
¢ Optional AC adapter
Dimensions 144 x 106 x 74 mm (5.6 x 4.2 x 2.9 in) *
Weight (no batt) 700 g (1.5 lb) *

* Specification updates or changes compared to the EOS 20D

Permalink