Light weight, quick focus, excellent photos right out of the box

Big hands = hard to hold, with the optional BP200 battery pack, it is perfect size for those of us that have bigger hands

This camera is excellent, I have had it for about a week and have already put 6 rolls of film through it. Picture quality is excellent for amateurs or people wanting to get into photography with the 28-80 lens included in the kit. The BP-200 optional battery pack is also very handy for those people who feel there isn't enough to grab onto with just the camera itself. I see this camera taking me well into my new hobby, being very versatile yet easy enough to hand to somebody and allow them to just point and shoot.

Customer Service

Not needed as of yet!

Similar Products Used:

Yashica SLR w/ Sigma 28-70 AF, Old Olympus 35mm

Very light weight, versatile, and inexpensive. Great for any level photographer. 7-point focus is easy to understand and use.

Setting dial looks as if it belongs on a child's camera...very umprofessional.

I purchased this camera because of it's reviews (and price). It's a great camera; easy and fun to work with. The results can be very rewarding. This camera may be successfully used by any level of photographer. As the skill of a photographer grows so will the appearance of their pictures. This is a great camera to grow with.

Customer Service

n/a

Similar Products Used:

Nikon; N60,N6006, N70, N80, N90's. Canon; EOS A2E, EOS Rebel 2000 QD. Minolta; XTsi.

very easy to operate for beginners because it is fully automatic if you want to use it that way.

None

we purchased this camera for our daughter, who is just getting into photography. For someone who hasn't handled a camera of this magnitude, she finds it very easy to operate, very light weight, but not cheap feeling. this is a great camera to start with and advance with. it's got everything on it that she will need for now and in the future.

Similar Products Used:

canon tele-photo 35mm

Simple, lightweight, easy to use, DOF preview included, adequate AF speed.

Nothing signifigant.

The Rebel was purchased as a backup for the EOS-3. But this is an excellent camera that gets used for a lot more than emergencies. It has the advantage of being simple to use, light weight, and very affordable. At the same time, it has been treated rather roughly and has come through with nary a problem.

The AF is slower than the EOS-3 but still fast enough to capture outdoor sports.

The controls are obvious and very fast to use. It includes all levels of automation from fully auto to fully manual.

Used with the Canon 28-135 IS lens, the Rebel becomes the ideal travel camera.

Excellent all around.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

Canon EOS-3, lots of Pentax 35mm and 6x7.

Perfect for beginner
lightweight

A bit too simplified in its use. Doesn't lend to professional learning quite as easily. Too much automation.

Being an amateur, I find this product adequate for now. This inexpensive item is great to learn on and it will help me learn what features I would like in a future camera.

Customer Service

EXCELLENT!

Similar Products Used:

None

Metering
Weight
Ease of Use
Depth of Field Preview
Command Dial
Remote Shutter Release

Plastic Lens Mount
Seven Focus Points

I purchased this camera soon after my daughters birth to capture those prescious moments. Before this, my photographic experience was negligable, but since buying this camera, I have become a budding enthusiast.

At first I used the Full Auto and specialist settings, but the camera is so easy to use and understand that I quickly began to use the Shutter and Aperture Priority settings, and the Manual setting too. I find the Depth of Field Preview makes it very easy to understand what the aperture settings do to the captured image.

The seven focusing points do not always focus as you would expect, and with narrow depth of field, this can ruin a good photo. I no longer use the full auto settings, and have selected the centre focusing point manually. As long as I continue to use the creative modes, the centre point will always be selected, removing the problem. However, this returns if I use the Full Auto modes.

The focusing is quick and accurate, only running into problems in low light conditions where the flash fires quickly and the lens goes hunting. Manual focus is easy to eachieve with a smooth and fluid action on the focusing ring on my 28 - 80 II lens. I would add that the focusing is very quiet, and I do not have the USM lens. I have used a Nikon F60, and the focusing was much slower and considerably noisier.

The inclusion of remote shutter release, while totally unimportant when I purchased the camera, has turned out to be a real bonus. I purchased the shutter release and a tripod and have been experimenting with portrait and landscape work.

As a beginner My knowledge of correct exposure is limited, and I am highlt reliant on my cameras readings. I have found the meter readings to be very accurate, and the addition of exposure compensation and AEB makes getting the correct exposure a dead cert.

I would recommend this camera to anyone. It is clearly suited to beginners with the auto modes, but is fully manual when required, and with accurate meter readings.

Customer Service

Not Used

Similar Products Used:

Nikon F60

The most flexible SLR I know. Good Automatic Function:Manual Function Ratio. An easily expandable package. It's very light.

It's very light. Even though this is one of its strong points, sometimes if the lens get too heavy, the whole camera becomes lopsided.

