First impressions of the EOS 20D are good, it feels far less ‘prosumer like’ and instead feels more like a ‘baby EOS-1D’. Gone are some of the annoyances of the EOS 10D, the 20D now switches on virtually instantly and focuses quickly, it feels very solid and yet weighs slightly less than the model it replaces. So far so good.
| EOS 20D | 8.2 million effective pixels | AF 9 point | Continuous shooting 5.0 fps, 23 frames |
Specifications
| List price (body only) |
• US: $ 1,499 • EU: € 1,599 |
|---|---|
| List price (with EF-S 18-55 DC) |
• US: $ 1,599 • EU: € 1,699 |
| Body material | Magnesium alloy |
| Sensor | • 22.5 x 15.0 mm CMOS sensor * • RGB Color Filter Array • Built-in fixed low-pass filter • 8.5 million total pixels * • 8.2 million effective pixels * • 3:2 aspect ratio |
| Image processor | DIGIC II * |
| Image sizes | • 3504 x 2336 (8.2 MP) * • 2544 x 1696 (4.3 MP) * • 1728 x 1152 (2.0 MP) * |
| File formats | • RAW • JPEG (EXIF 2.21) – Fine / Normal • RAW + JPEG (separate files) * |
| Color space * | • sRGB • Adobe RGB |
| Lenses | • Canon EF / EF-S lens mount * • 1.6x field of view crop |
| Focusing | • 9-point TTL * • CMOS sensor • AF working range: -0.5 – 18 EV (at 20°C, ISO 100) * |
| Focus modes | • AI Focus AF • One shot AF • AI Servo AF • Manual focus |
| AF point selection | • Auto • Manual • Home position |
| AF assist | • Stroboscopic flash • 4.0 m range (at center) |
| Metering | • TTL 35 zone SPC • Metering range: EV 1.0 – 20 EV (at 20°C, ISO 100, 50 mm F1.4) |
| Metering modes | • Evaluative 35 zone • Partial (9% at center) • Center-weighted average • Metering range: 1 – 20 EV (at 20°C, ISO 100) |
| AE lock | • Auto: One Shot AF with evaluative metering • Manual: AE lock button |
| AE bracketing | • +/- 2.0 EV • 0.3 or 0.5 EV increments |
| Exposure compen. | • +/-2.0 EV • 0.3 or 0.5 EV increments |
| Sensitivity | • Auto (100, 200 or 400) • ISO 100 • ISO 200 • ISO 400 • ISO 800 • ISO 1600 • ISO 3200 (Enhanced H) |
| Shutter | • Focal-plane shutter • 30 – 1/8000 sec * • 0.3 or 0.5 EV increments • Flash X-Sync: 1/250 sec • Bulb |
| Aperture values | • F1.0 – F91 • 0.3 or 0.5 EV increments • Actual aperture range depends on lens used |
| White balance | • Auto (3000 – 7000 K) • Daylight (5200 K) • Shade (7000 K) • Cloudy (6000 K) • Tungsten (3200 K) • Fluorescent (4000 K) • Flash (6000 K) • Custom (2000 – 10000 K) • Kelvin (2800 – 10000 K in 100 K steps) |
| WB bracketing | • +/-3 levels • 3 images • blue/amber or magenta/green bias |
| WB shift | • Blue (-9) To Amber (+9) • Magenta (-9) to Green (+9) |
| Processing params | • Parameter 1 (con +1, shp +1, sat +1, tone 0) * • Parameter 2 (con 0, shp 0, sat 0, tone 0) * • Set 1 (con, shp, sat, tone) • Set 2 (con, shp, sat, tone) • Set 3 (con, shp, sat, tone) • B&W (con, shp, filter, toning) * |
| Custom params (Set 1 – 3) |
• Contrast (+/-2) • Sharpness (+/-2) • Saturation (+/-2) • Color tone (+/-2) |
| Viewfinder | • Eye-level pentaprism • 95% frame coverage • Magnification: 0.9x (-1 diopter with 50 mm lens at infinity) * • Eyepoint: 20 mm • Dioptric adjustment: -3.0 to +1.0 diopter • Precision matte screen |
| Viewfinder info | • AF points • Focus confirmation light • Shutter speed • Aperture • Manual exposure • AE Lock • Exposure compensation amount • AEB level • Partial metering area • Flash ready • Red-eye reduction lamp on • High-speed sync • FE Lock • Flash compensation amount • Warnings • Maximum burst for continuous shooting • Buffer space |
| LCD monitor | • 1.8″ TFT LCD • 118,000 pixels • 5 brightness levels • 10x zoom playback |
| Record review | • Off • On (histogram via INFO button) * • 2 / 4 / 8 sec / Hold |
| Flash | • Auto pop-up E-TTL II auto flash • FOV coverage up to 17 mm (27 mm equiv.) * • Guide number approx 13 • Flash compensation +/-2.0 EV in 0.3 or 0.5 EV increments • X-Sync: 1/250 sec * |
| External flash | • E-TTL II auto flash with EX-series Speedlites * • Wireless multi-flash support • PC Sync |
| Shooting modes | • Auto • Program AE (P) • Shutter priority AE (Tv) • Aperture priority AE (Av) • Manual (M) • Auto depth-of-field • Portrait • Landscape • Close-up • Sports • Night portrait • Flash off |
