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jaimo
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Registered: May 11, 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 17
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Review Date: Sep 19, 2007
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Recommend? no |
Price paid: $1,299.00
| Rating: 1
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Pros:
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None so far
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Cons:
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To be continued; see below.
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Fresh out of the box a purplish tint was on all images -- auto (awb) and creative zones -- with and without flash. Than shutter button wouldn't work. Then I shut down camera, and each time I turned it back on the flash would pop up and fire (all on its own!) To be continued.
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 Sep 19, 2007
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tanglefoot47
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Registered: Oct 12, 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 14887
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Review Date: Sep 19, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,299.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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What can I say I started out with the Rebel from their the 20 to the 30 now the 40 and love it. It's the best of all, more accurate AF, better VF, great big LCD which is great for use old people LOL, easy controls love the menu and best of all I am getting many more keepers
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Cons:
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NONE
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Sep 19, 2007
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lord_malone
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Registered: Oct 9, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 496
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Review Date: Sep 18, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,175.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Build, AF tracking, 6.5 fps, IQ, good high ISO performance, pairing of functions (top row buttons), improved (but not complete) weathersealing, ISO in veiwfinder, interchangeable focus screens, automatic ISO, DiG!C III, AF-ON button, Live View, Menu Screen, self-cleaning sensor, and reasonably priced!
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Cons:
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1. Direct print (might be important to someone, just not me) 2. Plastic battery compartment hinge (why?) 3. Making the Picture Styles button a programmable button that allows you to adjust IQ, WB or Picture Style and a better grip than the BG-E2N would be nice.
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The simple fact that the 40D is slightly larger than the 20D, yet slightly smaller than the 5D was a selling point for me. I have large hands and need a camera that I can grip without it feeling like a small toy. It just seems to have a bit more "heft" I guess you could say. The partial weathersealing, finger groove beneath the shutter release, paintless hotshoe, are all really nice little bonus physical features, and I love everything about the new menu screen, very much like the 1D! And though the larger LCD wasn't a big deal for me when I first heard about it, it is indeed a very welcome feature. I've effectively put Live View to use and it definitely has a place on a DSLR despite how some may feel. I think this will be a very useful tool for a lot of shooters, and it was well implemented IMO. I really like the fact that I can change focusing screens and I will definitely be ordering an Ef-S super precision matte. The AF-ON button is also a great addition, though some may prefer to still use the good old fashioned * to separate the metering from the focusing. The good news is Canon gives you the option to go either way and doesn't force the AF-ON down your throat if you don't want to use it. Thanks, Canon! I found that the IQ is typical of any Canon camera, which is a good thing, and it handles noise at high ISO very well. The high ISO shots I took at a recent wedding were very usable and cleaned up really well with very little NR applied. Colors are vivid and bright, and there's a somewhat warmer feeling to the images. I can't quite put my finger on it, but the images are very 5D like in quality (without resorting to pixel peeping). The DiG!C III processor does a damn fine job and I'm satisfied with the quality of images this camera is capable of producing. AF tracking seems to be spot on. I was taking sample shots of oncoming traffic during a fund raising car wash we were having, and this system did not disappoint! For those of you who are concerned about it, the AF tracking works and it works well. And who can complain about a max burst of 6.5 fps, a couple of extra megapixels, an improved buffer (up to 75 jpegs!), automatic ISO, ISO viewable in viewfinder, being able to view selected AF points during playbck, the ability to register up to three camera user settings, 14 bit AD conversion, improved metering and spot metering range, extended Kelvin WB temperature range, brighter viewfinder, multiple exposure mirror lock-up, and a self cleaning sensor? All of which are great little goodies that only compliment this already great camera. And sRAW could definitely come in handy for some applications. Again, I've put this feature to use and it does become very useful when you want to shoot RAW, but have limited memory or don't need super large files to work with. Accidentally erasing all images on the card has been mitigated by having to turn the feature on in the menus, or batch check marking, which is a good thing if want to avoid inadvertently wiping your card clean! And among one of my favorite new features is the common sense and simplicity applied to what functions are assigned to the buttons near the top LCD. Metering is now paired with White Balance, Auto focus with Drive method, and ISO with FEC. Trust me, it makes much more sense this way. The new button layout beneath the LCD was not difficult for me to adjust to, though I must remember that the menu button is still located on the top left corner separate from the rest.
A few things that I could do without are the direct print button, the plethora of automatic Basic Zone shooting modes, and the plastic battery compartment hinge (why they did away with the metal hinge is beyond me - to cut cost ) One minor gripe is the Picture Style button. I wish it was programmable in custom functions so that you can use it to either select Picture Styles, or access the Image Quality or White Balance setting menu like on the 1D series. Not saying you can program those buttons on a 1D, but those buttons are made available to you on the body in a convenient location near the rear LCD.
