Christopher J Osborne

Introduction

If you just want to see some photographs, skip straight to the results section.

I have some history with Canon… my last major film SLR was a Canon EOS 5, and my first ever DSLR was a Canon EOS 10D. The EOS 10D was the last Canon APS-C DSLR before the introduction of the EF-S lens mount for lenses specifically designed for APS-C sensors, so in order to get any kind of wide-angle capability I had to get a Sigma 17-35mm f/2.8-4 ultra wide-angle lens to get go with it, which wasn't cheap! The camera lens together came to almost £2000, a lot of money back in 2003! In fact adjusted for inflation that's about £3500 in 2025 money. The minute I got it home I realised I'd over stretched myself, so the very next it went back to the shop . But barely 2 months later Canon launched the Canon EOS 300D which cost about £1000 complete with their new 18-55mm kit zoom. That was still a big stretch for me back then, but it was one I could just about manage without going to the debtors prison!

The 300D might have been decidedly basic compared to the 10D but I totally loved it! I never had the space or the money to set up a decent darkroom, so for the first time in my life the 300D allowed me to take complete control of my entire photographic process, resulting in a dramatic resurgence in my photography. So I've been meaning to add a Canon EOS 300D to my growing collection of vintage digital photographica for some time, for reasons of nostalgia if nothing else. But when I saw this Canon EOS 20D in beautiful condition for just £45 pounds I decided to skip the 300D and go for the 20D in all its magnesium-alloy glory!

The EOS x0D series of cameras was always at the top of Canon's consumer range of DSLRs, and the 20D replaced the 10D in August 2004 with a positively luxurious 8.2mp CMOS sensor. At this time, long before live-view was so much as a glint in the DSLR designer's eye, the majority of DSLRs used CCD sensors. But Canon used CMOS sensors right from the very beginning… even their very first 100% in-house DSLR, the 3.1mp EOS D30 of 2000, used a CMOS sensor. (As far as I am aware Canon only used a CCD sensor in 1 DSLR, the professional Canon EOS 1D of 2001.)

+ Specification

Using a Canon EOS 20D in 2025

Right from the moment you first pick up the 20D you are struck by what an obviously high quality device it is. And a much as I love a traditional camera with a shutter speed dial and aperture ring, there is no doubt that, as the inventors of the electronic command dial (for the Canon T90 of 1986), they are the masters of the command dial and button camera user interface. Everything falls naturally and intuitively into place under your finger tips.

It's interesting just how little has changed when you compare the 20+ year old 20D with with their most recent DSLRs, and even their current range of mirrorless cameras. Of course you're dealing with a fairly old-fashioned 9 point autofocus system and the shooting speeds are much slower than Canon's current cameras, but despite this camera's age it is remarkable how fluid and speedy the user-interface it. Of course I wasn't doing anything very taxing while shooting with this camera, just wondering about town snapping whatever took my fancy, but I never felt obstructed by the cameras speed.

Buying a Canon EOS 20D in 2025

I've said it before on these pages, but DSLRs from the early to mid 2000s seem to be at something of a nadir at the moment. Who knows if these cameras will become as fashionable with the content creators on YouTube and TikTok as compact digicams currently seem to be, but if you want to experiment with a vintage DSLR I suggest snapping one up now before the prices start to go up.

I paid the princely some of £45 for a Canon EOS 20D in really beautiful condition and complete with a guarantee from CeX. (Though it has to be said the sensor needs a clean!). And that is for a camera that cost around £1500 when launched (around £2600 when adjusted for inflation). I still had my Canon EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 and 50mm f/1.8 lenses from my EOS 5 film SLR, so I decided to get by without spending any money at all on glass.

Canon EOS 20D results

Having some extremely fond memories of my very first DSLR, the afore mentioned Canon EOS 300D, I thought I was going to love this Canon EOS 20D far more than I did! Not that there's anything wrong with the 20D's files technically. They're smooth, and remarkably low noise, and have subtle, natural colours. But I think that smoothness is perhaps the problem. Of all the vintage DSLRs I've tried out so far my favourite has been the Olympus E-500, a camera with a four-thirds sensor most people would classify as technically inferior to the APS-C sensor in the 20D. But in ways I find it difficult to put my finger on, it's the E-500 I'll be returning to, rather than the 20D. Oh dear… am I starting to buy into the idea that CCD sensores have some sort of secret sauce that adds a certain je ne sais quoi to your images?!?!

I hope I will never start using the term "film like" to describe any digital camera. The two technologies are just so fundamentally different that the comparison just seem silly! The implication is clearly that a sensor that give "film like" results is superior. But I don't think of film as being superior to digital or vice versa. They're just two different technologies that both have their own charms, uses and applications. But it seem I do seem to be slowly but surely coming round to the idea that there is something about early CCD sensors.

So with all that silly navel-gazing over and done with, let's looks at some results… All these images were shot with my film-era Canon EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 lens from my Canon EOS 5. And as usual the b&w ones were converted in Sliver Efex Pro 2, while the colour ones were lightly processed to taste in Adobe lightroom.

Links

• Canon EOS 20D in the Canon Camera Museum
• Canon EOS 20D contemporary review (on dpreview.com)
• Canon EOS 20D Operating Manual (PDF)