accessorize your 10D: 10D vs. Olympus "UZI"

10D at 135mm (x1.6) vs. UZI at 380mm and 646mm

Since I upgraded from the UZI to the Canon 10D, I have slowly been building up my lens collection. My first lens was the 28-135 IS. My next one was the 17-40 L, which helped cure my burning needs for wide angle. I had been previously dissappointed with the wide angle converter options for the UZI. However, I had yet to buy a telephoto lens before my trip last August to the US Open. I debated between taking the 10D + 28-135 IS or the UZI. I opted for the UZI, thinking that there were 2 "advantages":

Size

Possibly better or similar optical quality at full zoom

The size advantage is pretty obvious. But, the optical quality was questionable and could come out either way. I didn't have any time to test thing out back then. But, recently, I did a quick test which helped answer some of my questions about the two camera's relative quality. Essentially, I wanted to know whether I could have gotten a better range and sharper pictures (through cropping) with the 10D.

I took both cameras out on an overcast day in February (can't help it--the weather here is like that). And took some shots back-to-back of the same subject (had time for only one subject). I picked the best shot from each camera. I compared the

10D with 28-135IS, shot in aperture priority mode, with IS on

UZI shot in either A or P mode (can't recall which), IS on

UZI+B-300 shot in either A or P mode (can't recall which), IS on

Note that the 10D has the 6 megapixel advantage, but its range is only 135x1.6 crop factor = 216mm. The UZI is 2 megapixel, but has a 380mm range, or a 646mm range with the B-300.

My reading of the results are that the 28-135IS and the UZI are comparable. I don't see either one really winning. But, the UZI with the B-300 does clearly have an advantage. However, note the purple fringing when using the B-300. :( So, my choice of taking the UZI + B-300 to the US Open was a reasonable one as I wouldn't have been able to get the same zoom with my 10D. However, I have just acquired a 200mm F 2.8 L. I expect the 200mm prime to really shine on my 10D.

Full-frame pictures; resized for the web

Click on the pictures to see a slightly larger version.


File Name : CRW_0924_RJ.JPG File Size : 882KB Camera Model Name : Canon EOS 10D Shooting Date/Time : 2004:02:14 15:12:10 Image Size : 2048x3072 Image Quality : (PrintConv unknown) Focal Length : 135.0mm Tv(Shutter Speed) : 1/45 Av(Aperture Value) : 8.0 ISO Speed : 100 White Balance : Auto	File Name : P2140009.JPG File Size : 1163KB Camera Model Name : C2100UZ Shooting Date/Time : 2004:02:14 15:13:44 Image Size : 1600x1200 Image Quality : SHQ Focal Length : 70.0mm Tv(Shutter Speed) : 1/400 Av(Aperture Value) : 3.5 ISO Speed : 100 Flash : No Flash	File Name : P2140017.JPG File Size : 1111KB Camera Model Name : C2100UZ Shooting Date/Time : 2004:02:14 15:15:37 Image Size : 1600x1200 Image Quality : SHQ Focal Length : 70.0mm Tv(Shutter Speed) : 1/500 Av(Aperture Value) : 3.5 ISO Speed : 100 Flash : No Flash