20D users

[setiprime]

Any shooters on this forum using the Canon 20D. I have been away for a year and this site seems to have diminished in DSLR users but picked up on the P&S end. Just thought I would give it a try again.

Jon F.

[torbien]

I am not that convinced it is such a good camera
I had my camera on repair 3 times since i bought it in November. It has been unsharp & i have problems (a lot) in the shadow area with stripes, even on 400ASA

[lopix]

I think you got a lemon, yours are the first bad words I have heard about the camera. I absolutely love mine!

[Iansky]

I also have a 20D and I Looooooove it, I have been taking photos for over 30yrs and using Digital for a couple. The 20D is my first Digital SLR and I can honestly say it is fantastic.

The imgaes are sharp with good tonal range throughout, the metering is spot on and shutter lag is almost nil, the focus is superb so all in all an outstanding camera.

I have noticed a lot more pros using this camera in support of its more expensive brothers so that has to be a good sign.

I suggest you go and handle the camera and if you like the feel, weight and build quality you can be assured you will also like the results providing of course you get a suitable lens to do it justice.

Ian

[Jack M]

20D user here - I just got mine - won it in a contest. I can not wait to shoot some real shots this weekend.

[ponder]

Those of you who just purchased your Canon 20D or won it in a contest, be sure to test it and be sure that your CCD sensor doesn't have blown out pixels like my 2 month old camera. I'm now sending it back to a Canon dealer in NJ to have my CCD sensor replaced. To test your camera, shoot a blue sky at noon at F/22 and then use your photo software and enlarge to 300 percent. If you see any strange artifacts like little round black dots, you could be in for some trouble. When I first started posting here, some alert viewers pointed these dots out to me and then advised me to purchase a digital camera cleaning kit, which I did. In my case however, the cleaning kit didn't do it even after cleaning 5 times, so now it's back to Canon.

Good luck with your new cameras.

Ponder

[Jack M]

Thanks for the info Ponder. I have not noticed anything, but I will check it this week.

[Artigraphy]

Ponder - is there anywhere on the internet that discusses this problem. I just tested my less-than-4-months-old 20D and have round blemishes all over the image.

Any further info is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[elSuizoLoc]

Hi folks

I have a 20D, too, and am a happy amateur user. No problems so far, apart that it's a pitty that the LCD screen only works for reviewing and not shooting, plus it's small. But the camera is much better than my skills! :-)

Michael, Lima, Peru
www.vonbergen.net

[lopix]

I have the round dots as well, plus some severe banding at long exposures. Maybe I should be looking into this further...

[Artigraphy]

I have done a bit more digging on the internet and I am 99% sure that the round dots that show up on my 20D at f22 are dust. I am going to try cleaning the sensor and see what happens.
Since I rarely shoot above f11 anyway, the "dust" generally does not show.

[lopix]

What about the banding? Is there a firmware update for this?

[ponder]

Steve and Iopix,

My Canon 20D was just returned by Canon this week and they said that the round dots that I referred to were actually dust particles embedded in the CCD sensor. Because my camera was under warranty, the cleaning didn't cost a thing and they returned it within 7 days.

Also, you don't need to go further than this site to learn more about cleaning your camera sensor. The Nikon folks have had the exact same thing happen to them and they gave me a wealth of information on the subject. I also purchased a special cleaning kit from Copper Hill Galleries to clean the CCD. To read more about this, check out this thread.
http://www.bytephoto.com/forums/t2856.html

I tried cleaning my CCD 5 times, but I just couldn't get rid of those black dots, but if dust comes back I will try using the cleaning kit again. If you own a DSLR you really should have one of these cleaning kits. Here is some more information right from the photographer who sells the kits.

http://www.pbase.com/copperhill/ccd_cleaning
and here's another one to check out.

http://www.earthboundlight.com/cgi-b...206&mode=print

One other tidbit, I haven't had the banding problem that you talk about, but Canon did just send me a notice that there is a new firmware upgrade availble, which they already applied to my camera when I sent it in to them for cleaning. The update is supposed to fix something with the external wired cable release mechanism.

Here is a link to Canon's site to obtain that firmware update.

http://web.canon.jp/Imaging/eos20d/e...irmware-e.html

Good luck to all of you who have had problems.

Ponder

[catlady]

I've had my 20D for a month, and I am not happy that my photos are not sharp at full size 8 megapixel. I use mostly Canon 75-300 mm zoom lens. Is there a problem with the camera or the lens ? I make sure the green light is on before I press the shutter. The money I spent on this camera and lens I expect sharp photos...

[jtmorales]

Originally posted by catlady
I've had my 20D for a month, and I am not happy that my photos are not sharp at full size 8 megapixel. I use mostly Canon 75-300 mm zoom lens. Is there a problem with the camera or the lens ? I make sure the green light is on before I press the shutter. The money I spent on this camera and lens I expect sharp photos...

Are you shooting in RAW or JPEG? What parameter are you using? If your shooting in RAW your photos will not be that sharp straight out of the camera. RAW format is designed to give a an exact image that allows you control over the post processing. It is literally the RAW data. If you shoot in JPEG, you may want to look at your Parameter setting. I believe it's setting 1 that offers a sharper JPEG image. Do you have any images to show as examples?