Canon EOS 20D (with 17-85mm Lens)

Earlier this year I bought this camera as an upgrade to my D-Rebel. Right out of the box I could feel positive differences between two:

1. Better build,
2. Controls layout (especially dial),
3. More focusing modes,
4. Wider ISO range,
5. Fastest shooting speed,
6. Read/write speed (I use it with SanDisk Extreme III CF)
7. and overall feel in the hands.

Battery life is superb.

After reading multiple positive reviews I blindly decided to go with EF-S 17-85mm lens which were in $600.00 price range at that time. After a month or so I started to get feeling that somewhat I'm not satisfied with the picture quality of such an expensive set. Pictures came out soft with so-so contrast. I noticed a lot vignetting and purple fringing. Indoor use with built in flash produced dark underexposed shots. But I continued shooting hoping to improve as I'm getting to know camera better, but.... What a shock it was to me to discover that my old Canon EF 28-105 USM lens outperformed the one I used al this time before. For test sake I also tried my kit lens for D-Rebel EF-S 18-55 and was unpleasantly surprised that it produced brighter and sharper images under the same settings and light conditions. I could not believe it. $600 lens outperformed by cheap kit set. Right there I decided to get rid of it and by an L glass. Later on I read similar complains from other users about this lens that only strengthened my feeling about it. What a relief was for me to find out that there is nothing wrong with camera itself. Now I'm able to produce much better, crispier, pictures using other Canon EF lenses and very happy with my camera up to date. Why 4 stars then, well as many complained

1. No spot metering
2. Poor indoor results with almost useless built in flash
3. Poor tungsten white balance(set it to custom WB to get better results indoors)
4. CMOS easily gets "dirty" (dust)
5. Small LCD display only 1.8"

But I guess Canon is aware of these drawbacks and will use it as an improvement in newer models in this price range.
My advise stay away from the EF-S 17-85 USM IS lens as it can downplay the quality and first impression of the rock solid built and beautiful camera such as Canon 20D. Better invest money in some EF lenses which you can use later when APC CMOS will be gone (as with new 5D) .

The 20D has been out for about a year now, and meanwhile Canon and Nikon have issued much less expensive SLRs aimed at the expanding "prosumer" market. But the 20D is still tops -- the perfect blend of features, size, weight, and good design for serious amateurs, and probably a good backup for a pro. I've had this camera (with the 17-85 mm lens) for nine months and have taken all sorts of shots -- landscape, portraits, telephoto, brightly lit scenes and night shots and it feels solid, sturdy and sure-footed in every situation. The controls are logical and well-placed.

Having hefted the newer, less expensive Canon 350D and the Nikon D70, I'd still buy the 20D. The only complaints are that macro performance of the 17-85mm lens is only so-so, and the LCD screen washes out in bright light.

If you're migrating from a film SLR, this camera is a full-fledged replacement that starts up and focuses fast, with no annoying shutter lag at all. And you have the huge range of Canon accessories. Three recommendations: Use the RAW/JPEG format for your pictures -- that way, when you do serious editing, you can start with the RAW file, which will give you more flexibility and a better result than the JPEG; buy a 1GB CF card; and buy the Canon 420EX flash, which is much less expensive than the 580EX and does a superb job.

I have gone from the old 640x480 about nine years ago to a 3.1m for the last few years to the Canon 20d now, what a pleasure to shot. The battery life has not been an issue even with over 250 shots, which should be sufficient for most anybody. There is a small learning curve but you would expect this with any new camera.
The lens choice was a great idea which came from an earlier review of the excellent walk around ability of this lens from the general shots to the closeups of those favorite flowers.
For those individuals who are on the fence about this product I tout it to all I have spoken to. It turned a good photo experience on our west coast road trip into a real serious photo shoot, it also uses the commonly accessable compact flash.
The built in flash works well have not had to explore the options at this time. The delivery of this item when promised was a nice bow on the package.

You will find hundreds of reviews and articles on the EOS 20D, I can not add more tech specs. (Steves Digicams, Imaging Resource, etc).

As a user I just can say that if you are a photo enthusiast this camera will cover all your needs, the picture quality is superb, it is super fast, accurate auto focus, solid, excellent grip.

Extra advice: If it is in your budget go for USM lens instead of the plastic cheap lens offered with the kit.

Remarks: Do not forget that more pixels doesn't mean better quality pictures just bigger prints.

I was upgrading from point-and-shoot digital. The choice was between the Canon Rebel XT, Nikon D70, and the Canon 20D. I am glad that I footed the extra cash for the 20D and even the IS 17-85 lens. It's well worth the investment for budding enthusiasts/amateurs like myself. Like playing a violin, you can't really be inspired to do better and do more if you don't have the right instrument.

PRO: FAST system in turning on and triggering, 5 shots/sec bursting (for great children pictures), 1/8000th second shutter speed (fun water pictures), 9-point auto-focusing system, solid feel of the body, ease of menu and yet plenty of options.

IMPROVEMENT: The door for the memory card is a bit loose as it is on the back side of the right hand grip. The shutter is a bit loud if you don't want the turning heads in a quiet setting (but even then it's not so unacceptable as you do have a nice camera to show off!).

17-85 IS LENS: Way better than the cheap stock lens! Image stabilization is great especially if you don't like shooting with a flash.