The EOS 30D is designed for keen photographers who've outgrown entry-level models like the EOS 350D or Nikon D50, but who don't quite have the budget for a professional digital SLR.

More than a few professional photographers might be tempted, too, by the 30D's solid build quality and sophisticated photographic functions. Sports and action photographers will be very impressed by its ability to shoot at five frames per second, and for up to 30 shots at a time.

So, what's actually different about this camera compared to the old 20D? The main changes are to the LCD, the metering system and the shutter mechanism. The LCD goes up in size from a 1.8-inch screen to a 2.5-inch display, and one with twice the number of pixels (230,000) to give a much sharper image during playback.

The viewing angle has been increased too, so you can still see the display even when you're working at an angle to the camera, and it's easier to show groups of people your shots.

The addition of spot metering is welcome and, indeed, overdue. The 20D offered multipattern evaluative metering, centre-weighted metering and partial metering. Partial metering is a Canon speciality - it takes a measurement from an area in the centre of the frame accounting for around 9 per cent of the whole scene.

It's somewhere between centre-weighted and spot metering in its coverage. Whatever the arguments in its favour (principally that it's less error prone than tight 'spot' angles), there's no doubt that many photographers found it a bit of a half-measure.

The third major change is altogether less obvious. The shutter mechanism now has a life-expectancy (or 'duty cycle' in manufacturer-speak) of 100,000 shots. The average amateur won't take a fraction of that in the camera's entire life (or their own, even), but a busy pro could easily rattle off 1,000 shots in a single assignment.

In keeping with its more serious intentions, the 30D is altogether bigger and chunkier than the EOS 350D, its entry-level stablemate. As with other 'serious' SLRs, there are two control dials rather than one: the first on the front of the handgrip, another on the rear. This rear Quick Command Dial is used for menu navigation, exposure compensation and other settings.