Thinking of upgrading my 300D - too soon?

Hallsy

Hallsy

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I'm starting to consider upgrading my Canon 300D body. I bought it in March this year as a stepping stone into the DSLR world, I bought the body with std kit lens, and a Sigma 70-300 for £180 (this was what the seller had been offered trade in) which was a good price at the time.

I have since sold the Sigma, and added a Canon 55-250mm IS and a Nifty Fifty, the odd filter, Slingshot bag, tripod, etc.

The bug has bitten!!

I am now starting to find things with the 300D that bug me, like the plasticy body, the slow and small buffer, the inability to be able to select AF servo, even after the firmware hack. I am quite happy with the image quality though.

I still wouldn't want to be blowing a lot of money on a new body, but I was thinking along the lines of a 20D. Would this be a worthy upgrade to my 300D? Would a 30D be worth spending the extra?

I wonder if maybe I'm jumping too soon as if I haven't had enough time to fully exploit my 300D, but the few things that annoy me already do seem like a worthy reason to upgrade.

Then it comes down to selling the 300D as I'd want to use it to partially fund the new body. I thought about selling it body only, but would it likely sell better with a lens as it's an entry level body so a new user may be looking for a useable kit out of the box? I could bundle with the kit lens and buy something better or maybe find a cheap EF lens and sell with that.

On ebay a 300D bodies seem to go for around £130, but bodies with kit lens can make between £150 & £200, so maybe it would be worth selling it with the kit lens, or similar. I have all the original kit stuff apart from the box, do the above prices seem likely?

It seems that 20D bodies make between £200 & £250 so I wouldn't have to spend much more to upgrade. 30D's seem to make more like £350, are they worth the extra?

I'm also wondering whether to do it now rather than later, although I'm sure the value of my 300D has probably dropped as far as it will go now.
 
I've just upgraded from a 300D to a 40D and the difference is huge. I was going to keep the 300D as a spare but after a few weeks with the 40D it seems alien when I pick it up.
I would sell it with the lens, it makes a more attractive package in my mind.
 
OK thanks - a 40D would be too much expense for me!!

I see they have quite different control layouts, but I'm sure I'd soon get used to it - hopefully!!
 
not sure if its much help, but i always herd, from reviews and such, that there wasnt anything massivly different between the 20d and the 30d, apart from slight changes to the bulid, a larger better lcd, greater buffer space, things that would all be nice, but not nessasarily esential for a better shot, (correct me if im wrong)
nathan
 
Thanks for that, a larger LCD would be a plus for me, but not worth £100 extra!!
 
Hallsy said:
I am now starting to find things with the 300D that bug me, like the plasticy body, the slow and small buffer, the inability to be able to select AF servo, even after the firmware hack. I am quite happy with the image quality though.

I wonder if maybe I'm jumping too soon as if I haven't had enough time to fully exploit my 300D, but the few things that annoy me already do seem like a worthy reason to upgrade.
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I agree totally. We seem to see so many people who feel they want to upgrade but can't articulate why. You have some very clear reasons for wanting to upgrade, so go for it.
 
The rear LCD is pointless except for changing menu options, image problems have to be glaring to show up on it. I went from the 300D to the 30D and it was a good move, I'm very happy that I did. I still have my 300D and the plan (eventually) is to convert it to IR use.
 
Well, I'm still a little unsure, a 20D would be quite a cheap option if I sell my 300D, but I will have to look into the 30D more to see if I think it's worth paying the extra for me.

However after a days shooting yesterday, mainly with my 18-55mm kit lens, I'm wondering if my priority at the moment ought to be a replacement for this lens!! I wasn't over impressed with most of the images I got yesterday, although most if that was my fault (I'd failed to notice that I'd left the ISO at 800 until very late in the day :( ) and the rotating front element soon became a pain when using a CPL!!
 
I've been using a 20D for a while now, at the time I couldn't afford a 30D so it was the only option, if you're OK with the screen on your 300D a 20D should be OK!
 
The 300d can take some cracking pictures - the std lens is pretty naff, its built to a low cost budget as a starter lens. A move to a Sigma 17-70 would see a big improvement.

I went from a 300d to a 30d (just sold body only on here locally for £310 cash, ebay sales typically 300-340 after postage), and have now moved to a 5d(due to dropping prices and cashback deals).

The 30d is probably still a little outside your budget, but give it another 4 months and you'll be knocking on the door . The 30d was a small upgrade over the 20d (all reviews at the time were disappointed by the small upgrade), so don't feel the 20d is a significantly inferior model, its not.

As you have had the 300d for so short a time, i'd go for the 17-70 Sigma, then in 6 months time think about selling the 300d with the kit lens and buying a 30d body
 
I think it makes sense to get the lenses right before upgrading. Tamron 17-50 2.8 or a Sigma 10-20 or Tokina 11-16 would be on my shopping list with your current set up.
 
what's the going rate for the 5d now anyway? On ebay they range from £500 to about £900 for BNIB ones.
 
Do you know, I had started to come to that conclusion, that maybe I could hold back a little longer on the bodt upgrade.

On my shopping list for a replacement for the kit lens was Tamron 17-50 f/2.8, Sigma 18-50 f/2.8 or 17-70 f/2.8-4.5. From reviews I was favouring the Tamron, although the 17-70mm would be good with a little more length over the other two, but I think the fixed aperture would be better for the future.

I suppose my main gripe with the 300D is it's crap buffer and lack of true AF servo, I'm going to Le Mans this weekend, so that should help me decide for how long I can live without these features!!!
 
Hi,

I am toying with the idea of selling my 30D, so keep it in mind if you do fancy an upgrade. It has just under 2 years warranty cover with Empire Direct left on it ( March 2010 if remember right).

I'm looking to upgrade too if I can find the right 1D Mark II.

Mike.
 
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