400D Questions - Should I buy it?

[Addict]

My wife has a Oly 5050. It writes slower then she wants. Considering that it will not write faster (5 seconds per picture), I have thought about buying her a new camera.

I am not a photography person, so my questions may seem dumb...

My questions are this (Rebel 400D):
1. How fast after taking 1 picture will the camera be ready to snap another?
2. Is white balance adjusted by showing the camera a true white? (ie. her dive slate)
3. Will this camera Auto Focus?

Anyone else here gone from the 5050 to a SLR? Any comments?

Thanks for your help...

Addict

 

[AUTiger]

The 400D will be a huge improvement. The part that you haven't asked about is cost. It may not matter, but here's a brief summary of what you can expect to spend (plus or minus a few hundred for each item):

Housing: 1300-3000
Wide angle dome port: 300-500
Strobe: 500-1000
Macro Lens: 400-1000
Wide Angle Lens: 400-1000
Sync cables, arms, misc: 500

These are pretty much the cost of any entry dSLR setup. You don't have to buy it all at once. You might start with macro and then go wide angle later. Or you might compromise and start with the kit lense or an all purpose lense like a 17-70.

There are Point-and-Shoot cameras that will be faster/better than the 5050, but not a quantum leap forward like a dSLR. You get what you pay for.

David

 

[Gudge]

I've just bought my wife a 400D to replace her 5050, still waiting for the housing though.

1. Because it has a write buffer, as soon as you take a shot you're ready for another with no perceptable delay(as long as you don't take a lot of shots very quickly and fill up the buffer).

2. It can be, but the 400D has a variety of white balance options including auto

3. Yes

 

[alcina]

I've gone from the 5050 to DSLR - you can check out some of my initial thoughts if you follow the Pink Link in my signature.

Now I adore my DSLR - but there are still times I miss that trusty 5050!

 

[sharkbaitDAN]

I shoot the previous rebel, the 350D, but the cameras are similar in regards to your questions.

1. has been answered, I'll only add that you'll have to really try to fill the buffer if you're shooting U/W.

2. The AWB on my 350D is inaccurate, but using a slate to do manual WB should be easy and the pictures are really improved (at least topside). If you're willing to take the little extra time to manual WB, it will also mean you can shoot a better JPG, and have a lot more room on the memory card for more pics, since you won't need to shoot raw.

3. Yes, but speed will be dependant on the lenses. There may also be more of a tendency to hunt when there is low light, but that is based on experience with one older coolpix camera.

 

[tc]

Just got the 30D, no housing yet, I'll see ho it goes and let you know.

 

[PapaBob]

Addict: When Canon released the 20D I bot it and housed it. David is right, price the complete system (including insurance) before you get in too deep (pun intended). Last Christmas I got rid of my 300D, which my wife had been using, and bought my wife the 400D. She loves it. This is HER camera and I have to ask permission to use it! From my POV Canon has made substantial improvements and the 400D is the best value for the money in any Canon camera I have purchased so far.

A couple of additional comments on your questions. I gave up UW white balance a long time ago and shoot all my UW stuff in the Canon Camera RAW format. RAW is a digital negative that records all of the information from the camera sensor. I set the camera for automatic white balance (AWB) which will get you pretty close to what you want. With RAW you can use your computer to set the white balance without damaging the "digital negative." A RAW converter comes with Photoshop Elements and full version Photoshop that will let you make white balance (among many other) adjustments. The 400D comes packaged with the latest version of the Canon Zoom Browser. Although not as complete as the Adobe Raw Converter (ACR) in Photoshop, I have played with it and it does a great job considering you do not have to buy it. Also, white balance in the camera or in a RAW converter will only take you so far. Often I find that some work in Photoshop is required to bring out the best of the shot.

As to the autofocus, yes the 400D has this capability. You can autofocus in “one shot” mode which makes a single focus adjustment, or in a “servo mode” where the lens will constantly hunt for focus. It also has a series of programmable custom functions one of which lets you set the focus (one shot or a servo mode) with one button and exposure and shutter release with another. This give a huge amount of control over a typical UW shot. I am only showing you the tip of the iceberg here.

If you have more questions, let us know. I have no plans to house the 400D (my wallet was exhausted with the 20D) but I am interested in the experience of members who are housing this camera.

—Bob

 

[Addict]

This is all great feedback - thank you all! I ended up pulling the trigger. Comes with the 18-55. Is the 17-55 really worth getting a new lens?

Also, dome ports - is this a 'dome' for the sole purpose of allowing the lens to slide in and out?

Looking at the seatool housing. I assume all housings do not come with a port (included)?

I am excited to give this to her for our anniversary - I hope she likes it.

 

[WIBB]

I too just upgraded from the C5050 to the 400D.

I bought the kit along with a 70-200mm and 50mm macro lens. My next planned dive trip isn't till December so I am in no rush to house it yet. I want to see whom else will be producing one. I'm leaning towards the Sea & Sea. Although, I read at wetpixel that the DX-400d housing has the menu, delete and another button missing from the back panel. Hopefully S&S will update the back to include at least the menu button.

I'll continue to evaluate housing and strobe options. Some lenses I am following are the Tokina 10-17 FE (or the Canon 24 1.4) and the 100mm macro. The Canon 24 is double the price of the Tokina. The Tokina is getting rave reviews it seems. So, it is looking like a winner.

The ports are specific to the housing and lens combo. I've read dome ports are good and dome ports are bad (not counting the plastic versus glass issues). I'm thinking of sticking with rectilinear to start. But, the comments are based more on "pro" concerns that should exceed the expectations I might have at this point. To each his own probably....

Forget the price of the camera. The lenses and acccessories will kill you if want them all. I'm hoping to keep it simple for use and transport.

I love the ease of control of the camera. It shouldn't be too hard to get a good flow going underwater to expand the creativity. Now that I know otherwise, the C5050 seems a bit cumbersome now. I'll miss some aspects though. But, the image improvements should overcome the tradeoffs.

 

[PapaBob]

Addict: WIBB is correct that ports are specific to your lens. For Wide Angle I use the 10-22mm efs with a 8" dome port. The reason I went with the larger dome port was a reported superior "virtual image" and no need for a diopter on the front of the lens. The dome port is actually a part of your system optics. FDog gave a great lecture on this subject in THIS THREAD.

---Bob