So I heard for a store today that the 350D is being discontinued... True or not? Plus are sigma lenses compat with these?

i guess one day the 350D will be discontinued... haven't heard anything in that direction till now... and i guess it's not a big issue... eventually there won't be a successor for the 350D but would that be an issue ?!? you'll always be able to use your objectives with most other DSLR's from Canon (except they have full size sensors - in this case you can just use the "regular" objectives - not the ES (right?) series... sigma lenses are compatible with the canons if they have the canon mount... :) half of my objectives are sigma...

the guy said in like 2 months, maybe just trying to get me to take a nikon? Tx cb!

Well I would not be surprised but that is more to do with maybe a new model and the price drop of the better 20D which will take the EFS lenses The main worry for those that have these alternative mounts is the new full frame sensors which are going to be more widely seen and wont be as compatible, as they are designed for the 1.6 sized sensor. The new 30D is an improvement but IHHO not worth the upgrade I would be interested to hear if existing 20D owners feel the same? .. Rumours have been rife of yet another model between the New ? 3D pitched between the 30D and 5D so who knows..

350D to be discontinued! Almost certain at some point, on passed strategy it is likely to be superseded by the end of 2006, retailers are getting wise to the DSLR cycle, so maybe they are just trying to get rid of stock before the prices drop off. I think that the EFs lenses and mount are here to stay for some time to come, I dont think that canon will do away with the 1.6 crop sensor, as they have put allot of time and money into the system. Also the 1.6 censors have a real benefit for telephoto shooters. I can certainly see that the FF and 1.6 sensors will complement one another for shooters that like wide angle and telephoto alike. Although it may be difficult to push a 1.6 fov sensor much further than 10MP without tonal range and noise handling being compromised (speculation) I do think that the FF sensor bodies will become more widespread also. I think that the 1.3 crop sensors of the 1D II and (n) are more likely to be dropped from the canon line, as this wont have an impact on people that have invested in Canon lenses and these also cant use the EFs mount lenses, I wouldnt be surprised to see the next 1D generation to have a FF sensor with a lesser resolution but faster than the higher speced 1Ds line. Dont forget that the 1D and 1Ds series are aimed at different market segments. As for the 30D, I think it is a pretty significant upgrade to the 300D or 10D, but less of a significant upgrade to the 20D, the 20D and 30D are both closely (if not identically) matched as far as image quality and noise handling (the 10D is very good with noise too) are concerned with a much faster imaging engine than the 10D, even with the 20Ds lesser RAW buffer of 6 frames, over the 10Ds 9 frames, there is much less time delay waiting for the memory buffer to write to card (with a high speed card) than it takes the 10D to perform the same function (I have used both the 10 and 20D) total lock out is almost impossible even when the buffer is full you can still squeeze out 1fps as it clears to card. This is where the 30D has an advantage over the 20D, and also spot metering if that is important to you. Spot metering is great but has its pitfalls like any TTL metering, in the end all the metering does is set shutter speed and or f stop, if you have the 20D investing in a hand held meter with spot capability is a far cheaper option, unless you really need the larger frame buffer. There are rumors that Canon are developing an even lower speced DSLR for the bugget market as well as something to fit between the 30D and 5D. 3D?? maybe not (based on passed designations) as the EOS 3 was a higher speced camera than the EOS 5 maybe a 7D (more speculation) or maybe both!

Agree again with LP on all points raised.
@PeeWee...the cam that will likely be dropped is the 20D....as the 30D's are now appearing on the shelves. A clever marketing ploy to keep the price point up....similar to what Nikon did to the D70/D70s...add a few small features to keep the product "new" and keep the price up. I think the real opportunity here is for those that want a 20D....you may be able to get one at a good price now as dealers try to clear shelves to make room for the 30D.
The 350XT still has some legs left in it's product lifecyle as Canon's entry level DSLR...although it too will be dropped eventually.

Message edited on: 03/22/2006 23:25

So with the change to biger censor will the 1.6 lenses not be use able on the bigger censors? I want the MP of 8 or higher that's why I'm looking at the 350D. Unfortunetly in South Africa orders are international so stocks are not abundent and prices will stay high... My best bet is to make friends and ask someone to order and post it from Europe for me and I pay... I'll save like R2000 = US$300

no... you can't use a EF-S Objective e.g. on a 5D and i guess neither on a 350D(but not sure here)... they're specially designed for 300D and 20D - you can also check that on the website... in general you can use ALL EF objectives on ALL Canon SLR/DSLR but you probably have to multiply the focal length with 1.6 or 1.3....

Ah ha!!! um , still abit lost but thank you :} I'll print the brochures and read them...

You can use the whole EF range of lenses on all EOS film and digital bodies, regardless of the sensor size, the only difference being that on a 1.6 or 1.3 sensor body the focal lens appears to be 1.6 or 1.3 x longer respectivly, the actual focal length of the lens doesnt change, because of the Field of view (FOV) crop the smaller sensors dont see some of the outer portion of the lenses angle of view. EFs lenses (these have a white index mark for mounting as opposed to a red one on the EF lenses) will only fit the 1.6 crop sensor bodies from the 300D onwards. So that is the 300D, 20D, 350D and 30D. the 10D and earlier are not compatible with the EFs lenses, nor are any on the 1 series 5D or any of the film bodies. Bodies that are compatible with the EFs lenses have a white and a red index mark on the lens mount one for EF lenses and one for EFs lenses, this is so that people cant mount an EFs lens on a non compatible body as it would cause damage to the mirror.

Tx! I read alot on the canon sight yesterday and saw what they and y'll were trying to tell me :}