Canon EOS1000D DSLR - first impressions

[Sparrow]

For many years I had and loved a Yashica FXD quartz SLR. Of course this was in the days when I rattled of a film of 36 images and then waited impatiently for two weeks for the developed film to come back (how quicky we all forget this with the modern digital cameras).

I eventually moved on to a digital camera - a Kodak 1mp camera which quite frankly was awful - it ate batteries with a hunger. Then on to my first bridge camera - a fuji - then when that packed up, on to my next - another - fuji S8000FD - a great camera with 18x optical zoom - this camera will still get some serious use as it's so versatile and user friendly - anyway - that's not really what this review is about.

Having ventured in to DSI photography with an old Meade DSI 1, it was time to move on, and after much deliberation, I decided to go down the DSLR route - cost played a big part in this decision. Having read as much information as I could find, the clear leader as favourite was the Canon EOS1000D - the higher resolution of the 450D probably make it the better choice but at an extra £100 it was beyong my pocket, so the 1000D it was.

Well I have to say that I've never been so pleased with a camera. It feels very comfortable to hold and for a DSLR, is quite compact. Now that I'm getting used to the controls ( a totally different mentality to the Fuji cameras), they fall nicely under the fingers and the whole design seems very ergonomic. My original intention was to get the camera modded and dedicate it to astro imaging, but to be quite honest, I'm that taken with it, that I haven't got the heart to mod it. It is proving to be as much pleasure for normal photography as for the astro photography. The 10.5 mp images are crystal clear which is in no small part down to the good quality optics. The supplied 18 - 55 lense is light and easy to use. In AF and auto mode it is so easy to use that even my wife (a complete technophobe) is happy to use it. I still have much to learn about all its more advanced functions which is why I've put this review as a first impressions review.

For the astrophotography the camera has proved to be a delight to use. The supplied software to control it remotely is so easy to use that I didn't even need the instructions ( that were hidden away on another supplied CD). It is totally configurable for manual shooting and the software could almost have been written with DSI in mind. The live preview is great for setting up focus and the dialogue box for all the settings is very simple, but everything needed is there. The best bit though, is that I'd thought that I would need an additional cable for working the shutter release, but I don't. It's all done through the one USB cable. I can program it to take the number of shots I require, for the required exposure time, and ISO. It would also be good for time lapse as you can tell it how long to leave between exposures.

Battery life seems excellent although I realise that may drop with cooler temperatures and I may well invest in the DC adaptor for it. My last imaging session was about 4 hours and the battery just about lasted to the end.

I've now bought a Tamron 70-300 telephoto lense for it which will increase its capabilities even further for DSI and daytime photography. All in all, a very impressive camera at the price.

My one final comment is that I had noticed that it is possible to buy a wireless transmitter to fit to the camera to connect to my home network - great I thought until I saw the price of the transmitter - it seems to retail at about £700 - a tiny little plug in, about the size of a USB memory stick - why on earth is it so incredibly expensive?

Regards

John

[Takahashi]

My one final comment is that I had noticed that it is possible to buy a wireless transmitter to fit to the camera to connect to my home network - great I thought until I saw the price of the transmitter - it seems to retail at about £700 - a tiny little plug in, about the size of a USB memory stick - why on earth is it so incredibly expensive?

That's blumming ridiculous! Give it a year or two and it'll be £20, "Buy one, get one free!".

[Bambi]

I have had a 1000d since January, and have not found anything wrong with it.

I also have the Tamron lens you mention, you can get some nice close-up shots with it in its 1:2 macro setting. You do notice the lack of IS when its at its longer focal lengths though, but thats the same for all long lenses I guess.

I bought a Jessops flash in the sale as I couldn't justify canons prices for a flash gun to the wife, and it has worked well with full TTL control.

[Sparrow]

Thanks Bambi - took the lense through its paces at Chester Zoo this morning (my wife and I are members only living a mile away) It performed magnificently. As for the flash - yes it's on the shopping list but I have to admit the built in lense actually performs a lot better than I expected. It reaches further than I could have imagined.

Yet again it looks like I'll be thwarted for night imaging - our friend the moon is bright and overwhelming, but also it's that windy here that any DSI is out fo the question.

Desperately need some more data to play with.

[GazOC]

Hope you don't mind me 'butting in' John but I was looking at a 1000D for a "daytime" hobby and have read good things about it. What do you guys think of the extras in this auction baring in mind they cost about £100 over the body+ 1 IS lens?

NEW!~CANON EOS Rebel XS 1000D D-SLR CAMERA+ 3 LENS KIT! on eBay (end time 06-Oct-09 19:05:25 BST)

They seem a good deal but I'd hate to end up with a load of junk!!

[alfi]

hi

seems like a good buy to me, its a lot of extras in the bundle.

i have ordered a 1000d myself, with baader replacement filter for astrophoto, have a 450d already, and its really good cameras for the money i think, but more expensive here in norway.

alfi

[Psychobilly]

If its an XS then it's a grey import... The accessories are well... hmmm too much emphasis on the "professional" bit for me...

Peter...

[GazOC]

Ah, I didn't know that Peter. I take it I'll have sellers guarantee (for whatever thats worth) but not Canons?

