Canon will replace its popular EOS 20D camera with an upgraded new model, the EOS 30D, which offers significant improvements to functionality.

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February 21, 2006: Canon will replace its popular EOS 20D camera with an upgraded new model, the EOS 30D, which offers significant improvements to functionality.

The new DSLR sits between the popular EOS 350D and EOS 5D models and has a similar 22.5 x 15.0 mm 8-megapixel CMOS sensor to the EOS 20D with a crop factor of 1.6x. It supports both RAW (12-bit) and JPEG capture and offers three JPEG image sizes: Large (3504 x 2336 pixels), Medium (2544 x 1696 pixels) and Small (1728 x 1152 pixels) with two quality settings for each. Colour space support is provided for sRGB and Adobe RGB. The new model comes with Canon’s Picture Style settings, which include six pre-set ‘looks’ including Standard, Portrait, Landscape, Neutral, Faithful and Monochrome plus three User Defined settings.

The 30D’s magnesium-alloy body is 110 grams lighter than the 5D and slightly smaller but 215 grams heavier than the more compact plastic body of the 350D. It also sports the same 2.5-inch, high-resolution LCD monitor as the 5D model, which is significantly larger than both the 20D and 350D models. Like the EOS 5D, the 30D offers two histogram display options: brightness and RGB. It also provides a highlight warning that causes overexposed highlights with no image information to blink when the shooting information mode is set.

Three drive modes are provided: single shot plus high- and low-speed continuous shooting, the former supporting frame rates of up to 5 fps, while the latter offers 3 fps capture. Up to 30 Large/Fine JPEG images or 11 RAW+JPEG images can be recorded in a single burst. The 30D’s built-in, auto pop-up flash has a GN of 13 (ISO 100/m) and recycle time of three seconds. It provides full angular coverage for lenses up to 17mm and output is adjustable across +/- 2 EV in 1/3 or ½ stop increments. Canon’s E-TTL II autoflash metering system is supported with EX-Series Speedlites.

The 30D also provides four metering options: Evaluative, Partial (9% of viewfinder at centre), Spot (3.5% of viewfinder at centre) and Centre-weighted average metering. Shutter speeds range from 30 to 1/8000 second, with longer exposures achievable through the Bulb setting with use of an N3-type remote terminal (optional). Flash synch is at 1/250 second and the self-timer has a 10 second delay. The mode dial is mounted on the top left panel and carries the standard Canon Basic and Creative Zone settings. Nineteen Custom Functions are provided, with 53 settings in all.

The EOS 30D is powered by a BP-511/512/514 rechargeable lithium-ion battery. The camera body measure 144 x 105.5 x 73.5 mm and weighs approximately 700 grams. It is expected to sell for around $2,500 with Canon’s EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II standard zoom lens.

Two New Canon DSLR Lenses
Announced concurrently with the EOS 30D are two new high-performance lenses that cover popular focal lengths for most photographers.

The new Canon EFS 17-55mm f2.8 IS USM lens provides a faster lens for a popular zoom range and is ideal for wedding and portrait photographers because it will allow them to take better shots in dim lighting. It will also provide greater control over depth of field.

Canon’s new 85mm f1.8 prime lens is designed with portrait photographers in mind and offers outstanding performance plus a high level control over depth of field.