Canon 40D

[JMB]

Hello

Has anyone used a Canon 40D or got any opinions about it. I would be gratefull for any info. 

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

I have a 450D, but used this site's review on it to decide on it.

Link to the 40D review.

I know it's not in the same league as the 40D, but I am very happy with my 450D.

[JMB]

Hi

Thanks for that, it is a very in depth review. It will take a little time to digest.

[cooperlola2]

There are not many "big" players in digital SLRs. Canon and Nikon lead the field, having the vast bulk of the professional market between them, while Sony (was Minolta), Pentax and Olympus are among the chasing pack. You wouldn't put money on them all surviving the recession, but Canon is probably among the strongest in that respect. The 40D is pretty good, no doubt about that, and for general family and holiday photography, it will deliver pretty much everything you want. There are, however, substantial differences in the feel and handling of cameras from each manufacturer's stable. These are far more significant than the differences in image quality etc. You would do well to handle each model in your price range to see whether it feels right to you, or whether the control layout and design of menus etc make it seem daunting. The 40D also only has a 2.5 inch screen - newest models like the 50D and Nikon etc equivalents have the super bright 3 inch screen , with 4 times the resolution. Make sure this isn't going to disappoint.

[Mr Coeur de Lion]

Also, the number of megapixels is not important. For the majority of people, 6 mega pixels is more than enough, anything over is a waste unless you are printing pictures bigger than A3, but if you find yourself tossing up between a 10 mega pixel and a 12 mega pixel camera, really it doesn't matter. Most professional photographers will tell you the most important part of a camera is the lens.

As cooperlola said, the difference between Canon and Nikon is not much, but I understand the Nikon's do have the slightly better standard lens. The beauty with DSLR's is that you keep the lenses for life and only upgrade the body every few years as the lenses will always match the body (of the same make).

[mikeinfrance]

Personally the only aspect of digital that I find disappointing is how they handle mist and fog. I suspect its to do with resolution, but theres something missing in the reproductin for me.

What I really mean b all this twitter is that if you can't find any other way to chose between two cameras I think its a good test to try both on your most difficult challenge and really pore over the outcomes critically.

[Sydney and Huggy]

Haven't got, or ever used a Canon and haven't looked at the spec for the 40D  but would suggest that whatever you buy make sure it has the self cleaning facility for the low pass filter.  A couple of minuscule spots of dust on it is infuriating, irrespective of how careful you are when changing a lens. If it doesn't blow off with a blower (don't touch it with a brush) then its an expensive job to get it cleaned professionally.

[JMB]

Dust is a real pain.  This is where, if you are not in need of having more than one lens, a camera with a lens fixed to the body of the camera comes into its own.  If you never have to remove the lens, then dust will not get into your camera (or at least there's one less pathway for it).  I suppose you could just stick to one lens and never take it off the camera body. I find these days I am using one lens more and more (fixed focal length 85mm 1.2) and rather than reframing a shot using a zoom, I'm physically moving about to optimise the frame.  I'm considering buying a second camera body so I can dedicate one lens to a camera - but obviously this is an expensive route.

My CMOS is so dirty most of the time it would be cleaner if I wiped it with an oily rag (that is a joke by the way, you should never touch your sensor).  I have a very helpful camera shop not far from where I live and they kindly blow away the dust for me for no charge - although I think I'm getting close to having used up all my favours.

The other option is to live with the dust and remove it using software after you've taken the photo - but this is time consuming and boring. At the moment I have a big blob (probably a miniscule spec of dust) appearing in the middle right of all my images.  I am not confident I can safely remove it myself, so will live with it until I next get into the camera shop.

[richardw]

Got a 30D and love it.  Dust is a problem, but then I was running around in rubber boats in Svalbard recently!  Always use RAW and set the Landscape default for colour saturation.  Decent body weight and I use a monopod alot too.

[Quillan]

I have a 350D and a few lens's, I have not had a problem with dust but every couple of months I use the 'self clean' function just as a matter of course.

One thing about the Canon is that you can use the older (red spot) lens's with it which you can buy quite cheaply on places like Ebay. There is a slight difference in focal length but otherwise they work a treat. I am sure Nikon lens's are also interchangeable but I don't know for sure.

The only issue I have is with external flash units, they are very expensive if you want a relatively good one. The built in one is OK for taking pictures of small groups of people but does not rally have the power for longer shots which I used to get with the external flash I used with my EOS.