I'm not expecting the extras to be top notch just as long as they arn't junk. For £100 I can see the tripod, spare battery, extra lenses and SD card coming in quite handy, the rest will probably end up in the spare room with the rest of my "stuff".

[Takahashi]

If its an XS then it's a grey import... The accessories are well... hmmm too much emphasis on the "professional" bit for me...

Peter...

I hate how these folks advertise these kits... "3 lenses!!!"... which is actually one lens, a reducer, and a multiplier. It's frankly dishonest, and verging on trade-description fraud. it might look like the bargain of a lifetime to someone just starting out, but most of it is either pennies-worth; lens-cloth, cleaning kit, cap-holder... or pure junk; tripod with 4-section legs (lacks rigidity/stability) "digital" (what?) flash, and the SD card reader - worth about £2. Also, as you said Peter, the liberal sprinkling of the word "professional" is usually done to mask the lack of actual quality. It's a marketing get-out-of-jail-free card.

...that said, it's still a good camera. Just a pity they feel they have to drown it in flotsam to sell it.

[GazOC]

Tak, for a beginner would you say the reducer, multiplier, tripod, carry bag and extra battery is worth the £100?

As you say, the rest is neither here nor there.

[barkis]

John, glad you like the camera, it is becoming a popular buy for Astro Imagers.

I don't know which Wireless device you saw for £700, but I bought one for £30. It does shutter operation, and focus.

Ron.

[alfi]

hi

i have ordered one of these Programmierbare Kamerafernsteuerung für Canon, Contax, Pentax, S - Teleskop-Express: DER Astroshop + Fotografie + Naturbeobachtung

have anyone tried it?

i thought it would be a nice thing to have.

you can set it to do multiple exposures with intervals, and then you are free to observe in another scope in the meantime.

alfi

[Takahashi]

Gaz, I reckon if this was to be someone's first foray into photography, all those accessories might come in handy, but if you were to stick with the photography, you'd most likely offload all but one or two of the items.

Reducer? Might come in handy for very wide-angle work, but I suspect the optical quality in both it and the multiplier won't be anything to shout about.

Multiplier - same as above, but is essentially a photographer's Barlow. One man's meat, etc... although, TBH, I still use the old multiplier I got with one of Arthur's (Milamber's) 300D's I bought recently, and it is handy if you want to get that little bit closer to the target, at the expense of some light-transmission.

Tripod? Maybe of use in a grab-and-go situation, and will no doubt benefit from it's compact design. If you don't expect great stability, it'll probably suffice.

Bag? Handy for keeping all your stuff, but neither a deal-breaker nor maker IMO. B&Q sell bags in their occasional £2 sales that might compare.

The extra battery... now there's one thing that would no doubt be used frequently... the only thing I might be sceptical of is the quality.

However... all cynicism aside, this camera with the 18-55mm IS lens, is currently £402 on Amazon UK, so you are basically getting everything else for nothing, although Peter's point about the grey import aspect of the RebelXS may be worth a doubt. Also, the seller is doing what I despise about many E-bay retailers... his E-bay shop might be called Trust Sale UK, but he's based in the US. Shipping times may suffer as a result. Check the negative feedback first.

*** Just noticed this part : "1 Year USA Warranty!"... maybe a potential issue if you're not in the USA?

[Sparrow]

John, glad you like the camera, it is becoming a popular buy for Astro Imagers.

I don't know which Wireless device you saw for £700, but I bought one for £30. It does shutter operation, and focus.

Ron.

I think you must be thinking of the infrared remote shutter control which is about £20 to £30. I'm talking about the wireless file transmitter with an RRP of £989.99 - a differnet animal altogether.

[GazOC]

Cheers Tak, I hadn't notice the fact the company was USA based. I think I'll look for one with a sellers warranty (with good feedback) rather than a USA one...that would really be a can of worms.

[Bambi]

I searched for weeks and weeks before buying my 1000d, and ended up going to Jessops, they were very reasonable with the price.

The accessories with that bundle dont look like they are worth £100, I would steer clear of the 'chinese extras', the flash probably isntmuch beter than the built in flash, and the wide angle and telephoto 'lenses' are just filters that screw onto the front of your lens. You could probably pick up a Tamron 70-300mm lens for around £120 bundles with the camera, a much better way to get rid of £100....

[Yoddha]

John, reading your review was as looking my way through other's eyes Step by step... The 1000D is my first DSLR too. And I also like it so much that can't decide to modify it. In other hand it will be good to modify it in order to use it better for AP. Maybe one day I'll end with second one (bought from the used market) which to use only for AP...

Clear skies!

Ivo

[oceanheadted]

Just bought Nadeem's (Debeb) 1000D 2nd hand but it's still mint condition. I'm coming from a 300D. I was initally a bit disappointed as the body finish isn't quite as nice as other Canons I have had (ok it's the bottom of the range), but when I switched it on - Wow! It is soo fast compared to the 300D, the read and write time to the memory card is barely noticable and the power up is pretty quick too. It has none of the shortcomings in DSLR/digital cams I have owned previously.

[Deneb]

Glad you received it Fine, Alan.

Nadeem.