Awsome camera to start with as a beginner. Allows the user to become accustomed to the manual functions very easily, while still maintaining an Auto backup in case you're not sure what you're doing. Versatile.

Customer Service

None. Very rugged for its construction.

Similar Products Used:

Canon Elan IIE, A2E
Pentax Super Program
Nikon N60, N80

Price, weight, easy to use, can use wide range of canon lenses and accessoires

Automatic choice of focusing points, af-points can't be seen in bad lighting conditions, af assist flash is very annoying (although it works)

I bought this camera in a set with a Tamron 28-200 for 1000 DM (around 500$), which is, in my oppinion, quite fair. I wanted to have the wide zoom range as I mainly photograph playing children during my holiday job in a computer camp, where anything can happen, any time, at any distance ;-) So I'm really looking forward to that, but I wanted to get the EOS 300 early in order to be able to learn to use this nifty piece of technology.

Until now I have shot 8 rolls of film on various occasions, including rock bands on stage (where the small built-in flash was just right to illuminate the faces, because the stage was *very* dark), and a party where I used the bigger 380EX flashlight (really liked the af-assist light, which is nearly invisible, opposed to the built-in af-assist, which will really drive people mad!).

I can recommend the EP-EX 15 eyepiece extender, because it takes the stress off your nose, although it's not cheap. Do get the BP200 battery pack (really!), because once you get used to the better grip, you won't be able to understand how anybody can use this camera without it (at least with the heavy 28-200 mounted, maybe it's not as necessary with the standard 28-80).

One thing that I really miss is illuminated af-points - it's impossible to determine if you're on target in dark conditions! But I guess that's a common problem in this price range.

One other weakness is the automatic selection of the 7 af-points. The best solution to that problem may be eye-control, which is one major feature of the EOS 30, and costs nearly twice as much. My solution is to choose the central focus point and use one of the creative modes. Or you just pay attention to the af-point-indicator. I think it's really okay for the price.

I have to say that I am really happy with the EOS 300, because I have got some good photos in bad conditions, so I hope that in good conditions I will get even better ones :)

Get this camera if you want to have manual control when timing ist not critical, and good automatic modes when you don't have time to think but just want good photos. It's a good upgrade when you have used a P&S before and want more ;-) And in case you realize that you want more than this body can give (eye-control, more pics/second, more ruggedness because you really use your camera *a lot*), you can get a better Canon and still use this one as an extremely light-weight backup body.

Concerning Canon vs. Nikon: In my oppinion, these are the two companies you should consider when buying an entry-level SLR, because they offer a good upgrade-path. I chose Canon because a good friend of mine has several EOS cameras, so I can exchange lenses and other equipment with him and, even more important, can profit from his experience. I am sure that Nikon offers the same quality at nearly the same price (although in my case I had the choice between F60 and EOS 300 at the same price, which does not seem fair because the F65 seems to be Nikon's answer to Canon's most popular body).

So go out, get yourself a SLR (probably the EOS 300, I think you won't be disappointed), start thinking about why your photos come out good or bad, and have fun!!!

Customer Service

haven't had to use it :)

Similar Products Used:

Pentax 105R P&S

high quality of construction, finess, lots of programs, to help any user, from amateur to professional shoot pro photos. The light weight is fantastic, you can shoot photos for hours. Using a Superia Fuji 100 film, you can get really crisp and colorful pics. Havent tried any BW yet.
Would I buy it again? Certainly, I am planning to buy one more right now, so I can switch between BW and color, or different ISO for different occasions. Anyway, the camera is great, if you dont have one, get one.

The 28-80 lense is good for its price in the KIT, but at 80 it darkens the photo, so you lose a lot of the color vibration you can get at a zoom level of 50mm. It is not the sharpest lense possible, but it serves the purposes of an amateur photographer that wants to shoot family, dogs, and landscape.

Not much more to say. The camera is fantastic!

Customer Service

never needed it

Similar Products Used:

Nikon F60, Olympus manual (early 80/s)

Quick AF!!
Good light metering.

No audible low light warning.
7 focusing points.
Cannot change film mid-roll.
No dioptre correction.
Eye piece easily drops off.
AF hunts in extreme darkness.

The seven focusing points do not always focus as you would expect in visually busy scenes, which I only realised after shooting 8 consecutive rolls of film over 4 weeks at numerous and distant locations **ARGH!!** Having to manually reset the central focus point is a bit irritating each time you reenter the creative modes.

An audible low light warning indicator in low light situations (below 1/30)would have been an excellent feature, had it been included.

The inability to set metering method manually is a disappointment, for an otherwise good camera.

A good, value for $$ camera all-round. The 28-80 USM lens lacks the optical sharpness and impact of my old Minolta lenses.

Customer Service

No need to use.

Similar Products Used:

Minolta 7000 AF
Minolta XD7