Customer Rating: - Incredible Camera !
This is the best camera I've tested. Of course this is NOT the cheapest camera, but if you really love photography this is the product for you !

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Customer Rating: - Great Camera
The camera is everything I expected it to be and more. Give me a year or so and I may be up to speed on all of it. Everything has been splendid.

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Customer Rating: - Canon 20D is it!
The 20D is wonderful for my photography business. It is instant on and only takes a quick second to pull up previews of pictures. Other digital cameras of the professional grade took too long to record the image before you could view it. Sharp, quick, and flexible. I would buy this camera in a heartbeat if I was still shopping for one!

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Customer Rating: - Best of the Best

This is my 4th digital camera, the previous 3 being point and shoot and I still have my latest point and shoot for the movie capability (S1 IS). The 20D is also my second SLR, my first SLR I still have after 23 years, but more for sentimental reasons, these days.

I did a lot of research before deciding on this camera. Original research started about a year before the purchase, but, at that time did not have a need for DSLR until now. My primary reason for going to DSLR is for the low-noise as it is very important for astrophotography.

Similar to another reviewer, I also considered the 350D and the Nikon D70. I had some advantage regarding the D70 as my brother owns one. The heated decision came between the 350D and the 20D. Size/weight were only a minor consideration for me, but I really did like the metal body of the 20D. I found sites with samples of astrophotos from the 350D as well as the D70. The D70 has an inherent heat problem for long exposures and develops a "hot area" in the upper left portion of the images. The noise reduction it has is effective for reducing this, but I just didn't like the fact that it existed. Comparing 350D results to 20D, well, one would be pressed to notice the differences. However, in looking closely at review sites (such as dpreview), even they admitted the clarity on the 20D edged out the 350D (what is nice, you can see for yourself in their images). No, not a big difference at all, but I am wanting the best of the 2 at this point.

In the end, my decision was for the 20D mostly because this is the very camera Canon themselves used to create a camera purely for astrophotography - the 20Da. My thought is, if Canon chose this, there is a reason. I did not want the 20Da, however, as I plan to use the 20D for "normal" shooting, as well...but I was sold on the 20D.

Having used it for more than a week, I put it through some gruesome tests...including, of course, long exposures. I wanted to check for hot pixels at 30 sec exposures. The short version is: I checked with the Canon 5D results on dpreview and my results are on par with it...and the 5D price is nearing 3 times the 20D price.

Also, in more tests, I have found the 20D noise reduction has improved (I am guessing with the newer firmware my camera has) over what the results are on the dpreview site.

Oh, and of course (for fun) I compared results from the point and shoots I have/have had. I still have results from my A40 and S1 and, at ISO400 the point and shoots are blown so far out of the water you just can't find them.

I am a very happy person. An outstanding camera.

Canon 20D: Highly recommended on all points.