For some of us who like to shoot sports and/ or wildlife, the most anticipated improvement is improved autofocus. Can somebody discuss their experiences with AI Servo and AI Focus modes?
"......so it has come down to whether it is worth spending over $1000 to basically get a larger viewfinder as far as I can see."
Posts like that sort of trivialize the many improvements of this camera- some of them pretty big and others somewhat incremental. What I want to know is:
Does the new autofocus make a big improvement over the 20D, or is it a small incremental improvement?
I am lost over the comment about the 40d costing $1000 more then the xti, either you overpaid for the 40d ($1700?) or got an incredible deal on the xti ($299?).
I have tested the new 40D loads over the last few days and these small gliches where Canon seem to have gone back in some areas are just too irritating while using the camera.
The 20D/30D/40D has a consistent user interface. Most of us would have been extremely disappointed if the 400D/XTi interface would have been adopted. I'd consider that a step backwards! I found it awkward as hell. The Rebels, 20D/30D/40D and 1D series have different user interfaces and are designed to appeal to different types of shooters. Personally I don't care for either the 1D or Rebel interfaces. The 20D/30D/40D (5D TOO) seem pretty close to perfection. Anyone upgrading from the prior model can start using it without cracking the manual. Alas you tend to like what you're used to. The old adage "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" is often rings true.
Edited by Gochugogi on Sep 02, 2007 at 08:08 AM GMT
gregoryfo wrote:
I am lost over the comment about the 40d costing $1000 more then the xti, either you overpaid for the 40d ($1700?) or got an incredible deal on the xti ($299?).
I believe he meant that he would have to spend over $1000 to get some minor upgrades over his existing xti.
Actually, I believe the reason for this is that 40D users (as opposed to 400D users) are not expected to use the main screen to review their settings. I mean, you have to look through the viewfinder anyway in the end, and the 40D shows a lot of info here.
True, the LCD is not as nice as seeing ALL the settings on the main screen, but I guess having the screen on all the time will drain battery power quite a bit.
HOWEVER, I agree that it IS annoying if one has to press the info button again after image review or accessing the menu.
UCSB wrote:
Disappointing that Canon did not at least allow you the option to use the back screen in the same manner as the 400D. I agree with you about it's utility. I haven't received my 40D yet, but I'm sure this area of it's operation is going to be a disappointment.
The 40D does have an option to show all of the info like the 400D - at least it says on the dpreview website it does...
Allan
Startled so find a 40D in stock at Bel Air Camera in Los Angeles yesterday (I'd gone in for something else), I bought one and took my name off the Amazon waiting list.
It's obviously too early for any meaningful review, but since people are already "writing off" whole ISO speeds, etc., here are a couple of comments from shooting and reviewing under ordinary conditions:
1. Handling: exactly like 20D and 30D (I own both), except 40D has "gripper" body. Nice.
2. The extra large LED is great for me, now that I need reading glasses - reason enough for the upgrade.
3. The pictures so far look great: accurate color (my 20D skews red); excellent contrast.
Of course they need a little help out of the camera with final color correction and sharpening, but they come out pretty well and since I shoot in RAW+jpeg, I can observe that most of the jpegs look spot on.
4. Noise at high ISO: Not that I can see up to 1600. If you shoot regularly in 3200 conditions, you should be reading up on more tests before you buy. (By the way, if you're waiting to buy a camera with absolutely no difference in image between 100 and 3200 ISO, you might have some time to kill.)
5. Overall: Better color and punch than 30D.
It might be just a bit premature to write this camera off.
Max Ackermann wrote:
Actually, I believe the reason for this is that 40D users (as opposed to 400D users) are not expected to use the main screen to review their settings. I mean, you have to look through the viewfinder anyway in the end, and the 40D shows a lot of info here.
True, the LCD is not as nice as seeing ALL the settings on the main screen, but I guess having the screen on all the time will drain battery power quite a bit.
HOWEVER, I agree that it IS annoying if one has to press the info button again after image review or accessing the menu. ...Show more →
I'm taking a break for a moment from a tripod based shoot that I am doing today. I'm about 4 hours into what will be a 10 hour day. On the tripod with the 400D you can easily check and change your settings standing next to your tripod. So essentially after your shooting environment is set up you do not have to look through the viewfinder that often. I prefer the 400D approach for general shooting also. The little LCD screen on top of the 40D was cool back in the 70's and 80's, but has seen it's better days.