In short, this may not be the "Wow" factor some folks have hoped for (it certainly is for me), but for what you get for the money, it has really impressed me and is definitely something that I'd consider a great improvement over its predecessors. Not trying to convince any happy 10/20/30D users either way, but just know that there is much more to consider than just what you see on the surface.
Own or Previously owned: XT, 20D, 5D, 1D, 1D2N
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Sep 18, 2007
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foxfrog
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Registered: Jan 23, 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 4
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Review Date: Sep 18, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,295.99
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Dittos on all the pros. This was an upgrade from the 10D for me. Purchassed three days ago with the 24-70mm L and the 70-200mm 2.8 IS. No buyers remorse at all. Only con is the small, non-backlit histogram which I find difficult read on the right side in outside light.
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Cons:
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Histogram hard to read with no backlight unlike other XXDs
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Great camera with enough, if not too many, features for anyone. IQ is much better than 10D and the 3" display is welcomed. All that I find lacking is a backlit histogram like my 10D has. Almost bought the 5D instead (has the backlit histogram. I can't say the 5D I borrowed was better than the 40D, they are different. If I were into landscape I would have opted for the FF 5D. The upgrade from the 10D is a real eye opener, but that will not make me a better photographer.
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Sep 18, 2007
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CTO-Photos
Offline
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Registered: Dec 2, 2004
Location: Canada
Posts: 6
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Review Date: Sep 17, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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In the context of upgrading from a 20D, you get faster focus, quieter shutter, spot metering, picture styles, large screen, 'My Menu' Settings, moderate boosts in resolution (both pixel count and bit depth), faster transfer to PC, three programmed custom set ups (C1 to C3), self-cleaning sensor and dust removal.
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Cons:
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Dull screen, awkward Live View, complicated plethora of options.
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Overall a substantial upgrade from the 20D and a better camera to use. Definitely worth the price of admission for some one with a well-worn 10D or 20D. (My 20D has over 70,000 exposures on the clock.)
Liveview is a disappointment. The process is too complicated and the screen is too dull to use outside for those unusual perspective shots. My G7 is much better for the purpose. Most of the ones that I took using Liveview were out of focus. It is useful in a studio setting for framing shots on tripod, but turn it off when you want to actually take photos. I suppose you could use a black cloth like the photographers of previous generations and hide under it to frame and focus - with a tripod of course! The large screen is not as crisp as it should be. The good news is that if a photo looks good on the screen, it will be great in CS3, but it is not like an Epson P-2000 or equivalent. Dare I say that the screen is actually too large? Is that possible? The buttons are crammed at the very limit of the body so that they are actually a little uncomfortable to use.
I don't know whether I had forgotten the initial set up trials that I had with the 20D (now nearly three years ago), but I went through the process again with this beast and only now after about 700 hundred exposures and many adjustments, is it beginning to produce predictable results.
I did some side-by-side comparison shots with the 20D, 40D and G7. Of course the 40D and G7 have the same resolution though the aspect ratio is different. Both DSLRs blow the G7 out of the water for quality, noise, etc. But I am still trying to identify how the 40D images are better than the 20D. Images from both cameras take tweaking, but I am trouble seeing the effect of the additional 2-3 bits of depth resolution. Perhaps it will become apparent under high contrast or other difficult situations.
So where are we after this ramble? I needed a new body. I would like full-frame, but the 5D doesn't cut it for me and the others are waaaay out my price range. I love the quieter shutter and the increased responsiveness over the 20D. The 40D still feels good in my hands, though there are many subtle changes in the shape of the body. Overall, I have no buyer's remorse. I am going to enjoy this camera and may be even take a good photograph or two.
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Sep 17, 2007
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Nick Brickett
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Registered: Sep 17, 2007
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Sep 17, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Massive screen, Auto-clean, 6fps, improved rubber cover on data ports, liveview, much improved menu system.
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Cons:
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None so far.
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Just picked mine up today from Jessops after waiting a week for the camera to come into stock, pre-ordered last week for £806, and was kindly informed the price had dropped since I purchased it - so I was given the difference back!
Having spent the last few hours playing around with it in my usual habitat, I can honestly say it's a very welcome upgrade over my 20D. I've been using my 20D for 2 years now, and although it's still a brilliant camera, it isn't a 40D that's for sure!
The first thing you notice when you pull it out of the box is the huge screen. It's a monster. Compared side-by-side to my 20D, it's roughly three times the size. Wow!
I started to play with Liveview, and after turning on the Custom Function that allows me to AF with the AF-ON button, I can say that Liveview will probably help me greatly once I work out when I'll need it!
I shot off a few RAWs and loaded them on my Mac. Unfortunately Preview and Aperture don't seem to currently support Canon's updated CR2 format, and CS3 would only accept them after I updated CameraRaw. I can live with just using CS3 for now, but it'd be nice to be able to import into Aperture (and preview in Preview) sometime soon!
