Canon EOS 40D

Review Date
February 13, 2010

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5, 1 votes

Reviewed by
paulhailes , Intermediate

Price Paid
$650.00 at ebay

Photography Experience
2-5 years , Outdoor

Summary
Great camera for the aspiring photographer.

Strengths
Good sturdy build, has good weight, easy to navigate menus,

Weaknesses
Lots of noise at high ISO

Similar Products Used
Rebel XTi

Review Date
December 6, 2009

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Reviewed by
Anthony Reiss , Professional

Price Paid
$960.00 at Sydney Australia

Photography Experience
21+ years , Fine Art

Summary
Great menu system specially the Green Star menu.
The Green Star menu is a default menu you can program with your favorite menus!
Pressing the Menu button will bring up all your favorite Menus you have chosen to file under the Green Star!
Way cool!

Strengths
Ergonomically stable and great with big hands.
Controls are not bunched up but spread out and easy to fiddle.

Weaknesses
Too soon replaced by the 50D for a mere few tweeks.
Canon should have called the 50D the 40D Mark II instead...

Similar Products Used
Canons and Nikons

Customer Service
Rare

Review Date
July 21, 2009

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
2.25 of 5, 4 votes

Reviewed by
jpfromvictoriabc , Intermediate

Price Paid
$900.00 at www.thecamerastore.c

Photography Experience
2-5 years , Outdoor

Summary
I really noticed the difference in this camera over my former Digital Rebel - immediately. It's faster, takes better images (with the same lenses) battery life is excellent, feels better to grip/more substantial, and has a ton of features for the money. If you're moving from beginner to enthusiast or intermediate photographer, this is a great choice.

Similar Products Used
Digital Rebel

Review Date
June 19, 2009

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.67 of 5, 3 votes

Reviewed by
Enche Tjin , Intermediate

Price Paid
$1100.00 at Amazon

Photography Experience
2-5 years , People

Summary
I have been using Canon 40D for two years. It is my second camera (my first camera is Pentax k100). It is big, solid and tough. I thought Pentax K100d is quite big, but it is nothing compare to this 40D. The grip is very ergonomic. I feel confidence handling it.

Body and control
The built quality of Canon 40D is excellent. It is made from magnesium alloy body. It is weather seal as well. It is made to withstand plenty of abuse. I dropped the camera once to the ground, and it still performs like new. I think entry level camera such as Rebel XSi would not able to withstand it.

Canon 40D has many buttons and two main dials. The first dial is thumb dial, located near shutter button. The second one is the big round dial located at the back of the camera. I especially like the round dial. I usually change aperture, view photo, choose menu using this dial. To access live view mode, I simply push the button in the center of the dial.

ISO and Auto ISO
The ISO range starts from 100 to 3200. The auto ISO range is from 100 to 800. I hope it is 100 to 1600. 40D handles noise very well up to 800. You will see more noise creeping in at 1600. At ISO 3200, the image quality is unacceptable. The Auto ISO is the biggest disappointment for me. It tends to stick at ISO 400 most of the time.

LCD Screens
Canon 40D has two LCD screens, the main / back screen and top LCD screen. The top LCD screen is clear in the dim light condition such as indoor or evening, but not clear in the bright daylight. To solve this problem, you can use accessory called Hoodman. The top LCD screens is helpful to check out camera settings at any time and any circumstances. It has green light lcd that could be turned on if necessary.

Auto Focus System
Canon 40D has 11 AF points, distributed in diamond formation. The speed of AF will depends on the lens. Lens that have USM (Ultra Sonic Motor) is generally perform faster than non-USM, but some lenses like Canon 85mm f/1.2 USM AF are quite slow because of the complicated lens elements. Some lenses are also better in tracking subject than other.

Favorite features
There is a feature called Highlight tone priority. I think it is a great feature because it protects the highlight from over exposure. It is great to use for portraits, wedding, landscape and so on.

The shutter has a distinctive noise. It sounds very professional. This camera can also shoot up to 6.5 fps which is great features to capture fast moving object.

Competition
Because this camera is more than two years old now, it has many cameras that match or surpass this camera in term of its specifications. For example Canon 50D which has high-res LCD screen, higher image resolution and better Auto ISO. Nikon D300 is superior regarding AF system. It has 51 points and better tracking system.

There is also Nikon D90 which has hi-res 3 inch lcd screen, cleaner image in high ISO speed but slower continuous speed and worse built quality. Read controversy regarding Nikon D90 vs Canon 40D.

Conclusion
This is a very good camera suitable for either professional or amateur photographer. The size might be a bit too big for casual shooters, but after a while you might use to it. The image quality with the kit lens is good, but I recommend to get a higher quality lens to get maximum quality. Even it is more than two years old now, this camera is still capable and robust for you if you can live with its limitation (hint: Auto ISO and LCD screen). Check out my website www.radiantlite.com for more reviews.

Strengths
Tough body, fast continuous speed, good handling and control, big lcd screen 3"

Weaknesses
Auto ISO, low res lcd screen

Similar Products Used
Nikon D90, D700, Canon XSi/450D, Pentax K100

Review Date
May 19, 2009

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
4.33 of 5, 3 votes

Reviewed by
dagerm , Expert

Price Paid
$580.00 at Japan Photo

Photography Experience
21+ years , Outdoor

Summary
Upgraded to 40D from my Canon 350D from 2005. I choose not to buy the 50D because picture quality is actually very similiar, despite 10mp versus 15mp.
Finally a good handgrip, bigger and brighter viewer, extensive controls and a intuitive meny system. I lover picture styles. Easy to chage settings. Very quick autofocus and burst rate - responsive.

Strengths
Inherits most of the features from a EOS1 to a bargain price. Solid camera house build of metal and sealed. 3 inch screen easy to use, mostly for accurate colour tones/temperature. As a photographer you have a wealth of configuration options easily accesible. Very good dynamic range and correct noise reduction in mid-range tones.

Weaknesses
The 3 inch screen is only 240.000 dpi (versus 50D has VGA mode with 900.000), but using it mostly for tonal/temperature check it is OK. On/off switch is on the back, it could be around the shutter. At the other hand when it's on it's actually in standby mode all the time, so it's quick anyway.

Similar Products Used
My 350D produces good images as well, but it's now my backup camera house.