Allan Bruce wrote:
The 40D does have an option to show all of the info like the 400D - at least it says on the dpreview website it does...
Allan
Can someone confirm this? As a 400D user, I also enjoy the info on the LCD very much. It is extremely clear... the LCD shut-off feature is nice too, especially at night.
However, I do understand that this is mostly a personal preference. I have a friend (who uses the 10D and Rebel XT) who did not like the XTi's info screen after trying my camera... so to each his own. I do hope there's the option of turning the LCD into the 400D mode though.
What information are we talking about? When I have live view enabled, I can press the Info button, and the shutter speed, f-stop, exposure comp, and iso, is shown on the bottom. Don't have a histogram unfortunately. What else does the 400D have besides this?
I just went down to Best Buy and bought a 40D after my Amazon order went from an arrival estimate of August 31st to October 15th. One improvement over the 350D that is immediately apparent is the larger brighter viewfinder. It makes it easier to manual focus for sure.
So the question is whether or not the 40D has the option to do this, as most users of the 400D enjoy the clear and bright screen, especially for tripod use.
yes it can, hit the info button a few times and it will come up.
(from memory) first press brings up info about date, time, mem card capacity, FEC etc. 2nd press brings up the screen with exposure info on it.
That is awesome Micky, thanks. I haven't had a chance to read the manual yet. The only other thing is that the AF point selection is not shown, you need to press that button to bring it up on the lcd.
I am having a heck of a time figuring out how to set the flash for 2d curtain. Apparently, with the ST-E2 on, you can't do it. With a flash on the body, you can, but when the flash is off the camera, this option is not selectable. Has anyone else run across this?
Rubber Soul wrote:
This is the exact same misunderstanding newbies had with the XTi last year.
The XTi does not underexpose. The 40D does not underexpose. Their sensors are actually calibrated to be more accurate at each ISO setting than any other EOS dSLR.
Previous EOS dSLRs had been innaccurate. They were rated 1/3 stop below the actual sensitivity levels. If you dialed in the same settings on film SLRs, on a 40D, and on a 30D... you would see the 40D would expose the same way as a film SLR. But the 30D would be overexposed.
It is completely wrong to say that the 40D and XTi are underexposing. It would be more accurate to say that the 350D, 20D, 30D, and 5D are all overexposing by 1/3 stop. ...Show more →
This makes noise comparisons look even worse.
ISO 1600 on 40D vs ISO 1600 on 30D, well it is really about ISO 2000 on 30D.
No longer apples and apples.
Gochugogi wrote:
The 20D/30D/40D has a consistent user interface. Most of us would have been extremely disappointed if the 400D/XTi interface would have been adopted. I'd consider that a step backwards! I found it awkward as hell. The Rebels, 20D/30D/40D and 1D series have different user interfaces and are designed to appeal to different types of shooters. Personally I don't care for either the 1D or Rebel interfaces. The 20D/30D/40D (5D TOO) seem pretty close to perfection. Anyone upgrading from the prior model can start using it without cracking the manual. Alas you tend to like what you're used to. The old adage "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" is often rings true. ...Show more →
It's kind of funny to read this in reference to the 40D... but the same argument has always held for the 1 series cameras going back to the EOS-1. Up until the Mark III that is... What I see in the 40D and the Mark III is an attempt by Canon to bring the overall UI experience more in line across the EOS family, which makes sense since a camera like the 40D can easily compliment the Mark III. It also benefits xxD users by creating an easier upgrade path to the 1 series family.
Having used the 1 series since the EOS-1 and now incorporating a III into my collection, I was initially unhappy with the UI change. But, after a few days, it started to come naturally and now is not an issue (though using the III with IIN bodies in rushed situations is still somewhat awkward). So, at least this dog has learned new tricks.
Hopefully Canon have settled on a consistent UI across the xxD and 1 series and will leave it at that for a while.
My initial performance comparison among the 40D, 20D and XTI. I also initially evaluated remote capture and live preview for use with photomicroscopy here:
for sale