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Canon 10D Field Report March 15, 2003 Quick Field Report An Olympus e10 user upgrades to a Canon 10D Purpose: The purpose of this report is compare my new Canon 10D to my beloved Olympus e10. Current e10/20 owners will get the most value from this report, though other people will be able to glean some helpful information. This report does not provide a detailed technical assessment of the 10D, which I know some people out there are desiring. I'm still getting up to speed on a new camera, a new lens, and telephoto shooting -- I'm just not qualified to provide an assessment at this point. Now that that's out of the way, let me report on what I do know.... My e-10 Experience: I bought an Olympus e10 in November of 2000 for $2000 on the first day they were available for order. When I got my e10, I was just learning photography -- f-stops, depth of field, and ISO's were new concepts to me. Since then, I've shot about 6500 images with an e10. I've lugged an e10 over a good chunk of this Earth. I've shot in just about every conceivable situation -- outdoors and in the studio. My Canon 10D Experience: Shortly after the 10D was announced, I called on March 4 to place an order at B&H Photo -- I paid $1499 (body only, no lens). Canon is infamous for being unable to meet the demand for their products in the months following their launch. In the case of the 10D's predecessor, some people waited four months. So I was surprised when my camera arrived on Friday (3/14). I'm still trying to figure out exactly what lenses I want to purchase. Luckily, I had found a great deal on a used telephoto lens (Canon 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 EF IS) a few weeks ago, so I had it available for use. So on my first expedition out, I was learning both a new camera AND a new lens. Cost of Accessories: One of the challenges with the Olympus e-series was the cost of accessories. I always wanted a battery/portrait grip, but just couldn't bring myself to justify the $430+ cost. The grip for the 10D was around $170, plus $40 for a second battery. Shooting Buffer: With my e10, I learned to live with a four-shot buffer. Fill the buffer, and wait 15 seconds for it to clear. Frankly, this never really bothered me. It was just the way it was. I didn't know what I missing. With the 10D, I can pop-off nine shots in about three seconds. And then, it gets better. The camera continues to shoot at about one frame per second. I tested this informally using large JPEG's with an 340mb IBM microdrive. Bliss! Weight: I love the weight of the e10 -- not too light, not too heavy. This new camera is a beast. Part of the weight is the lens and grip, but the body itself is also heavy. More than the weight, I think the issue is that the e10 is perfectly well-balanced. I don't think I'm going to get that on the 10D, save for one particular lens. Image Display Times: The Canon might be a little faster, but it "feels" a lot faster when displaying images on the built-in screen. The 10D uses a "rough preview" technique, where a blurry sample of the image loads quickly, to be replaced by the detailed version a few moments later. When you consider that the files on the Cannon are over 50% larger, I guess you'd technically say that image loading times are significantly faster (for what little that's worth). LCD Preview: The e10 allows the image to be previewed on the LCD before the shot is taken. The Canon doesn't offer this; nor does any other SLR. The only reason the e10 was able to provide this is that it wasn't a "true" SLR in that it had no mirror that routed the image to viewfinder, but blocked the light from hitting the camera's image sensor. To be honest, that feature is handy on a point-and-shoot, but I never used it on my e10. 6.3 vs. 3.9 mega pixels: The 10D's larger file sizes are going to be nice; especially when I want to crop an image. Still, I have found the e10 to be adequate in most situations I have encountered in the past 2 1/2 years. Better Blues, Less Noise: My e10 tends to generate a lot of "noise" in the blue channel, requiring extra post-processing in Photoshop to smooth-out blue skies. The 10D doesn't exhibit this problem, which is nice. Initial Image Sharpness: I find the Canon's default image sharpening setting to be a little soft. Of course, I can adjust this setting in the camera to sharpen more by default. But I don't think I'm going to. In my limited tests, I've yet to find a shot that didn't quickly adjust in Photoshop, and I never produce an image without running it through Photoshop anyway. Note: I'm not saying that the Oly images are sharper than the Canon. I didn't do a direct comparison. But if I was guessing, I'd say that the Oly's default sharpening is set higher than the Canon 10D. User-upgradeable Firmware: I haven't actually had experience with this on the Canon yet. But I can tell you that my Oly is still on the original firmware, because I've never wanted to go without the camera long enough to send it in. Ergonomics: The ergonomics of the Canon are acceptable, but the e-series still wins-out in this respect. Sensor Cleaning: Since the Canon has interchangeable lenses, I'm going to have to start cleaning the sensor. That's something I never had to contend with on my Olympus. Body Construction: Both are exceptional, with metal bodies. The buttons on the Olympus give a little better tactile feedback. Olympus Tilt-out LCD: I don't use it often, but I'm going to miss it when I've reviewing images on a tripod-mounted camera. Unfortunately, it appears that Olympus has dropped it from their upcoming 4/3rds camera as well. Viewfinder Closure: The Olympus has a switch that allows you to prevent . Overall Cost: It needs to be noted that the Olympus e-series cameras are no longer $2000. When you consider buying a Canon lens that rivals the quality of the attached Olympus lens, the costs mount. File Naming: With the Olympus, all my files went into a single folder. With the Canon, they are broken into folders of 100 each. I find that very annoying. Usable ISO Range: I haven't had an opportunity to test this myself, but the Canon is reported to have a much better range of useful ISO speeds. For all intents in purposes, my Oly isn't really usable beyond ISO 80; too much noise. Lens Investment: (Added on 3/18/03) It's difficult to find a Canon lens that compares to the lens that comes on the e-10, both in terms of quality and flexibility. I've spent a lot of late night hours researching equivalent lenses. One reason for that is the shear number of options that are now available to me. But nonetheless, it does steal time away from taking photographs. Conclusion: The Canon is a very nice camera, and I'm very happy with my purchase. But there are still a significant number of people for whom I'd recommend the Olympus e-series. They are: anyone just getting into SLR photography, those who are interested in value (Olympus has far superior bang-for-the-buck), anyone waiting for the Olympus 4/3rds system (why buy Canon lenses now?), anyone who doesn't want the fuss and weight of a lot of additional lenses, anyone getting their feet wet in digital and still unsure about their long-term direction. 
Canon 10D with Canon 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 EF IS.300mm (480 equiv), f5.6 @ 1/250sec, ISO 100 
Canon 10D with Canon 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 EF IS.300mm (480 equiv), f5.6 @ 1/60sec, ISO 100  Canon 10D with Canon 75-300mm f/4.0-5.6 EF IS. 300mm (480 equiv), f5.6 @ 1/20sec, ISO 100 |
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