genoyamamoto 0 #1 February 26, 2004 Hi, I've heard comments around the dropzone and dz.com that the 300d isn't all that people thought it would be. I own a 10d and am very happy with it and love the extra features that are available on the 10d over 300d. Having said that, I think the 300d is a really great deal since it uses the same sensor so should theoretically take the same quality photos. I'd like to hear your experiences with the 300d, what you thought you would be getting and why you are or are not completely satisfied with its performance. The most common complaint i've heard about the 300d system is the softness of the images (lens issue?) Thanks! Gotta go... plaything needs to spank me Feel the hate... Photos here Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freekfly 0 #2 February 26, 2004 I got the 300D about 2 weeks after it came out and love it. Very nice camera. Yes, same sensor as the 10d, but from what I understand it's mounted differently. Not sure on the specifics, but there is a difference. But at the same point, you get the same quality image as the 10D. The one very noticable thing is the buffer. I believe it's about half the size of the 10D. But to be honest....I just got a top of the line CF card.....very fast.......and haven't had ANY issues with it. With that said....I haven't used it for a ton of jumping since I live in New England and this just came out in the late fall. The other thing that I haven't done yet is get a good lens.....I actually just made another post on that subject. The Rebel is also much lighter than the 10D. Another thing that I did......not sure if you can do this with the 10d, but I updated the firmware about a month after I got it. Nice and easy. Once it starts warming up....I'll be sure to post several pics from that camera. Just check out the site below. But you're not going to see anything until April...... -Brian___________________________ www.brianbuckland.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
prost 0 #3 February 26, 2004 Does anyone have a feel for how many pictures it would take on single shot mode during a normal freefall? In other words, If you put it on single shot and snapped off pics as fast as you could, how many would you get before break off. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freekfly 0 #4 February 27, 2004 Hmmm...haven't tried it yet....that's not how I usually take photos On the other hand...I do know that once you fill the buffer, it's going to depend on how fast your CF card is. I got the Sandisk Extreme card. It writes at 9MB / sec sustained native which means your camera doesn't need to support some one off write acceleration or anything. The camera shoots @ 2.5 frames / sec for the first 4 shots. The next set of 4 is a little slower. If you like, give me an amount of time and I'll grab the stop watch and go hold down the trigger and let ya know how many shots I can get off.......___________________________ www.brianbuckland.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
prost 0 #5 February 27, 2004 I am just thinking about tandem videos. I normally take 24 pictures in free fall. Coming out the door I snap a few. Maybe one or two as I approach the tandem to get the ground below or a close up of the drogue. Then most of them as I park in front of them. I like to save a few for opening. Two things I worry about. I don't want to get less than the total number I already have ( reason for the original question ) and I don't want to miss that perfect shot because the camera is still writing to disk. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freekfly 0 #6 February 27, 2004 Got ya...... Ok here's what I got. Figure worst case you have 30 seconds to take as many pictures from exit to opening? I just set the camera to shutter priority 400 and manual focus. Held the release down for 30 seconds with a stop watch. I got 31 shots. I did it twice to be sure. So this would no doubt have the power that you need. And don't think that it's 1 shot a second. If you just hold it down for bursts....you'll get 2.5 shot a second with as the buffer is clearing...like on exit...it's empty. Hope that gives you enough info....___________________________ www.brianbuckland.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
prost 0 #7 February 27, 2004 Thanks, that gives me a good idea. I should be able to fet acceptable performance out of the camera for student videos and that will let me get a digital camera that I can play with and learn on. Now if the weather will just warm up so that I can start making some money to buy one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Luza 0 #8 February 27, 2004 Thnx for the "speed test" freekfly:) But, what kind of "remote" do u use to take pictures in freefall. Do u use the original one for the 300d or do u have a modified one?? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freekfly 0 #9 February 27, 2004 I use a bite switch. Just make sure you get the one for a normal cannon rebel as I believe that the connection for the 10D is not what you need. The 300D actually has 2 ways to release the shutter. One is with the normal plug / bite switch and the other is with Canon's wireless remote.___________________________ www.brianbuckland.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vdschoor 0 #10 February 27, 2004 Quote I use a bite switch. Just make sure you get the one for a normal cannon rebel as I believe that the connection for the 10D is not what you need. The 300D actually has 2 ways to release the shutter. One is with the normal plug / bite switch and the other is with Canon's wireless remote. When you order the biteswitch, make sure you get the one with the stereo plug! The mono plug slows down the camera considerably, since it won't "release" the shutter fully and this makes that the camera doesn't start writing to the CF card untill the buffer is full (4 pictures) After the buffer is filled up, it will clear one picture out of the buffer to the CF and you can take another picture. It basically operates the same way as if you are holding the shutter release button in half way (to focus if the camera is set to autofocus) The stereo plug releases the shutter completely, so every picture you take gets written to the CF immediately. Iwan Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
