Epson P2000 and Rebel XT

[dooda]

I was flipping through a mag at London Drugs today and found a full page Epson P2000 ad. Wicked so I went to Lens and Shutter, and sure enough they had one in stock for 669 can. I almost bought it right there as I've coveted one for a while (though the 24-120 VR calls me as well and the Sigma 10-20). What a beautifully designed and perfect piece of equipment. It felt sturdy and the screen was very large. Buttons were nice and the slots were all in the right places (drool). I flipped through the instruction manual as well. Yup, this is definitly a must have. to view your pics on a 3.8 inch screen at 600% crop is more than I can imagine.

So anyways, they also had the new Canon XT 8mp and I haven't held a canon since buying D70. First thing that surprised me was how light it was. Do not drop this camera, I'm not kidding it's no heavier than the plastic disposables that you buy at the grocery. The plastic was pretty soft and it had almost a hollow feel to it. The body is also really small. Your hand doesn't fit on it very well and I had two fingers floating around with nothing to do. The one redeeming quality was the little dial that moves from P to AV to PORT. Shiny and big.
I forgot how little I care for the ergonomics of the canon. The on/off switch I don't t hink I could ever get used to, the screen is way down at the bottom of the camera back and negotiating around through the camera was difficult to say the least. I was surprised to see it switch on as I had assumed there was no battery (again, it was so light) so I snapped a few shots. The heavier body of the D70 really controls a lot of the shutter noise etc. The focus seemed relatively quick, but it kind of squeeked each time I took a pic. Sort of annoying.

I've always been quite neutral about the Rebel compared to the D70. I never bashed it overtly and focused more on how much I love my D70. I always understood that it made a lot of sense for many, and much of it was personal. While I confess that much of my opinion stems from my own adjustment to my camera, i can say with assurance that I wouldn't ever switch to Canon based on the new Rebel XT. It felt quite cheap compared to the D70 and I would defy any canonite to challenge that. A child could hold the two of them and decide quickly. Anyways, I'm not a basher of Canon; I respect them and their users but I was quite surprised at the look feel and sound of the rebel XT.

[Onyx]

Firstly, drugs are bad, mmmkay?!

Secondly, the P2000 is a sweet unit, considering the Archoes and Rollei alternatives in the same price bracket I've seen in HK (personal media viewers or whatever they're called in marketing circles).

The Canon dribble and extreme dribble have always been below par in build to Nikons' entry level offering. It's a shame that Canon users seem to think their polycarbonate exterior is the same as that of the D70 - it's clearly not. Incidently, Fuji's current DSLR flagship the S3 boasts a polycarbonate shell too - and it's in the same league in terms of build quality as the D2 and 1D series IMO.

[dooda]

Firstly, drugs are bad, mmmkay?!

Define Bad. You mean "Bad" as in the Michael Jackson hit "I'm Bad" right? Surely this is what you mean?!!! Australia doesn't actually think that Drugs are Bad do they? It's the new century people!