30D or 40D?

[victoria_harris1]

Are there any major differences between the 30D and 40D other then price? I know

Canon made some adjustments and the 40D is 10mpix instead of 8.2, but is it

worth the extra money to go with the 40D? I have a budget and the 30D is right

in that budget however I was wondering if its worth going with the 40D which is

a little bit more.

[images_in_light_north_west]

40D worth it, I upgraded 30D to 40D and its a big improvement

[gerrymorgan]

It depends on your style of photography. When I compared the output from my 20D (same sensor as a 30D) to that of a 40D, I decided that the difference was NOT significant enough to make me want to upgrade. If I had decided to upgrade, it would have been for the larger, brighter viewfinder of the 40D, which I preferred (the 30D viewfinder is similar to that of the 20D). Other people might find the faster and more accurate autofocus of the 40D compelling, or the faster frame rate.

 

But the 30D currently costs two-thirds as much as the 40D. If choosing a 30D rather than a 40D would enable you to choose a better lens, you would probably be better off (better image quality) with the 30D.

[sattler123]

Victoria, what will you be using the camera for? We can't tell you if it is worth spending the money for the 40D unless we undertsand your requirements.

[mercedes1]

Like above it does really depend what you need it for. Without a doubt the 40D is superior than the 30D in every way, but you need to ask yourself if those advantages are something that you will actually need. A Lot of people upgrade just for the sake of having the latest and greatest, but don't actually realise that what they have already is just fine. The only reason I upgraded was the focus system, it is was an impressive improvement and was the only part of the camera that proved useful to me. Even then I only decided to buy two of them after renting one for awhile. I hate upgrading cameras and I only do it if there is a very clear advantage.

[JDMvW]

If money is not an object, then definitely go for the 40D. The viewfinder is much better, especially if you end up using adapters with older manual lenses from other systems (like Nikon). I found out on an XTi in dusty desert conditions that the sensor 'cleaner' does work very nicely and the 30D lacks that. The other improvements are all incremental. On the other hand, if money IS an object, then consider either a used 30D or 20D, both are good cameras and they have essentially the same sensor. The 30D was not much of an upgrade, although, like the 20D, it's a very nice camera.

[jimstrutz]

Not mentioned above is the better LCD on the back. It's larger of course, but it's biggest advantage is that you can actually use it in bright light. The 40D also has Live View which is useful to take shots from a very high or very low viewpoint. LV is also be used to check that focus is exactly where you want it. Otherwise auto focus is faster, viewfinder is brighter, menu options are arranged better, shutter is quieter, etc. Mostly a lot of little improvements that make it nicer to shoot with.

 

Image quality is about the same. People don't choose the 40D over the 30D/20D for that. They're both very good.

[leopoldstotch]

Try this <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/compare_post.asp?method=sidebyside&cameras=canon_eos30d%2Ccanon_eos40d&show=all">side-by-side</a> comparison to see if any of the changes are worth it to you. As others have said, it would help if we knew what you would be using it for.

[johnson_d.]

Yes

[mr._b]

Money was an object for my recent upgrade from a 10D... 2 more MP, 1.5 FPS faster, 75 vs 30 shot buffer, sensor cleaning and liveview were not worth paying double what I got a 30D for.

[victoria_harris1]

Sorry I probably should have clarified what I am using it for! I have been shooting for a college lacrosse team this last year and I have begun a business doing youth sports photography. In addition to sports I also shoot a lot of landscape and wildlife. The reason I am wondering about these two is because I have been using and Olympus evolt 500 for the last few years which I have really enjoyed, however my husband has an older rebel and we just had someone give us a EF 70-300mm IS USM lens which I have started using for lacrosse because it have more reach then what I had previously been using. I love the lens and I like the line of products that canon has to offer and I am thinking I would like to switch over to canon because I am still in the beginning stages of building up good equipment. As far as cameras go I dont have very much to spend but I want to know if it would be worth maybe waiting a little while to get the 40D as opposed to the 30D. Hope that clarifies a little! Thanks everyone!

[robin_sibson1]

My perception is that the improvement in AI Servo from the 20D/30D to the 40D is quite significant. For what you are doing, that alone should tip the balance.

[j_smith6]

<a href="http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/digital/canon_eos_40D_30D_upgrade.html">http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/digital/canon_eos_40D_30D_upgrade.html</a>

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+ EOS 40D has more frames per second (importatnt for sports) and it has bigger buffer (even more important). You can also see ISO value in viewfinder so you won't forget to change it if light changes (you probably usually use high ISO to take sport pictures). I'd buy EOS 40D. It also has bigger viewfinder... which still looks small, but it's MUCH better than the one in EOS 20D/30D. For me that would be really enough to choose the new version and there still is much more one could mention.

[steve_eichorn]

Victoria, what I am doing is waiting for the XSi to come out, and then the 40D prices will fall. I currently own an XT and it's a fine camera for what I paid for. But I want the spot metering, the ruggedness, the less noise at higher ISO's and the faster, more accurate focus that the 40D has. I believe, come this fall, the price difference between the two will be far closer than what it is now. The tough part is waiting!

Steve

[victoria_harris1]

Thanks for the help everyone! It sounds like it may be time to just keep waiting until I can get the 40D!

[andre_stull]

For the price, the 30D is great. Why wait..u can be capturing great images right now. Sure, the 40D has some updates, but really, the 30D is a fine camera with excellent IQ.