EOS 40D First Impressions

[photobyalan.com]

I received my new 40D this afternoon and have been examining it, thumbing

through the manual and taking some photos.

 

I decided to add the 40D to my bag after using a 20D for the past 3 years. My

main reasons for upgrading were to get the 3" LCD and better autofocus. It has

always been my opinion that the image quality on the 20D, all things considered,

is fantastic and, quite frankly, I'm not looking for a huge improvement there.

 

Upon holding the 40D for the first time, I definitely notice a bit more heft and

a more "solid" feel. There is a different texture to the body, somewhat

rougher, which may provide a bit more grip. The grip is a bit more comfortable

to me, but it is not a huge difference. The controls are familiar, although

some have been moved to accommodate the larger LCD screen.

 

The LCD is spectacular. For someone who is beginning to have trouble with near

focus, it is a godsend. I can shoot without my reading glasses and still see

whether I have a good shot. The large size also makes it easy to read the menus

and data. The histogram and thumbnail display is now large enough to be useful,

whereas on the 20D they were both too small to see well. One nice feature is

the ability to decline auto-rotation in the LCD while still having it when

photos are downloaded. When playing back photos I am now able to see them fill

the LCD instead of being rotated and shrunk to fit.

 

I had heard the shutter/mirror mechanism was quiet, but I was not prepared for

just how quiet it is. It will never be mistaken for a Leica rangefinder, but it

is a vast improvement over the 20D.

 

I am not terribly impressed with the new viewfinder. While it is indeed larger

and brighter than the 20D, neither of these improvements are earth-shaking and

it still falls well short of a full frame digital or 35mm camera.

 

Autofocus, as judged by my perception of speed and accuracy, has improved

significantly over the 20D. Not only is it faster, it seems to track moving

subjects much better, especially in dark scenes such as indoors at night.

 

6 1/2 frames per second is pretty darn cool. It's faster than my old EOS 1 with

the power booster, and I can play with it without burning up a dozen rolls of

film in 10 minutes.

 

The EOS 1D-style menus are great. They seem easier to read and to navigate, and

I haven't even gotten used to them yet.

 

So far, I have not noticed any significant improvement over the 20D in

autoexposure or auto white balance. However, I generally found the 20D to be

adequate for my needs and I always shoot in RAW anyway, so I am able to make

adjustments after the fact. There hasn't been time for any serious

pixel-peeping, and there may never be. It appears the image quality is somewhat

better than the 20D; the first few test shots I have made look quite nice but I

have only viewed them on the LCD, so the jury hasn't even gotten the case yet.

 

Am I happy I spent the money? Absolutely. To me, it's worth it just for the

big LCD. Everything else is gravy, and there seems to be plenty of it. Now I'm

lookng forward to getting out and taking some real photos to see what this thing

can do.

[colinsouthern]

Congratulations on the new purchase :)

[mike_earussi1]

I played with one, but didn't like the strange vibration/humming noise that the shutter gave off. Seems to vibrate the whole camera. Liked the screen though.

[colinsouthern]

Mike, you're not talking about the ultra-sonic cleaning are you? I'm confused!

[dcheung]

I'm curious about what Mike is referring too. Can you plz elaborate mike?

[bobatkins]

Mike must have had the musical shutter option enabled...

[steve_bright1]

I too have gone from a 20D to a 40D. Whilst the new menus are more clearly laid out than being just one long list, in practice, they're a lot slower for me. The menu options I use most of all are auto-bracket, format and custom function/mirror lockup. With the 20d, I'm able to choose the option in under a second with a couple of button presses and a twirl or two on the wheel. With the 40D, I have to press the jump button repeatedly just to get to the right sub-menu before twirling.

 

I've also found that the background of the histogram charts is only slightly different from the rest of the display which means that I find it hard to tell how close to the right-edge the plots are.

 

These are only very minor concerns and obviously don't affect the image-capturing ability, and I'm sure I'll get used to them.

 

All we need now is for a revised version of ACR & Lightroom, so our raw files can be processed other than by the Canon software.

[jimstrutz]

Mike is right, there is a vibration with the shutter action. It actually vibrates when the shutter closes, not when opening so it shouldn't effect image sharpness. It's pretty slight though and is probably the mirror. I don't know why it would bother anyone.

[jimstrutz]

Steve, add your most used menu options and custom functions to the "My Menu Settings." Very quick & easy to get to what you use most. Definitely faster than the 20D for that.

[steve_bright1]

Well, as I wrote that, I did wonder whether the 'my menu settings' might be something that would help me. I only started using it on Sunday and I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I haven't actually opened the manual yet. :red-face: Thanks for the steer on that Jim.

 

I can't say I've noticed any vibration on mine though.

[chrisjb]

Thanks for your impressions Alan, I bought the D30 when it came out and when I got the 20d was only disapoined with 2 items, the smaller font in the LCD menus and that noisy shutter, the D30 I still have is better built but IQ no where near, now looking forward to the 40D.

[colinsouthern]

They added a favourites menu to the 1D3 as well - problem is it's limited to only 6 items.

 

I've written to Canon to ask if it can be made "scrollable" - fingers crossed.

[mars c]

Hi Alan , Congrats on your new camera.

 

A question :

 

How do you find the metering in the 40d, Is it more accurate than the 20D, Does it expose the scene more accurately, Like not being too dark or not being to bright on various scenes, with the exp. comp set at 0 ?

[photobyalan.com]

Mars,

 

Metering seems to be very good and accurate in ambient light and with flash. Keep in mind, however, that I have taken only a few photos so far and my judgment of exposure is based on the camera's histogram and what I see in the LCD. Give me a day or two of shooting and I can get a better idea of the real-world performance of the 40D.

[paul_ingram]

I bought my 40D on impulse last Friday when the local dealer told me he had one, and my 20D had had one major shutter repair and I needed a second body. Now I believe I made a good decision. I shoot a lot of HS sports and it seems the 6.5 fps is twice as fast and responsive than the 5 fps of the 20D. But the consistency in exposure and color rendetion under HID stadium lights is much better than the 20D, for which it takes some PC color correcting on sequence shots to get them to look the same. The 40D is much better. Not sure why.

[michael_brant]

Any opinions yet on low-light/high ISO performance? I shoot high school basketball without flash and would love to hear that the 40D is an improvement over the 20D.

[Brad_]

>>> Mike must have had the musical shutter option enabled...

 

 

Can you download new ring-tones, uh, I mean shutter-tones? Maybe some AC/DC?

[david_spencer3]

Could the vibration as the shutter closes affect subsequent shots when taking a bunch of pictures at once?

[photobyalan.com]

I think this "vibration" is a non-issue. It seems to be either the shutter cocking mechanism or the mirror return motor. At any rate, it can't be any more jarring than the mirror slap of the 20D.

[jimstrutz]

"Could the vibration as the shutter closes affect subsequent shots when taking a bunch of pictures at once?"

 

Yeah, I was wondering the same thing. Some testing might be in order.

 

The mirror slap on the 20D is indeed jarring as far as noise is concerned, but it doesn't seem to set up much continuing vibration. The 40D is quieter, but it does feel like it vibrates for a 1/4 second or so. That would be enough to effect the second shot if firing at 6.5fps.

[pc1]

Scary ! i think i'll stick with my 30D , apart from not really being able to afford/need a 40D. Probably the next one after this would interest me more . am a bit envious but then again , i guess i shouldn't . Enjoy ! PC

[._._z]

I played with a 40D for 30 minutes last week. It's a solid incremental improvement over the 20D/30D. The quieter shutter impressed me over the 20D which is a cannon (so to speak) by comparison.