Canon EOS 40D (body only)
Cameras Buying Guide
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October 14, 2007 07:37
5.0/5
For those familiar with the xxD series of Canon DSLR cameras, Canon made a wide range of improvements on the 40D to bring this camera up to a new level. Everything from Image IQ (Image Quality), Canon's Famous Hi ISO low noise, speed and acuracy. They even madeimprovements in areas that some thought were a little weak in their prevois 10D/20D/30D cameras like better AF, ISO in the viewfinder, 3" LCD etc.
This is a list of new features and upgrades from the 20D-30D and 30D-40D differences.For those that are considering an upgrade from the previous xxD series cameras, it shows what the differences are and each person can judge for themselves what is or is not important to them and whether it pays to upgrade. I personally upgraded from the 20D.
1. Revised body and control layout.
2. 10 MP CMOS sensor.
3. EOS Integrated Cleaning System.
4. DIGIC III Image Processor.
5. 14-bit ADC.
6. 5FPS increase to 6.5 FPS shooting speed.
7. Larger buffer.
8. Larger, brighter viewfinder.
9. Three interchangeable focusing screens.
10.ISO display in viewfinder with B/W icon.
11.Faster and quieter powered mirror mechanism.
12.Nine-point AF sensor with cross sensitivity.
13.AF-ON button.
14.24 custom functions in four groups.
15.WFT-E3/E3A wireless transmitter / grip.
16.New grip (compatible w.previous grip).
17.Weatherproof compartment doors.
18.Larger 3.0" LCD monitor.
19.Live View.
20.Shooting Information Display.
21.EOS-1D style menu system.
22.On-screen settings adjustments.
23.Auto ISO.
24.Three new camera user settings.
25.Trimming including tilt correction.
26.RAW with sRAW.
27.Optional High ISO Noise Reduction.
28.Does not power down if card door opened.
29.External USB media support.
30.Improved white balance.
31.Increased playback modes.
32.Optional highlight alert on playback.
33.Optional AF point display on playback.
34.In-camera flash configuration w/580EXII.
35.Increased menu languages.
36.Increase metering range 0-20EV instead of 1-20.
37.Increase in Kelvin WB range 2500 down from 2800.
38.Mirror Lock Up for multiple exposures.
Whereas 20D to 30D had...
01. Metering modes added Spot (3.5% at center).
02. ISO steps 0.3 EV steps 1.0 EV steps
03. Added Image "Picture Style"
04. Custom image parameters - greater range +-4 rather than +-2
05. LCD 2.5" 230,000 pixels vs 1.8" 118,000 pixels LCD
06. Histogram added RGB (minor)
07. Continuous speed added 3 frames per second choice
08. Continuous buffer Up to 30 JPEG/11 RAW vs Up to 23 JPEG/6 RAW
09. Playback file size display Yes, MB vs No
10. Added Playback jump range of 100 images & By date 10 images
11. Record review magnify Optional vs N/A
12. Custom functions 19 C.Fn. 53 settings vs 18 C.Fn.50 settings
Really not offering much which is why so many people did not upgrade from 20D-30D.
Go to your local store and tryout the 40D. You won't be sorry -
September 27, 2007 10:50
4.5/5
I've had an EOS 20D for sometime. When the 30D came out, I took a look at it. I was disappointed because the improvements weren't much over the 20D. I think Canon wasted their time with the introduction of the 30D.
When the 40D came out, it was what I was hoping for. I have an EOS XTi, but it's just to compact for my grip. I will keep the XTi as a back-up, but will probably put my 20D on eBay.
The things that sold me on the 40D was the size, compatibility with all my Canon EOS equipment, the 3" screen, higher megapixel rating, and the sensor cleaning system. I'm using the battery grip that I had on my 20D, so I didn't have to fork over another 200 bucks for a new one like I did when upgrading from a Digital Rebel to a Rebel XTi. -
December 28, 2007 07:04
4.5/5
This is a beautiful camera. I love using it. The camera feels right in my hands. The buttons, and user interface is great. I can access all features very easily. Love the joystick and jump buttons.
It takes good pictures. I love the colours, and my pictures turns out well exposed in all kinds of lighting and situation. White balance is great.
With weather seals, with most of my lenses, it offers reasonable protection against dust and elements.
My grievance with DSLR was dust specs ruining my beautiful sky pictures. So the dust delete and sensor clean helps I guess. It is still new so dont really know how effective the sensor clean function will be.
The negatives i can see are - the cam was made weather seal and then Canon does not provide a cap for the hotshoe. This defeat the purpose of putting weather seals in other areas and leaving hotshoe with electrical contact open. Imagine water and electrical contacts
Coming from Nikon camp earlier, the D80 came with a good hotshoe cap.
The other thing i guess i feel a bit pain is the LCD resolution. Nothing wrong with 230K as it displays images perfect on the 3inch screen. Just that everyone else goes very high res and once you see your friends high res LCD, you feel the pain.
All said and done - I really enjoy this cam. It is really a great cam and has already made me happy with some great pictures.
BTW - the reviewer says it is slow as compared to D80. Having used both, I will say no comparison
Different class altogether. I dont think 40D is slow. It focuses super maybe start up time is slightly slow, but then there is a the fast focus and shutter which in my opinion got me emergency pics when i wanted 
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April 13, 2008 06:13
5.0/5
I have owned this camera for a couple of months, and I think that the "testers" at cnet need their heads examined. The low light ability of this camera is phenomenal. I would ask the national Canon rep to stop by your offices with a different camera for a demonstration of it's abilities. You must be kidding! My preference is to never use a flash unless I absolutely have to. I have been able to capture some very stunning images indoors and out under low light conditions. My only wish is that I could stick it in my pocket and carry it all of the time, because I would..... -
February 13, 2008 10:02
4.5/5
Sorry Lori - You refer to the lens included in your review as the 28-135 lens - fact is that your handling an "L" series lens (probably the 17-40mm) which is a great choice but unfortunately not included.
