First Canon 40D Images

[Loupey]

It has been exactly 1 year since buying my 30D and I'm nearing the 50,000 shutter mark. I've been starting to feel that the camera was placing too many limitations on me so I was looking to upgrade.

Just picked up the 40D. While the 30D was a quantum leap from my 10D, this 40D may be just a small (yet significant) step. The reasons for my purchase was based on the following (in the order of importance to me):

1. Higher/cleaner ISO
2. Live View (for macro work)
3. Highlight Tone Priority
4. 14-bit analog to digital conversion
5. 6.5 fps burst shooting rate

Preliminarily (really preliminary) the digital noise improvement seems almost negligible It has a completely different shutter release feel which will take some getting used to. Anyway, I'll be giving my assessment off and on for the next few weeks. Everything I'll post in this forum, unless otherwise stated, will be with the 40D.

Here are a few images. Nothing too deep - just a few minutes to jump out of the truck for some quick snaps.


(sorry about the lack of posts lately - a lot of everything going on except N/W photography)

[Frog]

Nice images, especially the first two. Congrats on the new camera!

[mn shutterbug]

That second shot is really cool. Keep posting. I'm curious to see if the highlight tone priority is really that good. In other words, I need to see a photo of a bird with a fair amount of white in it. So, the extra couple megapixels had nothing to do with the decision?

[slayer7124]

Very nice Loupey. Love the first two images. Ahh the feeling of getting a new toy

[Coastal Flyer]

Loupey,

I am currently shooting the XTi, and considering the 40D. Is this too big a jump? Great first shots. Really like images one and two.

CF

[mjs1973]

the digital noise improvement seems almost negligible

This is what I was worried about. I was pumped when they anounced the 40D, but after seeing some high ISO test shots compared to the 20D & 30D, I wasn't that impressed. Still light years better than what I'm using, but if I wanted 20D ISO performance, I would have gotten a 20D. There are lots of other features I love about the 40D including the burst speed, but the ISO performance, and lack of funds took the wind out of my sales. Mostly the lack of funds, but the ISO performance made my not being able to afford the new body a little more bareable.

How do you like the live view for macro work? I think it would be a lot better if it had the higher resolution LCD screen like the new Nikons, but tell us how you like it.

[mn shutterbug]

Regarding my request for a photo of a bird with white in it, I also one it shot in direct midday sunlight. That'll be a heck of a test.

[AmberC]

Oh geeze! Ok .. well this is probably just me.. but when looking at the first one, I thought it was either some really really strange plane or a kite! lol It took me a few minutes to realize it was grass in water. GREAT images though!

Amber

[Knight]

Yup it's just you Amber eek: Joke Joke so ok Loupey what kind of iso's are you talking about , did you test it out to see how high you could go without loss of image quality.

[Photo-John]

Those first two images are beautifil, Loupey! I love them. I wouldn't have noticed those details or taken those pictures. And I especially like seeing things that I wouldn't notice or shoot.

I don't usually check out this forum. But I am also experimenting with a new EOS 40D, so I was curious about what you had to say. And I also wanted to let people here know we just published our 40D Pro Review. It's by a new reviewer, Dave Pawlak (bls439).

Canon EOS 40D Pro Review >>

And for any of you using the EOS 40D - we need your reviews! Actually, whatever camera you're using, we need your reviews. User reviews are the foundation of this site. They're waht usually bring new members in and they help pay the bills. So please visit the visit the Write A Review page and post reviews for your gear. Everyone's opinion counts!

I now return you to your regularly scheduled Wild Kingdom programming

[Canon_Bob]

LOL - Once again Loupey, brilliant minds think alike! Mine arrived today! I am replacing my XTi backup body with the 40D. Since getting the 600, I'm shooting two bodies more and more. Frankly, the XTi would not have held up to the environments I shoot in. I expect me 70-200 f/2.8L and 300 f/4L will be the primary glass on the 40D, although that 1.6 crop factor might be kinda fun on the 600 :-)

Anyway, nice stuff! I'll post some as well this weekend once I have a chance to shoot it some. Maybe put the ISO perfomance head-to-head against the 1DsMII (the former high-ISO/Low noice champ). Congrats on the new Acquisition!

[Canon_Bob]

Preliminarily (really preliminary) the digital noise improvement seems almost negligible

Did you turn on C.Fn II -2 yet? (see page 156 in your manual).

[Loupey]

Well where do I start? Seems this camera is a camera of compromises:

1) enabling High Tone Priority also causes:
a) limits ISO to 200~1600 (bad since I use ISO 100 alot)
b) introduces more digital noise in the shadows

2) enabling ISO noise reduction also causes:
a) buffer to reduce from 16 images to only 6 (can eat those up within a second)
b) reduces edge sharpness (IMO)


There is a potential MAJOR issue that, if I can't resolve it, will be a DEAL KILLER. I don't want to state the problem until I'm sure that it is a problem. But I've come across it several times now.

The Live View is the only option that seems really good so far.

In the meantime, some more pixs:

[Loupey]

Here's why I value the Live View feature (and why I didn't buy that Gitzo tripod until I had a chance to test my Benbo with it). This scene is not uncommon for me - difficult to stick my big head between the legs - even if I had a right angle finder.

Gahspidy - I hope you find this thread to answer your question about the usability of the LCD screen. This shot was composed, focused, and shot without looking into the viewfinder once.