All in all, a fantastic camera - I can see us having a very happy relationship together 
(the missus is already getting jealous!)
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Sep 17, 2007
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nativeridge
Offline
Image Upload: Off
Registered: Aug 17, 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 53
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Review Date: Sep 13, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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This camera is my step up from a much loved 300D & have to say the love affair is well & truly over, the 40D is a beast!
The feel of this camera is probably the first thing that impressed me - weight & contours of body is truly spot on. Response time with every function is instant. AF is fast & accurate. LCD - yes its large & menu is very easy for me to find my way around. So far I can see no other use for Live View apart from Macro (with manual focusing)
Custom settings is GREAT - MLU ,highlight priority & Live View enabling for me  CAREFUL highlight priority when enabled will kill ISO 3200 in Manual setting (did my head in!!)
I can HIGHLY recommend if you are jumping from an entry level DSLR & seems the jury is still out on benefits of upgrading from 20D/30D to 40D.... I looked long & hard at the 5D before making a decision to wait for successor to 30D (hoping for a true upgrade) & I'm not disappointed with that decision or this camera.
I like the crop factor & love the fact that this camera has already been stated as comparable in IQ as the 5D. w00t!!
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Sep 13, 2007
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XAOC
Offline
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Registered: May 29, 2007
Location: N/A
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Sep 12, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Live view, Big LCD, Improved Auto focus, fast, self cleaning.
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Cons:
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Hard to read from screen when is bright.
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I just upgraded from EOS Rebel xt and I can say it's great improvement. I love the dust cleaning system and I can say this camera is FAST. I love this camera it's fast large display life view and the picture quality is awesome.
http://antoski.com/tips.html
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Sep 12, 2007
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Sorensiim
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Registered: May 30, 2007
Location: Denmark
Posts: 403
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Review Date: Sep 12, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,300.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Superb colors and AF performance. Feels very solid. 6,5fps and very low noise from the shutter. ISO performance quite good as well. Partial weathersealing.
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Cons:
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None so far.
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Stellar performer. Upgraded from 400D, and what a difference! Feels like a rock compared to the 400D, and the pictures are great. Colors are extremely accurate, and the AF performance is AMAZING! Spot on, every time. Took these shots just running around the garden to try out the camera:
http://surl.dk/2zo/
http://surl.dk/2zp/
Both shot with a Tamron 17-50 F/2.8. The lens performs much better on the 40D. With my Canon 70-200 f/2.8L USM attached, the images are just jawdropping, nothing less. Unless i win the lottery and can suddenly afford the 1Ds Mk III, this camera is a keeper.
I absolutely love the way you can customize everything - and the 3 custom settings on the dial are extremely nice to have
Buy this camera, you wil NOT regret it!
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Sep 12, 2007
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Mike C.
Offline
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Registered: Aug 31, 2003
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 994
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Review Date: Sep 12, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,250.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Having spent the last two months with the new mk3, it is like the mk3 just gave birth to the 40D. Great camera for the money, its very hard to fault. For Pros this is a perfect backup, and great for the long lenses.
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Cons:
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None that I can think of.
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Sep 12, 2007
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Jim Victory
Offline
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Registered: Oct 9, 2003
Location: United States
Posts: 7667
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Review Date: Sep 12, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,299.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Picture IQ, Live View, AF accuracy and speed, menu system, LCD, and handling.
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Cons:
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Doesn't AF with lenses with a f/8 native aperture.
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I have owned the XT, XTi, 10D, 20D, 30D, and 5D as well as all of the 1 series cameras, including the 1DMKIII.
This camera definitely outperforms the other xxD series cameras both in IQ and AF performance. ISO noise is very similiar to the 20D/30D with maybe a slight improvement. It is very close to the ISO performance of the 5D.
Resolution is also very close to that of the 5D when compared at 100% crops. When the 5D image has to be cropped to the FOV of the 40D the detail and resolution differences are quite obvious in the 40D's favor.
The other additons and improvements are just icing on the cake because the difference in AF performance is well worth an upgrade. The large 3" LCD is nice for these old eyes and it works great when using it to zoom in to focus in Live View.
One feature that is an improvement over the 1DMKIII is the ability to AF while in Live View. Evidently the previous reviewer, Ian Moore, who indicated this was not available in the 40D didn't read his manual. On page 114 of the manual it clearly states custom function III-6 can be set to AF while in Live View using the AF-ON button and center focusing point.
I'm very please with this upgrade and it makes a nice companion to my 1DMKIII. The menus are very similiar as are the controls which makes the transition from one to the other easy.
