Canon EOS 300D Digital SLR Camera [6MP] with EF18-55mm Lens

I bought a EOS300D prior to Christmas and it was my 3rd digital camera - I started out with a Canon Powershot A40 (great at the time but things move on!), then traded this in for a Pentax Optio S4, which had twice the pixel count but was a fraction of the Canon's size. Unfortunately, the Pentax never really gave me the picture quality I was after, so as soon as the EOS300D was reduced to around £600 (any more than that and it's silly money given the way technology progresses)I took the plunge.All I can say is that I am not in the least bit disappointed with the Canon. It is easy to use, battery life is mega and with a 1GB CF loaded, I get 300+ shots on the maximum definition. Being a Canon, quality if top notch - solid but still fairly light.To date, I have really just concentrated on using the program functions and, as a result, perhaps haven't got near to seeing the full potential of the camera. However, the results to date are amazing, offering little incentive to spend time reading the user guide and getting any more creative.The one small criticism I have is the flash - in short, it is not very powerful and can leave indoor pictures looking rather dark. If you take photos indoors to any real extent, I'd have to say that a Canon Speedlite flashgun would be a wise purchase, but at £180 it is pretty hard to justify.Overall, this is a cracking camera and one I'd heartily recommend. Whilst its size is the obvious drawback versus a more compact digi camera, you will notice a marked improvement in quality that more than justifies the cost and bulk factors.

The EOS 300D is essentially a de-tuned version of the EOS D10. It uses the same sensor and image processing system, but with some of the D10's features disabled. This may not matter for most users, but there are certain things - such as no flash exposure compensation and no user-selectable AF modes - that could be a nuisance. With fierce competition from Nikon's new D70, it is possible that Canon may have to restore some of these features to bring the 300D into line with the D70. You can already obtain hacked firmware to do this, if you don't mind taking the risk.Otherwise, the 300D is good value for money, and can achieve much better results than any compact digital camera with a smaller sensor, however many megapixels it has. Noise levels at up to ISO 400 are very low, and the 800 and 1600 setting are still perfectly useable.The standard 18-55 lens gives decent results, although obviously there are better lenses in Canon's range (at a price!). If you are thinking of adding a tele-zoom, look carefully at the reviews. Canon's EF 75-300 may seem attractive, but it has come in for quite a lot of criticism. People new to digital photography should remember that you multiply the lens focal length by 1.6 to give the equivalent on a 35mm camera, so the standard 18-55 lens is like 29-88 in 35mm. It also means that very wide angle lenses are not yet available for the 300D/D10.You can overcome the lack of flash exposure compensation by buying the 550EX flashgun, which has this facility built in.For those who don't care for the silver colour of the 300D, be aware that a black version has been announced in Japan, although it isn't yet certain whether this will be offered elsewhere.

The camera itself is superb as everyone says, however, when I recently upgraded to windows 7 I discovered that the driver was not compatible and Canon are not issuing an upgrade. Fortunately nothing of importance on the camera but to say I was annoyed and upset is putting things mildly! I don't understand Canons attitude on this, a simple matter surely to update drivers? If I do buy another digital camera it is unlikely to be a canon (but I'm looking at my trusty old Minolta 7000i, years old, still going strong, will never go out of date and takes brilliant pics). Anyway, IF YOU'RE IN THE MARKET FOR A USED DIGITAL SLR BE AWARE OF POSSIBLE DRIVER PROBLEMSUPDATE. I've been in touch with canon and this is what they have to say ..........We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience but indeed Microsoft Windows 7 software has not yet been released for your EOS 300D. You may try the Microsoft Windows Vista drivers as they may but equally may not work, this is something Canon however cannot support due to possible compatibility issues. Canon is developing the new drivers, but I cannot inform you when the drivers will be released as we do not have such information.

I've had a 300D for over two years and it is a fantastic bit of kit. Very flexible, an excellent 18-55mm lens, and great quality pictures.Occasionally in auto-focus mode it focuses on the wrong spot and I don't notice, but that is a minor complaint. My only other observation is that in sport mode it can't take that many shots in a row and I suspect it can't take full advantage of the higher speed CompactFlash cards although I use 4Gb cards happily in mine.You can't go wrong with this if you want an entry level digital SLR. 6.3Mpixels seem a bit small in this day and age but you won't notice unless you're planning to print A2 or above...

Ten years on and this camera is still working order but not used much the last several years to be fair, as I have 5DiiLooking back at some of the early results they are still quite impressive and benefit from more sophisticated processing such as Lightroom.Still a good starter SLR if you can find a nice on used.Compared to the 5D it feels very light almost toy like, but none the worse for that as much easier to carry.

Arrived on time and in good packaging, one problem is that due to poor design, in that the sensitive battery prones within the camera have bent when I put the battery in.I contacted a repair shop and the price to fix it will be 190 for a new internal unit.Pretty much written off.Be wary of poor build quality in this particular part of this camera ...