speedformula 0 #11 February 28, 2004 My friend was very excited that he had just bought a 300d a week ago, so , anyway we went down to shoot a rugby game and he borrowed my 300mm 2.8 lens, to try out the 300d see how it did.... five minutes later the 300d cracked in half and almost drop the lens to the ground because he tried to walk around with the strap on the camera body and around his neck. oops !! it was funny !!! if you have the extra, $$ get the 10d, just the build will justify the extra dough. Keeping it real 22x7 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bmcd308 0 #12 March 1, 2004 That is a 6 lb lens desinged to have the camera body hanging from it, not vice versa. That is a little like saying your friend tried to jack up his car by putting the jack under the bottom of one of the open doors and then implying that the build quality of the car was low because the door broke off. Your 10d will eventually break its lens mount, too, if you try to hang your 300/2.8 off the end of it and support it by the camera body rather than the collar on the lens. ---------------------------------- www.jumpelvis.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LouDiamond 1 #13 March 1, 2004 QuoteDoes anyone have a feel for how many pictures it would take on single shot mode during a normal freefall? In other words, If you put it on single shot and snapped off pics as fast as you could, how many would you get before break off. Do a search on this topic as someone did a test on this as well as CF card write performance. I believe Steve's digital camera web site has a real good break down on the 10D and 300 D comparison down to the gnats ass. I have jumped mine several times and the quality of the pictures is on par with the 10d and others in the same catagory. If your inclined to just take a shit load of pictures and then look for the good ones afterwards then the 10D will allow you to take more pics than the 300D. I'm not one of the "spray and pray" cameramen so I have no problem with the 300D FPS speed. I am happy with what I got for my money, I got the kit with the lens and may invest in a different lens in the future but for now it's more than adequate for tandems and Birdman."It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required" Some people dream about flying, I live my dream SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
speedformula 0 #14 March 1, 2004 are you saying the build of the 300d is not cheap ? give me a break dude, have you seen the canon ad where they line up all the canon lenses bundled together with the 300d ? I agree with what your saying about the example about the door. Im saying cheap as in as soon as you step out of the plane and hit the camera on the edge of the door, damage is bound to occur. when compared to the elan or the digitals. botom line the 300d is a consumer model, not prosumer. Keeping it real 22x7 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bmcd308 0 #15 March 2, 2004 I agree with you that the build quality of the higher-end Canon cameras is much higher than that of the Rebel series. If you want a camera to use for personal defense, you're not going to pick a Rebel. Certainly an elan series camera (10D) is going to be tougher than a Rebel series, like the 300D. >>botom line the 300d is a consumer model, not prosumer. << Agreed. That is why it is so much less expensive. ---------------------------------- www.jumpelvis.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
speedformula 0 #16 March 2, 2004 W Keeping it real 22x7 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
prost 0 #17 March 2, 2004 QuoteIf your inclined to just take a shit load of pictures and then look for the good ones afterwards then the 10D will allow you to take more pics than the 300D. I'm not one of the "spray and pray" cameramen so I have no problem with the 300D FPS speed. That isn't the issue at all. Eventually one of the the tandems will complain if they only get say 15 pics and their buddy gets 25. It doesn't matter that only ten of their buddies pics were good, they will feel cheated. Therefore I cannot use a camera that will not be able to take as many pics as the other cameras that are in use for tandem photos. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flyerdiver 0 #18 August 19, 2004 i had my 300d stop working with the remote switch all of the sudden last weekend. it will (on auto focus) focus, but wont release the shutter. Im confused, its not the camera, because none of the settings have been changed, and the shutter release works, i dont have another bite switch to try, do you think there is something wrong with the connection to the bite switch? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freefallcrab 0 #19 August 19, 2004 I think I have something similar... I can only get my 300D to operate via bite switch in Manual Focus... Use your wings Johnny.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dragon2 0 #20 August 19, 2004 Then you probably have a mono switch. You need the stereo switch (3 wires) to use autofocus. Usually no big deal, since for skydiving most people shoot manual focus anyway. However for the 300D a mono switch doesn't quite work like it should: there's a buffer problem. Do a search, it's been talked about before. ciel bleu, Saskia Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
