EOS 40D: Hands-On First Impressions

[Max@Home]

...received the awaited phonecall 'parcel has arrived' and went to Messrs. JapanCamera in Wassenaar. They received 6 40D's of which 5 were pre-ordered. I was the first to receive the call, but was the fourth actual picking it up, two of the first three especially awaited my arrival 'to learn some more details', while the fifth pre-orderer arrived shortly after me, just before I finished drinking my coffee and unpacking my new camera and began an ad-hoc public 'OK, which button does what, what has changed, does it work' session .

Three of us (including me) were upgrading from a 20D (2 sold, mine 'retired'), the fourth guest was adding a 40D to his 30D, the other two ex-20D'ers were a married couple doing 'Aviation', the fourth was a 'Horse-Photographer'. All four of us shoot 'semi-Pro', earning just enough on the side to maintain our Passion by upgrading/expanding our knowledge, possibilities and equipment - just to give you an idea about 'WTF are those insane enough to pre-order'

The first impressions, after battery loaded and lens attached (EF85F1.8USM): heavier, bulkier, deeper, thicker grip, sticky-er rubber, apart from the rubber: very 10D like. Definitely better build, visible 'weathersealing' (Canon calls it 'environmental sealing...) on doors, same on most - all upper - buttons if you know what to look for .

Power-On, finger on shutter to go straight to shooting mode without sensorclean (I have already read the manual three times , thank you scanner & poster at DPReview ) - bang- almost instant AF confirmation... FAST! now looking through the viewfinder... a real shock: this one is LARGE! not yet 5D/1DsII, but 1DIIN yes, 1DIII - maybe... feels as twice the 350D I recently sold... permanent ISO - neat - at last...

Menus: no surprises after PowerShots, 400D and a brief encounter with a 1DIII. Everything is where you would expect it (or know it to be). Very 'organised': never having to scroll down in a subset to find an overlooked setting, they are all there to see in a glimpse. Bright, Large, Clear display !

Top buttons: re-arranged, ISO is now direct at your fingertip and changes are made with the main (front) controller in stead of with the wheel. Click shutter, see (metering), change aperture or shutterspeed, click ISO, change ISO, halfpress... shoot... very smooth & natural...

Live-view: enabled, AF enabled, grid on, LCD to 'simulate actual image' etc...
...it works as advertised, keeping AF-ON button pressed takes AF (only in OneShot mode and with central AF point selected)... not had time to test usefullness 'in the heat of the daily bussines', but 'overhead shooting' to get above a first line/corridor looks to have become a little easier.

Back to the good old viewfinder: AF is FAST - 6.5 FPS is FAST - this camera is QUIET doing so - and 17 RAW+MediumJpegFINE is a DEEP buffer! - from where I come from, that is...

First impressions so far: impressive upgrade from maybe anything but a 30D...

...me is happy

ImageQuality ?? - hey, I just got it this afternoon! And was scheduled to surprise my Mother-in-Law who today turned 70 but will celebrate that fact tomorrow (uh-oh, later today...) with her three children and their families, and therefor was an overnight guest at my Brother-in-Law's nearby. So I just shot some snaps, EOS 40D+EF-S 17-55IS USM, P mode (1/60, F4.0) at ISO800, 580EXII attached and pointing up (white ceiling), Neutral Picture Style, AUTO-WB, and only added saturation +2 and sharpness +3 in RAW-tab, set sharpness to 70 in RGB tab, and set luminance and chrominance noise reduction to LOW in NR tab, basically what I always do with my 20D, 350D and 400D indoor files @800ISO

Straight to JPG, resized with BreezeBrowserPro (version 1.7.2 beta 1 out with 40D support ) Added four of the better ones just for what they are worth... family memories...

Any questions will be answered, but later, as I wrote I have a family outing tomorrow, now you all behave here !

...€0.02...

Kindest regards,

Max@Home

[phototakeouter]

Good review Max. Thanks.

I don't know whether it makes sense upgrading from 30D to 40D myself. I've got a 10-month old 30D with less than 3000 shots. The features that have my interest are the weather sealing and the 'safety' on the card door, but full time ISO is useful too. I suspect I will stick with my 30D for now and see what's on the horizon in 2009.

Anyone know why the 40D body is $100 more expensive than the kit with the 28-135?

