Camera Labs

Okay, my sister just requested some images were taken so I used one of the family 350D's. They don't know about the 500D and I don't want to justify finances and purchase dates, then have a discussion etc. My point and shoot wouldn't start up because the rechargables had run out, I don't use it much. I grabbed the Barbie camera and was going to use that, but then I was offered use of the 350D, so took it.

I have used it before, but using it is nowhere as easy as the 500D. Changing the ISO is on the small cursor, and the main thumb dial didn't want to move much. I used a mixture of full auto, P, A, and M. Well, the shutter sounds different to the 500D, it is louder, but being a smooth body, it attracts less dirt and can easily be wiped clean. (500D is rubber finish)

I could not easily change from JPG to RAW on the fly, infact I think I would have found the setting in the menus, but I stuck to JPG as I won't be post processing myself, not on this occasion. The older style kit lens (non IS version) doesn't zoom as smoothly, but it's not a great deal and I wasn't filming video.

Has anyone else on here used a mixture of similar bodies? Do you have any thoughts?

_________________
Canon EOS 500D
Lenses: EFS 18-55mm IS, EF 50mm F/1.8 II

I've used the 300D quite a lot. In the very beginning I had some problems finding the different setting but it was nice to have the bigger grip, the nicer sound and... well... the fitting battery grip
After a while of using the 500D it was much easier to me to use the 300D but after some weeks of using it in december 2011 I was happy to get back to my 500D again. The 300D's ISO noise starts to get annoying at ISO 400, you can't shoot JPG + RAW at the same time, getting back from stand-by takes ages and the screen is just terribly small. But well - it works. Now my brother gave it to my sister's husband, who isn't actually using it. I'd have loved to keep it to have some backup if my 500D dies. At the moment my backup is my EOS 33v.

_________________
Canon EOS 500D + Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Canon EF 24-105mm 4L IS USM + EF 100-400mm 4.5-5.6L IS USM + EF 100mm 2.8L Macro IS USM + Sigma 12-24mm 4.5-5.6 EX DG HSM + Canon Speedlite 580 EX II + Nissin Speedlite Di 466

Yes, the screens are smaller, I had to press the (slightly smaller) zoom buttons more to get in and out.

_________________
Canon EOS 500D
Lenses: EFS 18-55mm IS, EF 50mm F/1.8 II

You can say what you want, but I loved the 350D so much that after I sold it to get a 50D I immediately bought another one! It's small, no bells and whistles, just a camera. Changing the ISO I find to be quicker than on a 500D (yes, tried it), but that should be because of Ive used it for quite a long time. The battery lasts forever, it's quick (compared to the best P&Ss right now), the IQ is far better than most P&S cameras (even with 18-55 II, at f/5,6-8 below 35mm though), it's a feeling which I dont know how to discribe...
Use ISO1600 also frequently because of the quality.

Of course when I compare it with my 50D with Tamron 17-50 it falls behind sometimes (ugh), I still keep remembering though that it is just better than any compact camera (without interchangeable lenses, or the G1X). And when we start to talk about the price which is so small, it's just a give-away for first time DSLR owners who want to learn photography on a very tight budget.

Got to say too that I use it far more than my 50D; because of the size I take my 350D just everywhere: to school, when shopping, going for a quick walk etc.

Yes, I love it. Can recommend it to every DSLR owner that's wanting a smal ''going everywhere'' camera, instead of buying a Powershot.

_________________
Ruben

Panasonic DMC-FZ18, Panasonic DMC-FZ28, Canon G5, Canon 350D, Canon 50D + BG-E2N
Tamron 17-50 2.8, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM,
Canon 18-55 II plus lots of Minolta MD/M42 lenses and bodies

The 350D will exceed point and shoot compacts because it's a DSLR. I'm not criticising quality, just that using it wasn't the same as the 500D and the shutter sounds slightly different (louder).

_________________
Canon EOS 500D
Lenses: EFS 18-55mm IS, EF 50mm F/1.8 II

I know, Im sorry for any misunderstandigs! Im just so enthousiastic about the 350D, too much I guess
But well, that should be me. In the future Ill be looking for an ancient 1D(s?)... I just kind off love those oldies.

_________________
Ruben

Panasonic DMC-FZ18, Panasonic DMC-FZ28, Canon G5, Canon 350D, Canon 50D + BG-E2N
Tamron 17-50 2.8, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM,
Canon 18-55 II plus lots of Minolta MD/M42 lenses and bodies

It's nice to be using the older cameras, but the ISO will never be as clear etc, and the 350D doesn't appear to have flash exposure compensation.

_________________
Canon EOS 500D
Lenses: EFS 18-55mm IS, EF 50mm F/1.8 II

It does have flash exposure compensation, it's in the 2nd Menu page. And well, dont underestimate the 350D's low noise sensor

EDIT
Roughly at 2/3 of the page youll find a noise comparisation: http://www.juzaphoto.com/article.php?l=en&article=95

_________________
Ruben

Panasonic DMC-FZ18, Panasonic DMC-FZ28, Canon G5, Canon 350D, Canon 50D + BG-E2N
Tamron 17-50 2.8, Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM,
Canon 18-55 II plus lots of Minolta MD/M42 lenses and bodies

I have to agree with Ruben123 here: I had a 350D a couple of years and the low noise sensor was absolutely awesome! I remember some photographers running around with the Nikon D200 at the time, and that higher end model was totally blown out of the water by the 350D when looking at noise (all other features were not so great in comparison ofcourse ). The thing is: you are comparing the newer model in the same range with the older model.

If Canon hadn't improved on anything then something is going terribly wrong. So I am not quite sure what your intentions were when saying the 500D is better than the 350D. Because that kinda sounds like kicking in an open door to me .

_________________
Cameras: Canon EOS 7D, Canon EOS 40D
Lenses: Canon EF 17-40/4 L USM, Canon EF-S 60/2.8 Macro USM, Canon EF 70-200/2.8 L USM, Canon EF 100-400/4.5-5.6 L IS USM
Want list: Canon EF 24-105/4 L IS USM, Canon EF 100/2.8 Macro L IS USM