Canon EOS-10DCanon revamps their hugely popular D60 SLR, with ahost of improvements and a dramatic price cut!<<Image Storage & Interface :(Previous) | (Next): Test Results & Conclusion>> Page 11:Video, Power, SoftwareReview First Posted: 02/27/2003 |
Video Out
A video cable comes packaged with the 10D, allowing you to connect the camera
to your television set for image playback. The video signal can be switched
between NTSC and PAL via a menu preference. All menus, etc. appear on the external
video monitor, but do note that it won't work as a viewfinder for the same reason
that the rear-panel LCD won't. (The SLR optics mean that the sensor is only
exposed to light when the shutter is open.)
Power
The EOS 10D uses the same BP-511 battery form factor first seen on the D30,
and now appearing as a standard design in many of Canon's camera and camcorder
lines. These batteries are a bit larger than a 2CR5 lithium cell, and look like
two of the smaller LiIon batteries, now becoming popular in compact digicams,
glued together. The BP-511 battery pack provides 1100 mAh at 7.4 volts for a
hefty charge of 8.1 watt-hours. A separate charger comes in the box with the
10D, but the 10D does not appear to include the "dummy battery"
pigtail to power the camera from AC power. The charger that ships with it doesn't
have any provision for connecting the dummy battery pigtail to it, nor is a
pigtail included in its standard bundle - You'll need to purchase the AC adapter
kit ACK-E2 if you need to run the camera from AC power.
Lacking the ability to power the camera from an external power source, I wasn't
able to conduct my usual power-consumption measurements. For what it's worth
though, battery life seemed to be very good, as I could shoot literally all
day before getting a low-battery indication. (The D60's circuitry drew very
little power when it was in capture mode but not actively capturing an image.
Assuming that the 10D works more or less the same, you could expect a single
BP-511 cell to power it for as much as 10 hours in capture mode.)
Of course, regardless of how good a camera's battery life is, there's rarely
an excuse to not purchase at least one extra battery to bring along as a hot
spare. Plan on buying a second battery along with your 10D, it'll save you a
world of grief later on when the battery that you were sure was full of juice
runs out of gas in the middle of an important shoot.
Included Software
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The 10D ships with a pretty complete complement of software on both Mac and Windows platforms, including Canon's EOS DIGITAL Solution Disk (version 11), and a copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements. The EOS DIGITAL Solution Disk enables image downloading and management, as well as the necessary tools to process the camera's RAW files. Adobe Photoshop Elements is a streamlined version of the larger Photoshop application, and offers creative editing tools.
Not Included: "Brainware"
Every manufacturer includes some level of needed software with their cameras,
but what's missing is the knowledge and experience to know what to do with
it. For lack of a better term, I've called this "Brainware." There's
a lot involved between snapping the shutter, and watching a beautiful, professional-quality
print spool off your printer, and there's sadly very little guidance as to
how to get from point A to point B.
Fortunately, Uwe Steinmueller of OutbackPhoto.com has come up with an excellent series of e-books that detail every step of the process, show actual examples of files moving through the workflow, and the final results. If you want to get the absolute best prints possible from your digital files, you owe it to yourself to purchase one of the Outback Photo Digital Workflow books.
In the Box
The EOS 10D comes with the following items in the box:
- Neck strap.
- Eye cup.
- BP-511 battery pack and charger.
- CR2025 lithium battery.
- Video cable.
- USB cable.
- Two software CDs.
- Instruction manuals and registration information.
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