Base / Tripod Mount

On the bottom of the camera you'll find the metal tripod socket which is aligned exactly with the center line of the lens.

Sadly just like the EOS 10D there is no rubber foot or grip on the base of the camera.

Pop-up Flash

The built-in pop-up flash unit uses Canon's E-TTL system to meter flash output. It does this by firing a low power pre-flash just milliseconds before the main flash. The built-in flash can sync up to 1/200s. The flash pop-up is electronically released, that is pressing the flash button pops the flash up using a solenoid release mechanism. In AUTO exposure the flash will automatically pop-up when required. You will note from the overlaid image on the right below that the EOS 300D's flash is raised much higher than the EOS 10D, this is clearly a confirmation from Canon on two points; firstly that the EOS 10D's flash height wasn't enough to clear some lenses and secondly that they expect more users to actually use the EOS 300D's internal flash, more so than EOS 10D owners.

Approximate range (using a Canon EF-S 18 - 55 mm F3.5 - F5.6 lens):

ISO speed Wide-angle: 18 mm Telephoto: 55 mm
100 0.7 - 3.7 m (2.3 - 12.1 ft) 0.7 - 2.3 m (2.3 - 7.5 ft)
200 0.7 - 5.3 m (2.3 - 17.4 ft) 0.7 - 3.3 m (2.3 - 10.8 ft)
400 0.7 - 7.4 m (2.3 - 24.3 ft) 0.7 - 4.6 m (2.3 - 15.1 ft)
800 0.7 - 10.5 m (2.3 - 34.5 ft) 0.7 - 6.6 m (2.3 - 21.6 ft)
1600 0.7 - 14.9 m (2.3 - 48.9 ft) 0.7 - 9.2 m (2.3 - 30.2 ft)

The EOS 300D also allows for FE-Lock (Flash Exposure Lock) which can be used to take a meter reading of the subject using the flash before taking the shot. This can be useful for recomposing the scene, with the flash up (or an EX flash attached) simply aim the center of the frame at the subject to be metered, press the * button and the camera will fire the flash and take a meter reading, the next shot you take will use this locked exposure.

AF Assist

Like the EOS 10D the EOS 300D uses its flash for AF assist (mostly because the AF system is notably better than that of the EOS-D30/D60 in low light). If you need to use AF Assist you must pop-up the flash which will fire a brief strobe of flashes (sometimes just one) to help the AF system to lock.

Flash Hot-shoe

The EOS 300D's hot-shoe can be used with Canon and third party flash units (although features are limited with third party units). The hot-shoe is E-TTL compatible; Evaluative TTL metering, a pre-flash just before the main flash. All E-TTL flashes are compatible, including 380EX, 420EX, 550EX, ST-E2, and macro flash MR-14EX, MT-24EX. Shown on the right below with Canon's 550EX flash unit (which admittedly is a little large and top-heavy on the EOS 300D, although still amazingly effective).

Lens Mount

The EOS 300D has a metal EF / EF-S lens mount which means that it can use the full range of Canon EF lenses as well as the new EF-S 18 - 55 mm lens (we expect more to follow) which is being included in the 'Kit' package. Below you can see the extra space made behind the lens mount on the EOS 300D to allow for the closer rear element of EF-S lenses. Note that EF-S lenses have a white dot mount indicator on them which lines up with the white dot on the 300D's body.

Recent Videos

Remember that because the sensor used in the EOS 300D is smaller than a 35 mm frame all lenses are subject to a field of view crop (sometimes inaccurately called focal length multiplier) of 1.6x, thus an 18 mm lens provides the same field of view as a 28.8 mm lens on 35 mm film.

Canon EOS 300D lens mount Canon EOS 10D lens mount

Shutter Release Sound

Someone on our discussion forums asked "how does the EOS 300D sound?", well I do love a nice challenge and far be it from me to not give our readers what they want. I recorded a sample (click here - 212 KB MP3) of both the EOS 300D and EOS 10D shooting in continuous mode for their maximum number of frames (both cameras set to 1/320 sec shutter speed). Actually it's interesting because the waveform graph of the is quite revealing, firstly you can see the difference in amplitude between the two shutter sounds (the EOS 300D is noticeably louder than the EOS 10D) as well as the difference in continuous shooting speed. As I commented earlier the EOS 300D's mirror isn't as elegantly damped as the EOS 10D and does send more vibration through the camera.


(Left: EOS 300D four shots @ 2.5 fps, Right: EOS 10D nine shots @ 3.3 fps)

Lens

The new EF-S 18 - 55 mm F3.5 - F5.6 lens was announced at the same time as the EOS 300D (the first Canon digital SLR which supports EF-S). EF-S lenses are designed to be used with digital SLR's (although Canon don't stretch to calling them 'digital lenses'), the rear element of these lenses protrudes further into the shutter box (space behind the lens mount) as can be clearly seen from the third image below (beside the EF 28-135 mm). Interestingly this protrusion has a hard rubber ring which appears to seal against the shutter box when the lens is attached to the camera. Remember that the EF-S lens can only be used on the EOS 300D (as no other EOS cameras are compatible with the EF-S lens mount).

As the imaging circle is smaller for digital SLR's so the lens can be made smaller and lighter. The lens itself is plastic bodied and lightweight, it uses an normal DC motor for focusing (not the nicer silent USM motors of more expensive lenses)*. On the EOS 300D this lens produces an equivalent field of view of 28.8 to 88 mm (a useful carry anywhere 3x zoom). Note that the EF-S 18-55 isn't really designed for manual focus, it doesn't have a focus distance scale on the lens nor does it have a 'proper' focus ring, you turn the front of the lens barrel (and that's a bit hit or miss).

* Note that the EF-S 18-55 mm lens sold in Japan does have a USM motor, although it's also more expensive than the DC motor lens sold in the rest of the world. Difference should be limited to slightly quicker focus speed and quieter operation. This lens will not be made available in the rest of the world.

For this review we were supplied with the EOS 300D Kit which includes this lens, as such we will be carrying out the majority of our tests using this lens and will also add some tests normally carried out on prosumer cameras. Canon are clearly aiming the EOS 300D Kit at prosumer level cameras such as the new Sony DSC-F828, Fujifilm S7000Z, Minolta DiMAGE A1 etc. Thus the quality of this bundled lens is fundamental to the initial success of the camera. (The lens used for various tests will be indicated within the test text).

 

Supplied In the Box (Kit version)

Items listed below are for the Kit version (includes the EF-S 18-55 mm lens), note that there is no Compact Flash card include with the EOS 300D. The Body only version is exactly the same except that the lens is not included.

The EOS 300D Kit (including lens) is supplied as:

  • Canon EOS 300D Digital SLR body
  • EF-S 18 - 55 mm F3.5 - F5.6 lens
  • Eyecup (attached to camera)
  • BP-511 Lithium-Ion battery pack
  • CB-5L Battery charger
  • Neck strap
  • USB Cable
  • Video Cable
  • CD-ROM: Canon Digital Camera Solutions Disk (Win/Mac)
  • CD-ROM: Adobe Photoshop Elements (Win/Mac)
  • Manuals / Reg. card