Had my 40D for a month and have around 2000 pics through her. I shoot action shots and the fast shooting rate is appreciated. Also the ability to scroll through dozens of pics with the spin of the wheel is a real treat (compared to some of the past cameras I have had where it takes a second or two per image).
Battery life is very good - even with included flash.
As my first DSLR I was thrown off by the 1.6X magnification factor. I went with the 28-135 which gives you a lens that is more like 55-210mm which was of little value to me. I added the 17-40mm "L" along with the 35-350 "L" which both flaunt the capabilities of the image quality more than the stock lens.
Colors are superb, quality of image is impressive. Zero complaints about the quality of the camera, design, functionality, or performance.
While this camera is rated for 100 000 images I can see that number coming and going in no time.
Do yourself a favor and spend some money and get a quality card. I went with 16gb and can fill that in a few hours of action shooting. -
November 21, 2007 10:04
4.5/5
Overall this camera is great in every respect. All the new features in 40D makes it a worthwhile upgrade from xxD series. Speed, custom functions, Live view, Dust prevention, constuction are build quality are great. Larger LCD is great but I wish the camera displayed a high resolution of the picture when magnified to check the focus. At full magnification pictures look fuzzy. I hope Canon fixes this in the upcoming firmware releases.Updated
I upgraded from a 30D and I love the Live View and Auto Dust clean features. 10Mp is adequate for most situtions except highly professional work. Camera feels solid and very comfortable to hold. Rotating dial is very effective. Picture quality is outstanding. However I have one gripe which is probably shared among all 40D owners. The preview on the LCD is blurry when magnified. The LCD itself is capable of showing a much better image but Canon insists on using low resolution jpeg thumbnails for preview. This could be easily fixed in Firmware but so far Canon has not done it. Regretfully in this respect Nikon outshines Canon. -
July 27, 2008 09:35
4.5/5
First Impressions
I love this camera so much, its so much fun an easy to use. Once you get used to the controls (or if you've used previous models) its really easy to use. The large grip makes it easy to hold and feels better in the hands, especially when I am use heavy lenses like the 70-200mm f/2.8 it feels like it balances the weight very well.
Imagine Quality-
Its pretty sharp and nice color saturation, though I would like to see my colors more punchy without having to adjust my settings in Standard. The noise on this camera is kept very well in check with very little noise up to 1000 ISO. And even usable pictures at 3200ISO (with a little noise reduction software).
Body -
It feels really comfortable and does not feel hard to hold. Ergonomics and cosmetics on this body are wonderful, sleek black body and feels very sturdy. Only nitpick i can think of is the placement of the buttons on the top LCD. The last button is just a tad to far for my index finger to reach without loosening my grip on the camera with my right hand.
Features -
6FPS, wow. It captures things I could never capture with my XTi in burst mode. Its amazing how it sounds, I love it. Anyways besides the fast shutter speed, another feature it has is the Live View. I personally have only used it twice? Its not very practical for me but if your doing macro you can zoom in on any part of the picture and finely tune the focus with your manuel focus.
Conclusion -
Its an amazing piece of equipment I know that I will use a lot in the years to come! -
February 7, 2008 09:55
5.0/5
I do birds and wildlife and a lot and needed a camera that could have the AF performance very robust in AI servo and the 40D delivers. It AF well with a non reporting teleconverter like the Tamron 1.4x and my 400mm F5.6 L.
So far I don't seen any negative except one, which would be that the burst rate slow down to about 4 or 5fps when using it with AI servo and a lens like 50mm F1.8. So the burst rate in AI servo is directly dependant on the AF speed of the lens.
Despite this, I gave it a 10 because it's not really the camera fault if a lens is slow to AF. I rather have the burst slow down a bit if the lens can't keep up than having a lot of frames out of focus.
I was using the 20D before and this one is a major step above the 20D in term of speed and AF precision. -
February 1, 2008 04:24
4.0/5
The Canon 40D has a great quality feel,produces an image I like compared to the Nikon D80,has a softness to the image that's constant and produces a constant background also.Where the D80 was a little more sharper on the subject,but did'nt seem the same,exact sharpness all over the focus area.My eyes enjoy that overall solid softness to the 40D.I'm eager to use with L series Lense's.I have kit 28-135 and purchased a seperate EF 70-300mm 1:4-5:6IS USM lense.
I find the 28-135 lense supplied with 40D o be a great,overall lense.The IS works great.The $650.00 70-300 is similar but does require more steadiness even with the 2 stage IS feature.
I can't rely totally on the LCD screen for any slight defects to images,I wish it had a better LCD screen resolution (or whatever it would be) to display images to near perfect representation of image,if so it would rate a close 10 for me! -
November 23, 2007 09:06
4.5/5
I wanted to upgrade from my Canon Rebel XT which is a very good beginner dSLR. But I wanted something that is faster with great images even at high ISO.
This camera feels like a dSLR while the Rebel XT seemed a little too small and very plastiky. The AF is very good even at low light and much faster than the Rebel XT. Also I can now take images at 1/3 ISO stops. The images are also less grainy / noisy even at 1250 / 1600 ISO. This camera also has some great features found in the 1D Mark III including 3" Liveview LCD, Auto Sensor Cleaning. Finally, this camera is extremely responsive from start up to taking a shot - max 6.5 fps is much faster than the Rebel XT.
I also find that the images are either properly exposed / maybe sometimes a little over-exposed. But my Rebel XT seemed to under-expose most images. The images from the 40D are sharp with great colours and detail.
I highly recommend this semi-pro camera. Great value for the price.
