From what I've gathered from reading various web forums, a significant number of people
have gone out and plunked down their $1500 for a Canon EOS 10D without having much
of a clue of what it is or what it does. It seems to be the first SLR a number of buyers
have ever owned and is regarded as an "upgrade" from their P&S digicam.
Now they want to know how it works, what lens to use on it and why it doesn't wake them
up with a fresh cup of coffee every morning. So here goes:
Read the Manual
Yes, a novel concept I'll admit, but most of what you want to know is in the
manual. Yes, it's quite a big manual, yes it's got lots of pages, yes the print is small,
but this is a fairly complex piece of opto-electronics. It's not a P&S. If you wanted
a P&S you should probably have looked at something cheaper and simpler.
Once you've read the manual, read it again because you will have missed half of what's
in there. Take it to bed as your bedtime reading. Make notes. Pretend you have a test
tomorrow.
A Lens, a Lens, my Kingdom for a Lens
Unlike a P&S digicam, you actually have to buy a lens which fits the 10D before you
can take a picture. I know you've just spent $1500, but this is no time to look for the
cheapest lens you can find, especially if it's covered in dust, hidden on the bottom shelf
of the dealer's counter and has something written on it which doesn't seem to be in
English (assuming you are buying this in the US). Names like "optocon",
"cambron", "cheapo" and such do not bode well. "Canon" on
the other hand is a good sign.
So rule #1 is get a real lens. One made by Canon that doesn't have a plastic lensmount.
They aren't that expensive and you are rich (or you wouldn't have been able to buy the 10D
in the first place would you?). Which lens? Well how about the EF28-105/3.5-4.5 II USM.
Note all the numbers and letters carefully. This is NOT the same lens at the
EF28-105/4-5.6 USM - it doesn't have enough letters. This lens - EF28-105/3.5-4.5 II USM -
will cost you around $225. Maybe a few dollars more or less, depending where you buy it.
If you're offered one for $150, it's the wrong lens. The 28-105(/3.5-4.5 II USM) is a good
lens. It has a ring USM motor (don't worry about what this is, you want it) and is
optically quite good. On a 10D it will appear to be a 45-173mm zoom (why? read the manual,
it's on page 27).
If you want a fast lens, break rule #1 and look at the 50/1.8 II. It has a plastic
lensmount, but then nobody's perfect. Despite the low cost ($70) it's actually not bad
optically and a couple of stops faster than the zoom. On the 10D it will appear to be an
80mm lens (manual - l page 27 again).
If you want something longer, look in your wallet. It it's full of $50 bills, look at
the EF70-200/4L USM. A superb lens (112-320mm on a 10D). Cost should be around $600. If
your wallet is full of $20 bills, look at the EF100-300/4.5-5.6 USM (160-480mm on a 10D).
Cost around $275. If your wallet is full of $10 bills, the 75-300/4-5.6 III may be the
lens for you at $150 or so.
It you want a really wide-angle lens, you're out of luck. A 20-35 35mm zoom becomes a
32-56 zoom on the 10D. If that's enough then the EF20-35/3.5-4.5 USM is a good choice at
$375. For $450 you can get a 15-35/3.5-4.5 made by Sigma and that's equal to a 24-56 zoom
on the 10D. Just make REALLY sure any Sigma lens you buy actually works on the EOS body
you own. There's a long history of their older lenses not working on newer EOS bodies.
Memory
Not your memory or my memory, the camera's memory. Unlike yours and mine, it's
removable and you can get it in different sizes. How big should you get? Well the 10D
files are quite big (around 2.4 MB each for best quality), even bigger (up to 8MB) if you
use RAW files. RAW files? - see manual page 47. So with a 128MB card you get 14 RAW shots.
Not many. If you intend to shoot RAW, you need a bigger memory. 512 MB (56 shots) would
probably be a minimum. If you intend to shoot high quality JPEGs 128MB may be enough (50
shots), but 256MB would be better (100 shots). What's a JPEG? - see manual page 160.
What's an MB - a million bytes - and it will cost you about $0.50 for every one on your
memory card.
Settings and Software
Some people expect printer perfect images straight out of the camera. I expect a 20%
salary increase next year. We're both headed for disappointment. Despite what
manufacturer's suggest, all serious photographers expect to have to adjust all their
images before printing. That's why Canon give you PhotoShop Elements II with your 10D.
I've seen reports that 10D images aren't as sharp as they might be, or the saturation
is low, or the contrast is wrong. Opinions differ and that's why the 10D let's you adjust
all these settings (manual, p.56). However you have to make these adjustments BEFORE the
shot is taken if you are shooting JPEG files. If you shoot RAW files you can make these
adjustments later (Software manual page W.27 or M.25) when you transfer the files to your
PC. You can't print RAW files, they have to be converted first, so you need a PC for this.
If you don't have a PC then (a) You bought the wrong camera and (b) How are you reading
this?
Even if you shoot RAW and make adjustments during conversion, you may still want to use
PhotoShop Elements II to make final adjustments before printing. PhotoShop Elements II has
a built in manual as a help file. If you think it's complex just be glad you don't have
PhotoShop 7.0. Elements is like PhotoShop with one hand tied behind it's back and a
missing leg. Less parts, less powerful but cheaper and somewhat less confusing. You may
want to buy a book on how to use PhotoShop Elements. It's far from intuitive. In fact
PhotoShop in general is so confusing that the bookstores are full of books on how to use
it. Every time a new version appears a whole new section of shelving has to be built just
to house the new books which try to explain how to use it.
Flash
Nothing seems to confuse Canon EOS owners more than how the flash works. Film based EOS
bodies use TTL modes, A-TTL modes and E-TTL modes. 10D owners are lucky since TTL and
A-TTL modes are not supported so they only have E-TTL left to confuse them. Note here that
any Canon Flash (known as "Speedlites") that ends in the letters EZ (e.g. 540EZ)
does not support E-TTL flash and so is effectively crippled when used on a 10D. Don't let
your friendly local camera store sell you an EZ flash for your 10D. While it can
be used in a fully manual mode, most people don't want to manually set aperture
based on guide number (GN) and distance. Most people don't know what GN is anyway - and I
don't believe it's defined in the manual either (though it is mentioned). E-TTL flash is
smarter then the average user and does all the calculating for you. It's available via the
built in flash and on any Canon Speedite ending in EX (e.g. 380EX).
Don't give up
Within a week or the 10D hitting the streets, I've seen used ones offered for sale by
people who found it was "too much camera". I've no idea what they expected, but
if they expected a P&S they could have saved themselves $1000 and a headache. The 10D
is a professional tool (in the hands of a professional). In the hands of someone who
doesn't know how to use it, it's a liability. Take time to learn how to use it (....read
the manual....) and you will be rewarded. Keep an eye on those shelves in the bookstore
too. I would not be surprised to see "The Dummies guide to the EOS 10D" rear its
ugly head (if it hasn't already). Just look for the yellow cover...
Oh, and I don't know why it doesn't wake you up with coffee in the morning. Maybe the
EOS-3D will, but we'll have to wait and see about that.
