350D Hands On

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Albert Nurick - 26 May 2005 02:26 GMT

I was in my local Microcenter, and had a chance to finally handle the
Canon Digital Rebel XL (350D).

It's too small for me.

It felt very uncomfortable to handle; I couldn't get a secure grip on
the things, and I do not have gigantic hands. I handled a 20D
back-to-back with the 350D, and the difference in handling was
significant. I also found the rear-mounted wheel to be a superior
system for menu navigation.

I know there's a $400 price difference, but for me, it's worth it.
Unless something better shows up in the interim, natch.

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Tom Dillon - 26 May 2005 12:30 GMT

I do have small hands, and the XT fit them better...so I bought it. The
only problem I had was getting used to moving my thumb so as to not turn on
the self timer. Once I got past that, I find the camera to be just what I
had hoped it would be. Different strokes, and all that.....

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burnsdavidj@yahoo.com - 26 May 2005 14:49 GMT

I'd recommend giving the 350D another chance. My first reaction, after
holding the 20D and D70 was that the 350 was a small-a.s camera and
cheaply made. But I gave it another chance and evaluated the camera on
its merits alone..its small & compact, but plastic is not an indicator
of 'cheap' in this case and it is solidly built. Although you can
completely envelop the camera with big meaty hands, holding the lense
with one and the base/grip with another is more than sufficient for
stability. Component wise the camera is very similar to the 20D so
you're quality of photos won't suffer.

Ultimately you'll probably use the camera more due to its small size
and weight than you would a larger camera. For street shooting, social
settings, and hiking (my usage pattern) this camera actually is a
better fit. Don't underestimate the weight difference... the 20D on a
neckstrap weighs considerably more, so much so that I'd say you REALLY
need to have those extra features to justify the extra expense.

Note: if you're getting the 350D, familiarise yourself with the issues
of ACR 3.1 and Photoshop CS2...its not going to be supported under CS
or previous Photoshop versions so it might trigger some extra expense.

> I was in my local Microcenter, and had a chance to finally handle the
> Canon Digital Rebel XL (350D).
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
> albert@nurick.com | eCommerce - Content Management
> www.nurick.com | Web Applications - Hosting

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Albert Nurick - 26 May 2005 16:54 GMT

> I'd recommend giving the 350D another chance. My first reaction, after
> holding the 20D and D70 was that the 350 was a small-a.s camera and
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> stability. Component wise the camera is very similar to the 20D so
> you're quality of photos won't suffer.

My complaint wasn't with the image quality, it was with the ergonomics.
Even in 30 minutes in the store, the difference between way the two
handled was sigificant. The 20D felt natural, the 350 felt too small.
For someone with small hands, it would perhaps be perfect.

I also found the ergonomic benefits of the rear dial serving as a jog
wheel for menu navigation to be huge; you could get to your options
quickly, instead of "push, push, push, push" on small buttons.

> Ultimately you'll probably use the camera more due to its small size
> and weight than you would a larger camera. For street shooting, social
> settings, and hiking (my usage pattern) this camera actually is a
> better fit. Don't underestimate the weight difference... the 20D on a
> neckstrap weighs considerably more, so much so that I'd say you REALLY
> need to have those extra features to justify the extra expense.

My plan is to get a small P&S for social settings; I'm currently
shooting with a Sony 828, and I leave it behind more than I'd like due
to its size. I've been reading very good things about one of the tiny
Casio models.

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burnsdavidj@yahoo.com - 26 May 2005 17:01 GMT

Well if you've got the money go for the 20D it certainly is a better
camera. I do want to point out though that I don't find the Canon all
that difficult menu-wise though... its a single button click to select
white balance, iso, aperature, and then you can use the toggle wheel on
the top right...so its a button-push + toggle vs a straight toggle. Not
too encumbering unless you want to monkey with deeper settings.

As i understand it, shoot in RAW and then post-processing in Photoshop
eliminates the need to worry about white balance anyways, so there's
not an awful lot I'll be tweaking regularly (outside of my presets).
I'm a learning amateur though so your needs might be greater than mine.
I just wanted to point out the menu system isn't nearly as encumbering
as I anticipated based on posts here.

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briansgooglegroupemail@yahoo.com - 27 May 2005 02:35 GMT

> I was in my local Microcenter, and had a chance to finally handle the
> Canon Digital Rebel XL (350D).
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> I know there's a $400 price difference, but for me, it's worth it.
> Unless something better shows up in the interim, natch.

Well, you don't hold a camera with your right hand.... you hold it
with your left.

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tr33lo - 27 May 2005 09:29 GMT

you could always try the 350D with the BGE3 battery grip it makes the
camera a much better fit.

>> I was in my local Microcenter, and had a chance to finally handle the
>> Canon Digital Rebel XL (350D).
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
>Well, you don't hold a camera with your right hand.... you hold it
>with your left.

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