My new 40D.. First impressions..

[[wingnut]]

Well after finally having a really play with it the others day i can honestly say i am very impressed with it. Every time I use something else amazes me about it. Most a silly little things but there a few more noticeable differences from my previous 350D. I am no good at writing a magazine style reports so I'll just list the points..

Good Points.
The weight - So much more heavier in your hand than the 350D, with the 70-200mm lens it felt perfectly balanced.. Made shooting easier.
The shutter noise.. Funny how something so simple makes a big deal.
3 inch rear screen. With live view mode if required.. Not used that yet but the larger screen really helps when view image data and histogram.
9 points AF system that is fast and accurate.
Auto ISO selection. Interesting one this but using it in low light it made shooting easier and kept the shutter speed reasonable enough to still hand hold most shots.
6.5fps upto 65 frames in jpg mode.. It's rapid...
Increased mega pixels upto 10.1 mp over 8mp from my 350D with a whole load of image options.
Metering is handled so much better.

There's probably going to be loads more but that's what i found off the top of my head.

The niggly points.

All the controls are different, learning to use two switches and a button to change ISO settings, WB, etc etc is different but no doubt will get used to it soon.
RAW files are now a massive 12mb each so my 1gb cards now hold less than 70 shots in the 40D.
The on off switch feels a bit cheap and nasty.
My remote shutter switch (infra red jobbie) doesn't work with the 40D,

Like I say these are just stupid niggly things really, i'm sure I will get used to them soon enough. On the whole i am over the moon with it, and can't wait to get and shot some more pictures...

[muttleymacclad]

Yeah sounds pretty crap to me too !!

Very jealous wingnut, hope to see some more great shots from it.
MML

[_Belial]

Hmm, a very concise review there mate, here's a few questions for ya to pad it out


Did you ever use a battery grip with the 350 at all? I always use it with the 400 and find it balances the camera much better than without it. Interested to know how the 40D compares to a 350/400 with a grip?

How does it perform in low-light compared to the 350? In particular at ISO 400/800 (never really use 1600+). Is there any more noise with 40D or 350D?

When you say metering is handled so much better, do you mean metering performance given the same options on both seems to evaluate better on the 40D or there are more (i'm assuming it at least has spot metering?) options on the 40D for metering modes?

Can you do some side-by side comparison shots between the 350 and 40D for us, pretty please (using same lenses at same focal range and camera's from same tripod kinda thing ).

Thank you

[[wingnut]]

Did you ever use a battery grip with the 350 at all? I always use it with the 400 and find it balances the camera much better than without it. Interested to know how the 40D compares to a 350/400 with a grip?

Yes I did and found it was the best thing I could do with the 350D. But with the battery grip on the 40D it just feels so much more balanced. When the 70-200mm with 2x convertor was in use I had to really tighten up the ball head on my tripod to get it to stay still otherwise the lens pulled it downward towards the ground. On the 40D it rests so much better with less force on the head of the tripod.
How does it perform in low-light compared to the 350? In particular at ISO 400/800 (never really use 1600+). Is there any more noise with 40D or 350D?

When you say metering is handled so much better, do you mean metering performance given the same options on both seems to evaluate better on the 40D or there are more (i'm assuming it at least has spot metering?) options on the 40D for metering modes?

It has all the same if not more spot / evaluation / etc etc metering as the 350D but it just handles it better, rather than over exposing for dark foregrounds or under exposing it just seems to get a better balance of it all.

Can you do some side-by side comparison shots between the 350 and 40D for us, pretty please (using same lenses at same focal range and camera's from same tripod kinda thing ).

You don't want much do you!!! LOL... Will try to but always get so carried away when shooting that I forget. Will do it on the next rainy afternoon at home. Will bung on my 50mm f/1.8 and take the shots for you.


Went out again at the weekend and tried out the AI servo function. Disaster... Need to read up some more on that.

[_Belial]

Thanks for that mate, spot metering will be very handy on it for sure, that's one of the big features i'm really looking forward to on it. I read one review today actually which said it had a lot less noise at 1600 than the 400D which could come in very handy indeed.

Be ace if you do manage some of those comparison shots though )

Cheers mate.

[[wingnut]]

No problems mate, never used a 400D so can't compare, but going against my 350D it is a lot better. Also read a review that put it better than a 5D!!!!!

Couple of reviews here:

Bobatkins
Another Blog
Interesting one here:- Photoblog (This bit in particular)

Thanks for the review. However I'm surprised you believe the 40D is no better than the 400D. It's got improved sensor design, 14bit processing for improved tonal gradation, better ergonomics (for most people), live view with live histogram plus ability to have all the live view features on the lcd screen or on a separate computer (set up, focus finely and take the photo without touching the camera). To my mind and those of many others, it's a significant step up from previous models in the series and not only allows one to take more better photos, but vastly expands the range of situations in which one can take a successful photo. The only reason there is not even more hype is because of the announced but yet to be released Nikon offerings, which have some added features yet not all the enhancements of the 40D.