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Sep 12, 2007
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Ian Moore
Offline
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Registered: Sep 12, 2007
Location: United States
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Sep 12, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Size/weight, GUI, 3" screen, 6.5 fps, 9 cross AF, shooting modes, sensor cleaning, Writing warning/protection when CF door is opened. Intuitive controls. 1/3 stop adjustments, customizability. Great Kit lens (28-135 IS). Spot Metering. Digic III processor
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Cons:
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Plastic battery cover hinge. No AF during live view. "New" BG-E2n grip has no AF-On, lackluster Auto ISO.
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I upgraded and supplement my 10D with this camera. It is an solid improvement over the 10/20D — I find it to be less compelling if you own a 30D.
First the bad: The hinge on the battery cover is now plastic. It's asking to be broken. the 10/20/30D had a metal hinge and attachment. It was harder to detach when using a grip, but it wasn't going to break easily.
There's liveView (great) but no autofocus (why, when the Nikon D3 has it?) I personally won't use liveview often, but when I do, I'd likely want to have AF, because the camera will be above my head, or around the corner or someplace else I wouldn't be able to manually focus. So this seems like a strange omission. I hope they don't release a 40Dn or something and add this feature; I hope they might offer a firmware upgrade to fix this.
There's AutoISO (nice!) but it's kind of broken. "Auto" in manual mode = fixed at 400. How is that automatic? Auto in the basic zones is 100-800 and you can't program it at all. Nikons since the D70 could shift ISO at a user-defined shutter speed — i.e. when the shutter dropped below 1/30, the camera would automatically increase the iso the appropriate number of stops to compensate. Canon's AutoISO doesn't seem to be that responsive. Fortunately having not been used to this, I have learned to adjust on my own and Canon's buttons have not changed and it's quick to adjust.
That said, having used a 10D for years, this camera was worth upgrading. It feels more solid in my hands than the 10D. It maintains canon's solid performace and control, and for me shooting at 6.5fps finally makes AEB a reality for me.
The use of picture modes give much better control over color/sharpness/saturation, while Canon's CMOS sensor still delivers exceptional quality in high ISOs with low noise.
I chose a 10D over a Rebel and hence a 40D mostly for its customizability. Through custom functions you can really make the camera fit your style of shooting.
The 3.0 Screen is a welcome improvement over the 10D screen. Not so much over a 30D's 2.5" screen.
If you do not own a digital SLR already, this is a fine camera to start with. But remember that the camera doesn't matter — it doesn't take pictures for you nor does better camera = better pictures.
The 40D is the first camera that "mostly gets it right", and I don't foresee the need tp upgrade unless 35mm sensors ever drop to <$1500. For the way I shoot, this camera will serve me for years, just as I still use my 10D as a secondary camera.
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Sep 12, 2007
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EOS20
Offline
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Registered: Mar 6, 2005
Location: Australia
Posts: 13683
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Review Date: Sep 12, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Improved viewfinder, Fast and accurate Autofocus, Live view and large LCD.
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Cons:
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Screen still hard to read in bright light.
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I bought the 40D to replace my 20D and so far its been a worthwhile upgrade. The new viewfinder is a nice improvement, the AF is faster and more accurate and the new mirror is allot quieter then the 20D's.
I have a written a mini review here:
http://www.redbubble.com/people/eos20/journal/178794-my-40d-mini-review
Overall a nice upgrade from anything bellow the 30D.
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Sep 12, 2007
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Allen Maestas
Offline
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Registered: Feb 17, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 18935
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Review Date: Sep 12, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,299.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Probably the best review which actually sees it as I do.
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/canon-40D-handson.shtml
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Cons:
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See Link above.
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For the money, this is an awesome camera. I loved my 30D and this upgrade just takes it to another level. I plan on keeping this camera for a long time.
Allen Maestas
www.photosofnewmexico.com
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Sep 12, 2007
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Bhawth22
Offline
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Registered: Aug 28, 2007
Location: United States
Posts: 90
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Review Date: Sep 12, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $2,280.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Price, improved shutter noise, AF, automatic sensor cleaner, and most importantly, the image quiality.
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Cons:
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Doesn't work with Adobe products yet (minor complaint) otherwise nothing.
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Great improvement over my 20D!
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Sep 12, 2007
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dennyg
Offline
Image Upload: Off
Registered: Apr 19, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 63
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Review Date: Sep 12, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,299.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Solid build, Large screen, Dust/water resistant
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Cons:
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Price
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With the limited time I've had the 40D, it appears to be a huge improvement over the 20D it was meant to replace. I want to get some shots with my 5D and see how they compare, especially at high ISO.
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Sep 12, 2007
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Reviews
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Date of last review
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147
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172958
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Nov 5, 2017
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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92% of reviewers
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$1,168.60
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Build Quality Rating
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Price Rating
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Overall Rating
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9.13
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9.10
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9.2
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