Green-Eyed Monster

Envy is a terrible thing!

I've had my trusty Canon EOS300D digi-SLR since Feb 2004, and have used it for capturing countless pictures which I'm extremely pleased with. The vast majority of the images on my photographic portfolio have been taken with it, so much so that I haven't picked up my Canon EOS50E film body since going digital. In the main, I've had no complaints at all about the camera, and in the age when whatever you buy is obsolete before you get the credit card bill, it's been an excellent tool to get to grips with the peculiarities of digital, as opposed to film.

However, in the last few months, particularly at some of the rugby games I've photographed, I've noticed I'm beginning to hit the limits of its capablilities. There have been times when I've been following the action, only to find that the vital try-scoring moment has passed by because the camera's buffer was full and still writing to the card. It takes 10 shots in 30 seconds, roughly - the first 4 in quick succession and then you have to wait for subsequent frames to write to the card (it's definitely the camera, I tried a 100x CF card and it made no difference!)

Similarly, in the depths of winter, when it's cold and sometimes pretty dim by 5pm when some games wrap up, it can be pretty difficult to get enough photons onto the sensor - its just too dark, even with the floodlights on and the ISO setting cranked right up to its maximum of 1600. This can lead to some interesting "movement blur" type shots, which is all well and good from an arty perspective , but useless if you actually want to freeze the action.

Photographing games in the rain can be fun, and not just for the sight of 30 beefy blokes rolling around in the mud! I have a Cameramac for the body and Sigma 135-400mm lens which I use at the rugby - basically it's a waterproof "cloak" which slips over the hardware while still allowing access to the lens, top plate controls and LCD on the rear. I remember one match where it was pelting with rain, but even though I ended up soaked below the knees (my Goretex didn't stretch down to my ankles!), the camera and lens remained pretty dry.

Anyway, I digress. The point of this post was to comment that, having seen my dad's new Canon EOS20D this weekend, I'm seriously thinking about upgrading to a 20D or probably 30D (which now supercedes the 20D) in the near future. First catch a spare 800-odd quid. Maybe I should take my bass out and do a spot of busking on the Underground?