Canon EOS-40D

Likes

- 6.5 fps burst - List price - sRAW - Live Preview - Highlight Tone Priority - Reorganized menus - Wireless capabilities - Constant display of ISO in viewfinder - .95x viewfinder - Interchangeable focusing screens - Dust reduction - Additional weather-seals - Silent modes (good thought) - Continues to write data if card door is accidentally opened - Low noise throughout the ISO range - Excellent dynamic range - Excellent low light performance - Excellent color accuracy

Dislikes

- Reassigned buttons on top of camera - Non-customizable Picture Styles and Direct Print buttons - Silent modes are not as quiet as expected - Lacks body-based image stabilization - No commander flash mode

Conclusion
The EOS 40D stands as a solid successor to Canon’s popular EOS 30D. It offers increased resolution, 30 percent faster continuous shooting, and enhanced computing power. A number of innovations, such as sRAW files, Live Preview, automatic dust reduction, and additional weather seals, also make their first appearance in the series, collectively creating a more dynamic and contemporized feature set.

In terms of image quality, the 40D’s photos look great, but not significantly better than the 30D’s. The 40D's noise levels are very low, though not any lower than the 30D. The 40D's dynamic range is excellent, and slightly improves on the 30D. Color accuracy is almost identical, but the 40D’s resolution is less than impressive, even with the extra megapixels.

There's a lot of competition in this price range. Some of the 40D's competitors offer very attractive features that Canon has not included. Features such as body-based image stabilization (Sony A700), a commander flash mode (Nikon), and rotating Live View LCDs with better resolution (Panasonic L10) may capture some of its target market.

Current 30D owners who use multiple bodies, such as wedding photographers, may be put off by the reassignment and repositioning of the buttons on the top and back of the camera. But for first time DSLR owners or single body shooters, the 40D provides Canon's characteristically excellent image quality, solid build, and convenience.



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