As you can see, the LCD does appear bright enough even though this day was gray. The focus can be critically checked at the 5x setting. Unlike the flip-up magnifier on the waist-level finder of my medium format camera, I can place the 5x viewing rectangle anywhere on image so I can maintain the composition.

The Live View actually seems to produce less vibration during the exposure than the mirror lock-up feature.


Sorry, not the most inspired shot of the fungi. But it made a convenient test subject.

[WsW-WYATT-EARP]

That is one sweet option right there - and from seeing what you post alot - I am sure that live view will get its use .....

[Canon_Bob]

I'm in complete agreement with Loupey's assessment at this point. Took mine out for some test shots at ISO 1000 today. Ran a series without the NR in-camera filter on, and a series with it on. There was a difference, but I'm not sure it was worth the compromise of the 6fps buffer. real test will come tomorrow. I do feel it is a significant step up from the XTi, but it is not in the class of the 1D bodies. Another thing I noticed as a significant advantage was the speed of the auto focus. It's as fast as my 1DsMII, and MUCH faster than the XTi. I think it's a good value for the money, but some of the hype may be overrated.

[Canon_Bob]

BTW Loupey - Check your firmware version. Mine shipped with v1.03. Current version is 1.05. Easy to upgrade, but might be an answer to your issue that you are checking out. I'd flash it (already did mine).

-CB

[Photo-John]

That's an awesome demo, Loupey! Please post a comment on the EOS 40D pro review page with a link to this post (just this post, not the whole thread). Our EOS 40D pro review glossed over the Live View feature a bit. This would be an excellent addition to the review and a link would be sufficient, I think.

[Loupey]

Thanks, everyone, for taking the time to look and comment.

John - I owe you several equipment reviews. Been meaning to do several on lenses - just haven't got around to putting my thoughts together for those.

Canon_Bob - I need your (and anyone else out there with a 40D) help. The "problem" that I mentioned earlier is with how the 40D handles IS lenses.

With the 10D and 30D, IS works without any hiccups when I use my extension tubes or teleconverter with the 300mm. Only when I try to use all three tubes at once did the IS get unstable - and even then it was seldom seen. With the 40D, I found that even using 1 tube or the teleconverter (which I never had a problem with in terms of IS stability), the IS becomes unstable. Just as the mirror comes back down into position, I can see the image jump in the viewfinder. The recorded images show that the "jump" occurred during the exposure with the resulting smear of the image.

I state this now (without more testing) in hopes that several people looking at it can confirm that this is a problem. I probably will be out of touch over the weekend and I didn't want to wait several days in case others were experiencing this problem.

Anyway, Canon_Bob, I figure your big 600mm with a teleconverter would be the best bet for confirming that you are seeing this as well.

[Canon_Bob]

I'll definitely put it through the above mentioned scenarios tomorrow. I also have the 300mm f/4 IS, so I'll test that as well. Test images will be posted to this thread (no point in having multiple for the same purpose, as long as Loupey doesn't mind).

[Loupey]

Test images will be posted to this thread (no point in having multiple for the same purpose, as long as Loupey doesn't mind).

Yes, please post! Thanks for helping out with the test.

The IS seems to act up when the camera is pointed off-horizontal. Such as when I'm pitching the lens+tubes down about 15~30 degrees. Rolling the camera off-horizontal at the same time makes it even worse. It makes shooting macros my style a hit-or-miss affair. It literally took about a dozen shots to get one sharp one

I've tried high speed shooting mode, single shot, and low speed. That didn't help. Don't know what's going on here.


And you know me, if I can't use tubes or TC with IS for hand-held work, I might as well cut off my right arm.

[Canon_Bob]

Yes, please post! Thanks for helping out with the test.

The IS seems to act up when the camera is pointed off-horizontal. Such as when I'm pitching the lens+tubes down about 15~30 degrees. Rolling the camera off-horizontal at the same time makes it even worse. It makes shooting macros my style a hit-or-miss affair. It literally took about a dozen shots to get one sharp one

I've tried high speed shooting mode, single shot, and low speed. That didn't help. Don't know what's going on here.


And you know me, if I can't use tubes or TC with IS for hand-held work, I might as well cut off my right arm.

I hear ya Loupey! I'm waiting for a break in the weather, and then I'll just head down to my local park and shoot something worthy of a test. I will try and duplicate your parameters, and report on the results.

[Cassie1]

I've just recently bought the 40D but have been so busy just lately that I haven't had time to put it through it's paces yet. I don't know half the things it should do, I hope to learn as I go along. If I get time tomorrow I will try it out with my 300mm and EF1.4x II Extender. My Firmware Version is 1.04.

Cassie.

[gahspidy]

Loupey, thanks for the great reviews and effort to bring this to us. I can see from your demonstration pics that the Live view certainly seems to be worthy of consideration for future purchases. Actually, the real factor driving me to consider this camera along with the 5D was the 14 bit anolog to digital conversion. I can see that as being a major improvement in the tonal quality and smoothness of an image as well as handling heavy editing afterwards. I'm surprised to know that you feel there is noise beyonfd your expectations at higher ISO. I have seen alot of image comparisons between the 40Dand 5D and the qulaity was supposed to be very close. The noise in the 5D was better at high iso than the 40D but supposedly not by far.
Let me know if you would like me to send you a few images at various iso from the 5D (RAW) for you to compare.
btw, I too think those first two shots are outstanding.

[slayer7124]

Thats a pretty cool tripod. Which one is that?