To tie in with our review of the Canon EOS 400D (the recently released successor to the EOS 350D), we've decided to take a look at the EOS 30D – Canon's high-end digital SLR.

Replacing the EOS 20D, this new 30D model actually uses the same CCD image sensor as its older brother. The biggest change is the size of the viewing screen on the back panel – it's a 2.5in model as opposed to the 1.8in one on the 20D.

The EOS 30D actually uses the same CCD image sensor as its older brother, so the biggest real change is the size of the viewing screen on the back panel – it's a 2.5in model as opposed to the 1.8in one on the 20D.

Looks-wise, the 30D has been tweaked to make it more ergonomic and more user friendly; it shares some of its looks with the 5D, the least expensive of Canon 's professional digital SLRs.

For anyone upgrading from an EOS 350D or a similar camera, the 30D will take a little getting used to, as it's a touch bulkier and heavier than most cheaper devices.

This is exacerbated by the lens Canon sent us to test with the 30D – a Canon EF-S 17-85mm model with ultrasonic motors and image-stabilising features. This is an excellent lens, but it is fairly heavy, so anyone concerned about weight might be better off going for one of the cheaper Canon lenses.

Like all EOS digital cameras, this one will take any lens from the Canon EF range, although as with all digital SLRs you'll have to make a calculation to translate the focal lengths. The 17-85mm lens (which is the actual focal length) translates to roughly 28-135mm on a film SLR.

One of the main advantages of a digital SLR, apart from being able to swap lenses, is that the larger lens lets in more light, allowing for more creative shooting. Digital cameras emulate ISO film speeds, usually between ISO 100 and ISO 400 for a compact camera, and ISO 100 and ISO 1600 for an SLR.

The 30D can go right up to ISO 3200, and it's surprisingly noise-free at this speed (digital noise – dot patterns on images – increases with the ISO speed). At ISO 100, the images are spotless.