[Max@Home]

Anyone know why the 40D body is $100 more expensive than the kit with the 28-135?

...order that kit now if it's a respectable dealer ! Sell the 28-135 for $350 and have a 40D for ?? 850+ $ ??

Could be another 'famous pricing error' like Dell's with the LLL's (Ough! Ough! don't remember them !!)

& thanks for reading & appreciating my post



...€0.00002...

Max@Home

[phototakeouter]

Originally Posted by Max@Home

...order that kit now if it's a respectable dealer ! Sell the 28-135 for $350 and have a 40D for ?? 850+ $ ??

It's on Amazon
Amazon.com: Canon EOS 40D 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera with EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens

The price of the body is $1599, not the $1299 that other retailers like B&H have it listed at.

[Max@Home]

Originally Posted by phototakeouter

It's on Amazon
Amazon.com: Canon EOS 40D 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera with EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens

The price of the body is $1599, not the $1299 that other retailers like B&H have it listed at.

I see you saw, was just going to tell you that and that you shouldn't get no ideas in your head at *that* price

that's just it, €0.0000002 and such,

Regards!

Max@Home

[phototakeouter]

Originally Posted by Max@Home

I see you saw, was just going to tell you that and that you shouldn't get no ideas in your head at *that* price

that's just it, €0.0000002 and such,

Regards!

Max@Home

You know what they say. If it's too good to be true...

[Jandybean]

Well crap, I know where part of my Christmas bonus is going this year! I also have the 20d and have been reading up on the 40. So far it looks pretty good! Thanks for giving us the heads up and helping me spend more money Looking forward to some more pics. I would be interested to hear what you think about the 6.5 fps when you have time.

[moizes]

So nice images! Good compositions and light! A little bit of extra blue on my monitor, but it's subjective. Congs and best wishes with your new machine! Amazingly good for iso 800! Dimitri. P.S. Do not forget I'm Nikonian, so very bad Troll I am!

[Jason Hermann]

Nice work Max Thanks for the review and hands on info! It's good to here from a reliable source instead of random reviews Not that DPreview isn't awesome and all.

Best,
Jay

[JDArt]

Originally Posted by phototakeouter

Good review Max. Thanks.

I don't know whether it makes sense upgrading from 30D to 40D myself. I've got a 10-month old 30D with less than 3000 shots.

For me, there are three things of interest with the 40D:

• Dust removal
• More fps
• More megapixels for capturing fine detail in bird photography

I'd like to hear your comments regarding any of these features, particular dust removal and whether it works.

On the price: I think $1,499 is a bit much. How far do you think the price will fall?

[Jason Hermann]

JD, My camera has the dust removal system and I have over 10,000 shots on mine so far. I have no noticeable dust on my sensor still. Only when when I use filters and my polarier do I see dust particles in my shots, so I think the sytsem works pretty good. I change my lenses very often for Landscapes, so alot of changes are done outside and everything. 1 downside I heard is it drains the battery faster than the Rebel 350 XT?

That being said, I don't have camera without it to compare

The 6.5 fps is also a great upgrade!! I also think the Digic 3, and Live view are of great value

Best,

Jay

[JDArt]

Originally Posted by Worm324

I also think the Digic 3, and Live view are of great value

You're the first person I've heard call out Live View as more than a novelty. What is it used for, actually?

[Jason Hermann]

I thought it was so you can see what your looking at on the display screen like a point and shoot? The rebel is my first slr type camera so looking through the eye piece was a really odd adjustment for me. I think looking at the screen would be very handy for studio work

Jay

[Gbee]

Liveview on the Canon has some potential, using it as a liveview finder may not be so good as its refresh is so slow. It does not have AF and my MK3 screen is just not good enough for MF ~ for me at least.

I believe Canon’s philosophy of liveview is for remote shooting, studio certainly via cable or WiFi. On the monitor and the separate large windows the MF is possible ~ IMO still cumbersome but it works.

Heat build up is a problems with liveview ~ ongoing research on this one ~ I’m confused with the cameras, either the MK3 or the Nikon D3 has a thermal sensor shut down automatic activation to prevent damage to the camera.

Therefore liveview may be suitable for short ‘setting up’ sessions ~ we need more info on this subject and why Canon left out the AF. Liveview on the MK3 also disables pocket wizards.