| Drive modes | • Single • Continuous: 5 fps up to 23 frames * • Self-timer: 10 secs |
| Direct printing | • Canon Card Photo Printers • Canon Bubble Jet Printers with direct print function • PictBridge * |
| Other features | • Orientation sensor • Automatically writes FAT16/FAT32 depending on capacity • LCD panel illumination |
| Auto rotation | • On (playback uses orientation data in file header) • Off |
| Playback mode | • Single image • Single image with info (inc. histogram) • Magnified view (1.5 – 10x in 15 steps, browsable) • 9 image index • Auto play • Image rotation • Jump |
| Custom functions | 18 custom functions with 50 settings * |
| Menu languages | • English • French • German • Spanish • Italian • Dutch • Swedish • Norwegian • Danish • Finnish • Chinese • Japanese |
| Firmware | User upgradable |
| Portrait grip | Via BP-E2 battery grip (option) |
| Connectivity | • USB 2.0 Hi-Speed * • Video out • N3 type wired remote control • PC Sync flash terminal |
| Storage | • Compact Flash Type I or II • Microdrive supported • FAT 12/16 and FAT 32 support • No CF card supplied |
| Power | • Lithium-Ion BP-511A rechargeable battery (supplied & charger) • Supports BP-511 / BP-511A / BP-512 / BP-514 • CR2016 Lithium battery (date/time backup) • Optional AC adapter |
| Dimensions | 144 x 106 x 72 mm (5.6 x 4.2 x 2.8 in) * |
| Weight (no batt) | 685 g (1.5 lb) * |
| Weight (inc. batt) | 770 g (1.7 lb) * |
ot surprisingly the EOS 20D feels very much like the EOS 10D, albeit a little lighter. One niggle I did have was the ‘nail file’, a part of the lens mount molding which is directly opposite the inside of the hand grip. This part of the body rubs against your fingernails which leaves little white marks (although not permanent). That aside the EOS 20D is a great camera to hold and shoot with, it’s small enough not to be bulky and ‘weighty’ enough (without feeling heavy) to provide a little weight-induced stabilization. It’s probably also worth noting that the rubber used on the rear of the camera and hand grip is now softer and more sticky than before.
On top of the camera is a large LCD panel which provides a wide range of information about the current camera settings and exposure. The main numeric section of the panel doubles up to provide other types of information such as the ‘Busy’ warning, ISO setting and processing parameter set when these are being changed. The panel has an orange backlight which is illuminated by pressing the backlight button to the top left of the panel, the backlight stays on for approximately six seconds.
Through the viewfinder you’ll see the partial metering circle and the nine focus points of the new AF system. In automatic AF point selection mode the AF points chosen by the camera are highlighted when you initiate AF (half-press shutter release / AF button), otherwise the selected AF point is highlighted*. In the example below all AF points are illuminated, this would only occur if you had pressed the AF point button with all points selected.
The CompactFlash compartment on the EOS 20D is at the rear corner of the hand grip and is opened by sliding the door towards you and flipping outwards. The door itself has a metal hinge and opens with plenty of room to remove the CF card once ejected. It’s worth noting that the CF activity light has moved from a hole in the compartment door to just below the quick control dial on the rear of the camera. The EOS 20D supports both Type I and Type II CompactFlash cards and cards greater than 2 GB in capacity (FAT32).
On the left side of the camera are all of the camera’s connections, these are protected by a rubber cover which allows you to expose the PC sync and remote terminals while keeping the USB and Video out terminals covered. In summary from top to bottom: USB (2.0 Hi-Speed), Video Out, PC Sync (left), Remote terminal (right; N3 type). Kudos to Canon for including USB 2.0.
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