WOW! This is the best camera I have ever owned! A dream!

Author's Rating:

Pros: Fast! 5 frames per second, second generation DIGIC II processer, excellent sharpness and quality

Cons: Price, could have a better lens with the kit

The Bottom Line: 
Definately recommend this camera!!! Excellent! Sharp, fast, great quality. Wonderful camera for serious amateurs and professionals alike.

Author's Review
I am a wedding photographer who, up until recently, was perfectly fine working with a 35mm camera. However, after months of putting it off, and after viewing some work done by professional digital photographers, I finally decided to "take the plunge" and cross over.

I spent hours and hours researching different digital cameras before deciding on this one. The two I had finally narrowed it down to was the Nikon d70 and the Canon 20d. I was partial to Nikon, since all my film cameras were Nikons, and I could have used some of my old lenses with a Nikon camera, but as Nikon did not have an eight megapixel camera out, I decided to go with the Canon.

The first day I used this camera I was blown away! The quality was excellent, and it was so fast! I took over 600 pictures with it just the first day alone. This is the PERFECT camera for the advanced amateur or professional.

The very next weekend, I shot a wedding, and the weekend after that did an engagement shoot with this camera. Not only am I thrilled with the results this camera produces, but it's a lot less stress being able to leave an event KNOWING for sure that I got the shots I wanted to get, whereas, I have to take dozens of rolls of film hoping to get the perfect shot with my film camera.

While, yes, the way pictures turn out does have a lot to do with the photographer... for someone that knows what they are doing, this camera is magic!

The pros far outweigh the cons on this camera. With a new second-generation DIGIC II processor and five frames per second, and eight megapixels... This camera is a photographer's dream! No, it's not going to get the same results as the sixteen megapixel camera that is out now, but for the money, you can't beat this.

I have tested several other digital cameras out as well, and I noticed a lag in time after I pressed the shutter. With this camera, almost as soon as you hit the button, it's taken. I was very surprised by how fast this camera was. This is a very important issue for me, as I do weddings, and I have to be able to capture the moment. Just half of a second can make a lot of difference in whether I capture the picture or not.

A couple of observations... A battery grip is probably worth the extra money for most photographers. The wedding I did last weekend, I was at for eight hours. I got there early in time to get shots of the bride and groom getting ready and stayed up until they left. It lasted six hours (very good), and I took over five hundred pictures, but in my case, not quite long enough. I'm definately going to be getting the battery grip, as I will just feel a little bit safter. I don't think it would be necessary for someone that is not a photographer, though. The rechargeable battery is nice... saves a lot of money on batteries in the long run.

The other thing I recommend is getting a professional flash, perhaps the 580 EX. The built-in flash is just not quite enough for some lighting situations, though it is quite good for a built-in flash and is an improvement over the Canon 10D, because it sits up a little higher.

I got the Canon 20D kit, which includes the 18-55 lens. While I love this camera, I have to be honest and say that this lens just isn't that great. It's not bad, it's just like any other typical lens. I would expect something much better. While I think the Canon 20D is much better than the Nikon d70 in general, the lens that comes with the d70 kit is much better unfornately. So...

I purchased the Canon 28-135 IS lens to use with mine. This is a wonderful lens, and it works beautifully with my camera, but that is for a later review.

If you have any questions or comments, my e-mail is BethanyMaynard22@yahoo.com and my website is www.Bethanydawn.com.