The Canon EOS 10D is a discontinued 6.3-megapixel semi-professional digitalSLR camera, initially announced on 27 February 2003. It replaced the EOS D60, which is also a 6.3-megapixel digital SLR camera. It was succeeded by the EOS 20D in August 2004. Despite having an APS-C sensor, the 10D was introduced before EF-S lenses became available and was incompatible with them. The 10D was only able to mount EF lenses. All successive Canon Digital SLR cameras with APS-C sensors can mount EF-S lenses. The 10D captured RAW images in the Canon CRW file format, which is no longer used by Canon, although modern versions of Canon's Digital Photo Professional will read it. When it was released, recommended retail price in the USA was $1,999.
Compared to the D60
While the 10D shared some similarities with the D60 -- both used sensors of roughly the same resolution, both used the EF lens mount and BG-ED3battery grip -- the 10D saw many major changes. A new magnesium alloy body with changed button layout was introduced, including relocating the on/off switch to the bottom rear of the camera where it could easily be switched off accidentally. New LCD panels were introduced. The on/off switch was later moved back to the upper-left of the camera's rear with the Canon 7D. Flash strobes were used instead of a dedicated autofocus assist lamp. The shutter and mirror were also quieter than the D60 systems. An upgraded autofocus system, using a more-sensitive and wider-area 7-point array similar to the Elan 7 was also included. Internally, the sensor was changed to use a new manufacturing process, allowing for an extended film speed range of ISO 100 to 3200 with a custom function. The 10 used an upgraded image processor, and was the first DSLR to use the DIGIC chipset. Continuous shooting was also slightly improved, allowing for nine images in a burst. The camera introduced FAT32 for CompactFlash cards larger than 2 GB in capacity, the first for a Canon DSLR. Improvements to white balance systems, shooting parameters, sensor cleaning, direct pring support, Adobe RGB colorspace, improved language support and an orientation sensor were also made.
Reception
Reviews at the time of release were mostly positive. Bryan Carnathan of The Digital Picture described the affordable price of the 10D as "unheard-of-at-the-time", and the sensor "makes this camera perfect for nature photography", although while the auto-focus was improved from previous models it sometimes did not work properly. Lori Grunin from CNet gave it a score of 7.2, praising the value, features and performance while also saying that it was tricky to get sharp auto-focusing. Phil Askey from DPReview rated this camera as "Highly Recommended", concluding that "I have no concerns in stating that as things stand the EOS-10D is the absolute best in class, with the best image quality, lowest high sensitivity noise, superb build quality and excellent price." Later reviews are less favorable. In 2017 — Canon having manufactured six new generations of high-end APS-C cameras between the 10D and the date of the review — CameraDecision scored it 49% for imaging, 33% for features, 55% for value, 68% for portability, giving an overall score of 46%. They rated it "Average" for all uses except Sport, which was "Good".
Firmware update
The current firmware update is 2.01. It is necessary to update to the firmware to enable PICTBRIDGE support on the Canon EOS 10D. PICTBRIDGE allows the printing of images from a camera directly to a printer, without using a personal computer as an intermediary device.