Originally Posted by Worm324

I thought it was so you can see what your looking at on the display screen like a point and shoot? The rebel is my first slr type camera so looking through the eye piece was a really odd adjustment for me. I think looking at the screen would be very handy for studio work

Jay

[Gbee]

Sounds impressive Max, I might be tempted to add one. it's 1/2 the price of the Nikon D300

[trentchau]

About to pick one up soon, selling the rebel xti to pay for it.

The price is $1299 all around here, $1499 for the kit so. Every new XXd camera is looking to be $100 cheaper then the last. I believe there's a wonderful amount of differences to justify upgrading from a 20d to a 40d, but 30d can be kinda iffy.

I'm getting this as a backup for my 5d, so I'm concerned with what you said about the buttons being rearranged Max (on top that is)

[Max@Home]

Originally Posted by Jandybean

Looking forward to some more pics.

I'll add some from today's score later

I would be interested to hear what you think about the 6.5 fps when you have time.

I think it is fast, and especially WAY more quiet than 20D!

Shooting 20D at 5 FPS (CLACK-CLACK-CLACK-CLACK-CLACK) makes people all around look up at you, as the sound is really 'penetrating'. Today I shot the 40D at 6.5 FPS (thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-th.. ), and nobody even noticed!!

So it is FAR more useable, and not only because of the sound, but the BUFFER feels HUGE coming from 20D, 15 shots in RAW+JPGMediumFine (=how I prefer to shoot) as opposed to 6, 7 if I was on low-ISO, on the 20D... not being used to so much overkill, I had trouble actually filling that buffer, LOL!

And when it was full, it emptied FAST on my new 8Gb Kingston Ultimate 133x CFcard, maybe a second all-out, and then the buffer-figure in the viewfinder started climbing again...

...me, *I* am more happy with the new 3 FPS speedsetting, as for *my* applications 6.5 FPS will definitely be overkill 99% of the time, but then that's me

...and *my* €0.02 worth...

Kindest regards!

Max@Home

[Max@Home]

Originally Posted by JDArt

For me, there are three things of interest with the 40D:

• Dust removal
• More fps
• More megapixels for capturing fine detail in bird photography

I'd like to hear your comments regarding any of these features, particular dust removal and whether it works.

On the price: I think $1,499 is a bit much. How far do you think the price will fall?

$1499 for a Body Only is steep, I paid €1349 for mine, but it will probably fall to €/$ 1175-1250 after the first 2 - 3 months

Dust Removal: I second Jay/Worm234, it seems to work, at JapanCamera they only had one 400D returning for SensorCleaning, and that body fell on the beach during lenschange with no lens on My one-month old 400D (1500 shots, lots of lensexchanges everywhere) is also clean as a baby (which, BTW, is a strange saying, babies aren't clean at all, unless you clean them! )

More FPS: see my earlier reply above: especially more usefull than 20D because of the (IMHO) HUGE buffer and low sound

Better IQ and more pixels: IMHO are both there for you&me to unfold, will take a little adapting, but IMHO it is definitely there

Hope this helps some, €0.02 and all...

Kindest regards!

Max@Home

[Max@Home]

Originally Posted by Gbee

Sounds impressive Max, I might be tempted to add one. it's 1/2 the price of the Nikon D300

...1/2 the price? last I heard they are only ~$/€ 500/600 apart ?? on list prices ??

...but all your accessoiries and lenses will fit, you will only miss WA

...it might be worth your time to investigate, honestly...

Kindest regards,

Max@Home

[Max@Home]

Originally Posted by trentchau

I'm getting this as a backup for my 5d, so I'm concerned with what you said about the buttons being rearranged Max (on top that is)

Well, look hard and good at the top-image that is on DPReview etc... the button-arrangement is slightly different, not where-the-buttons-are, but what-they-do:

20D from Left to Right, first function is main (front) dial, second function is back wheel:

AF/WB, DRIVE/ISO, MeterMode/FEC

40D from Left to Right, first function is main (front) dial, second function is back wheel:

MeterMode/WB, AF/DRIVE, ISO/FEC

As you can see, 'severe' changes, but they make a lot of sense *to me*, especially ISO under your 'trigger'finger (next to shutterbutton, controlled via main (front) dail) has already proven today to be a very neat solution!

...but different from 5D, yes, it will take some ??seconds?? to adapt

...€0.02...

...and my kindest regards!

Max@Home