Note: This article was originally presented on Pbase five years ago.
I have updated it for 2010.

The Canon EOS D30 was released in late 2000 at around $3000 USD.
Based on all the rave reviews I read, I just had to have one, and it became my first
digital slr in 2002. I bought it used and due to the rapid rate of digital
depreciation, I got it for significantly less than new, but I still had to scrape
everything I had to get my hands on it since the camera was so popular that it was
still scarce two years on. It had a 3.11 effective megapixel sensor, and was the first to
utilize the famous Canon CMOS that we're all so familiar with today. The CMOS sensor was
new technology for a digital slr back then.

That CMOS sensor that most Canon shooters love (or love to hate), and respect today,
was one of the reasons for people perceiving D30 images as "soft." Nearly all digital
cameras at the time were using CCD sensors. To this day, some diehards still maintain
that CCD sensor images are somehow sharper. But, it seems the majority have accepted
that both CCD and CMOS sensors can achieve equal results. The one chief advantage
of the CMOS sensor seems to be lower noise at high ISO settings.

At the time, the more expensive Nikon D1 was the only real competition, out of reach for most,
and many people were comparing D30 images to images from digital point 'n shoots of the day,
most of which in-processed highly saturated, and highly sharpened jpeg photos, photos that
might "wow" casual viewers, but could not be tweaked to any significant degree by the shooter.

The D30's image quality then seemed somewhat "soft" in comparison. Looking back,
I wouldn't say the D30 images were soft. Even with in-camera parameters bumped up,
the camera did minimal processing, so the images appeared bland, and lacking contrast
at times. All of which transformed easily with post-processing. So, in retrospect,
the D30 was the camera that showed many of us the importance of post-processing, and
the importance of shooting RAW for maximum image fidelity. Notice how people no longer
refer to DSLR images as "soft" at least not as often, now that most serious photographers
realize and have accepted the importance of post-processing and Photoshop in their
digital workflow.

Once people got that down, they saw that the D30 had potential for incredible image
quality, really almost no competition for the price, at that time. The EOS D30, in many
ways, represents the first "modern" digital slr. Other than being a little slower with
everything, in use, it operates much like any digital slr of today, even the playback
looked good on that lcd screen, unlike the D2000 I profiled earlier.

My time with the D30 was relatively short, as I had an opportunity only a few
months later to trade it in with a little cash towards the (then) new 10D. I
remember being favorably impressed with its resolution. The D30 will give you all its
3.11 mps assuming your lens is up to the task. The auto WB was not all that great, and
the colors will need tweaking in post-processing, but it was not as bad as the Nikon D1
in that area.

My memory of the Canon EOS D30 was, in fact, so favorable that I picked up another one a
few years later, after selling the first one. Eventually "upgraditis" got the best of me,
and I got rid of the second D30 as well.

It's hard to believe that it's been nearly ten years since the D30 was released, and
that is prehistoric in the digital timeframe. However, I and many others believe
3 megapixels to be the first truly acceptable resolution for photo quality prints, and
the D30 is, in my opinion, the best 3 mp digital camera out there for the money you
spend today. The terminology is being used a lot these days, and if there were ever such a
beast as a "classic" digital camera, the Canon EOS D30 should be right up there in the
frontlines. It IS classic digital.

Canon EOS D30:

PROS: Excellent resolution for a 3mp camera, low noise (iso100-400), silky-smooth images, file size,
excellent image quality potential, excellent back-up body at bargain prices today

CONS: Antiquated autofocus, sometimes hunts, no RAW+Jpeg option, auto WB,
can blow highlights easily, in-camera parameters must be set by twain
driver-can't be done directly through camera