Canon EOS 400D: fail

[Gnoll110]

Hi smc1377

Thanks for the comments, very helpful. Knew there had to be more factors (than the ones I theorised). Now it my job find out what the critical ones are.

Originally Posted by smc1377

If you're talking about refocusing, it could be a lens issue. What lens did your friend have on the 400D? Some autofocus really fast and some will hunt for focus forever and then just give up.

I think the lenses are the standard 'body+2 lenses' offer from Canon, I'll find out. Trying different lenses is a great idea. I can try my EOS 50E lenses, a known quantity. Last night, my friend commented on the materials quality of my ten yr old canon lenses versus their 'tinny' EOS 400D lenses.

Originally Posted by smc1377

Also, if you're talking about the camera being busy, the memory card speed will also have a big impact on your waiting time. It could be that your friend has an inferior memory card. If it's only taking 4 pics and buffering out on you (which it really should be taking more IIRC), then he/she definitely had a slow memory card.

Friends headed home this morning. I'll find out the details. I do note she tends to take losts of landscapes & bird pics. So the cycle time of the camera wouldn't be an issue there.

As a pointer, what is considered fast & slow memory speeds?

Thanks again for the meat, smc

[jdepould]

SanDisk Ultra II and Extreme III (or IV) cards are the most common high speed cards. Lexar's high speed line is labelled Professional I think.

[smc1377]

Originally Posted by Gnoll110

Hi smc1377

Thanks for the comments, very helpful. Knew there had to be more factors (than the ones I theorised). Now it my job find out what the critical ones are.

I think the lenses are the standard 'body+2 lenses' offer from Canon, I'll find out. Trying different lenses is a great idea. I can try my EOS 50E lenses, a known quantity. Last night, my friend commented on the materials quality of my ten yr old canon lenses versus their 'tinny' EOS 400D lenses.

Friends headed home this morning. I'll find out the details. I do note she tends to take losts of landscapes & bird pics. So the cycle time of the camera wouldn't be an issue there.

As a pointer, what is considered fast & slow memory speeds?

Thanks again for the meat, smc

I've never shot with an XTi, so I am not speaking from a position of authority. However my older DSLR, the Canon 10D, is real slow in writing speed so it can't exploit any memory card faster than say a 40x memory card. The XTi, being a much newer camera, I would suspect could fully exploit memory cards at 80x or higher speeds.

Go to the website below and scroll down a little to see dpreview's sound recording of the XTi in action with a fast memory card. Note how it is able to shoot 35 shots at 3 fps before it buffers out for a few seconds, then is able to fire off another 10 shots or so, then buffers another couple seconds, then fires off another round of shots. So that's why I believe that your friend must just have a terribly slow memory card if her camera was "busy" and not letting you shoot.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos400d/page6.asp

Just a question though. Are you absolutely sure that she had a Rebel XTi (400D) and not a Rebel XT (350D) or just plain Rebel (300D)?

[wulf]

Originally Posted by Gnoll110

When I say marketing, I'm talking targeting at people. In 97, the EOS 50E was the entry point Canon SLR, now the EOS 400D is. Aimed at the same group of people.

I am not convinced that is an accurate comparison. The market is very different now from ten years ago. My guess is that a lot more people are buying "entry level" DSLRs than ever bought film SLRs, not least because all the waiting and film developing has been taken out of the equation. Also, there is a much greater range of cameras that fit between "one button to press" point and shoots and DSLRs.

It is probably better to go on the raw specs (fps, etc) and ignore the marketing people altogether

Wulf

[matthewchj]

Originally Posted by smc1377

I've never shot with an XTi, so I am not speaking from a position of authority. However my older DSLR, the Canon 10D, is real slow in writing speed so it can't exploit any memory card faster than say a 40x memory card. The XTi, being a much newer camera, I would suspect could fully exploit memory cards at 80x or higher speeds.

Yeah, I have the XT, and I use SanDisk Ultra CF cards. With this combo, I can literally shoot in burst mode until my card runs out of space. With the same card, I'm sure the XTi can write at the same speeds.

[Seltzer]

Originally Posted by matthewchj

Yeah, I have the XT, and I use SanDisk Ultra CF cards. With this combo, I can literally shoot in burst mode until my card runs out of space. With the same card, I'm sure the XTi can write at the same speeds.

That depends.. are you shooting straight JPG or RAW or both? Using flash or no? All of these things change the processing time on my XT (350d). I normally shoot RAW + JPG (large) and can only burst 4 shots before the queue is full and it has to process. If I have the flash on I can only do 1 shot every few seconds. However, I'm not sure the speed of the card I have in ATM....

[jdepould]

4 shots sounds about right for an entry level body shooting RAW. A faster card should mitigate the problem pretty well, or a switch to JPEG.

[Gnoll110]

Originally Posted by smc1377

...The XTi, being a much newer camera, I would suspect could fully exploit memory cards at 80x or higher speeds.

... Note how it is able to shoot 35 shots at 3 fps before it buffers out for a few seconds, then is able to fire off another 10 shots or so, then buffers another couple seconds, then fires off another round of shots...

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos400d/page6.asp

Just a question though. Are you absolutely sure that she had a Rebel XTi (400D) and not a Rebel XT (350D) or just plain Rebel (300D)?

Thanks for the great comments and the link.

80x, reminds me of the CD drive speed wars. Does anyone know what x equal in absolute terms (bps like)?

That buffering performance sound acceptable (great ).

Yer, the badging said '400D'. Was talking to one guy I know (off-season competitor), he had a camera, it was badged '400D Rebel XTi'. Been paying lots of attention to cameras & badging lately.

[Gnoll110]

Originally Posted by wulf

I am not convinced that is an accurate comparison. The market is very different now from ten years ago. My guess is that a lot more people are buying "entry level" DSLRs than ever bought film SLRs, not least because all the waiting and film developing has been taken out of the equation. Also, there is a much greater range of cameras that fit between "one button to press" point and shoots and DSLRs.

It is probably better to go on the raw specs (fps, etc) and ignore the marketing people altogether

Wulf

Hi Wulf

Marketing comments are just a side comment. True, the market for cameras has changed more in the last 5 years than it would have between 1960 and 1990. My mother still keeps her 1960 Minolta in working order (21st birthday present from her father). Come to think of it, my grandfather probably chose my first 'came down the chimney' camera.

Having toy cameras in mobile phones has got to change the market, a lot too!

Being spec driven is why I brought the analogue EOS 50E and not a digital camera in 1997, in the first place. I would have brought a digital camera in 1997, if any had been up to the job!

Thanks for the comments Wulf.

[Gnoll110]

Hi matthewchj, Seltzer and jdepould

Thanks for all the comments and notes about the effects of using different options.

I was using the in build flash. Think the format was large JPEG (got 3 to 4 MB jpegs from the Dump to my laptop).

All good comments to think about. I got my friend to set her camera up for me. As I said, first time I've used a D-SLR 'in anger'.

I may get to use her camera again at the Australian titles on the 27th. I see a lenses experiment coming on too.

I'll make sure I get fast memory cards (whether I get an EOS 400D, EOS 40D or whatever). Will use my EOS 50E lenses for starters, they have been good lenses for the last 10 year, but will upgrade 'em if needed.

I'm so looking forward to not having to 'ration' shots!