Yet another camera thread: Good Buy, 40D?

I'd be surprised if that 18-55mm lens (as shown) is the IS version and overall the glass is pretty slow.

Otherwise it's pretty good for SA pricing but not for international.

EDIT - Then again I've never been able to justify to my satisfaction why the 40D should be more than twice the price of the 400D with so little between the two.

My philosophy from day 1 was to get a good camera body and concentrate on better glass that I can take with me. But then I've always had budgetary constraints - a wife and two kids saw to that. :)
 
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The differences between the two do however justify the price tag IMHO.

Live view, more fps, and a semi sealed body...
 
My main concern is the glass in this case, I know the actual camera is good.

The 40D feels better in my hands, and more solid than the 400D
 
xrapidx said:
My main concern is the glass in this case, I know the actual camera is good.

The 40D feels better in my hands, and more solid than the 400D
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well if it was me . . . but it aint so what sort of photography interests you?
 
bwana said:
well if it was me . . . but it aint so what sort of photography interests you?
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Nothing special. I just want a decent camera that'll last about 5 -years, and I can take the lenses with to the new camera afterwards. I usually use it for wildlife (from a distance), landscape...and the general family photos....

My main concern is quality of the lenses, I can get the same camera with the non-IS lens for 10k.
 
The camera will be a dinosaur in 5 years (relatively speaking - I really think Sigma is on to something with those new sensors of theirs as is casio with that high speed jobby of theirs) - not to say it wont be taking good shots still.

If you're mind is set on the 40D I'd look for a body only and get better glass. (perhaps the Canon Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM would be a great place to start)
 
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There's negligible IQ difference between the 400D and the 40D.
I prefer the user interface and the FPS on the 40D - I use it for surfing and Moto-X.

I have the 30D and would not consider upgrading from this to the 40D, but I enjoyed the upgrade from the 350D to 30D.
 
bwana said:
If you're mind is set on the 40D I'd look for a body only and get better glass. (perhaps the Canon Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM would be a great place to start)
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I agree with that approach, but don't you think 105mm is a bit short for "wild life from a distance" ?
I used my 70-200 for a recent game trip and found it a bit short - heavy crops were the order of the day.

GREY - this means B&H imported directly which means the warranty is with them and not Canon int. which would be OK is you were in the US. It may be better to go for the non-GREY with B&H if you're not in the US.
 
Frankie said:
I agree with that approach, but don't you think 105mm is a bit short for "wild life from a distance" ?
I used my 70-200 for a recent game trip and found it a bit short - heavy crops were the order of the day.

GREY - this means B&H imported directly which means the warranty is with them and not Canon int. which would be OK is you were in the US. It may be better to go for the non-GREY with B&H if you're not in the US.
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I was just using the grey model for illustrative purposes. BTW - Would a US grey lens or non-grey lens make any difference at all here in SA?

Which 70-200 do you have? the Canon f4/l? I'm thinking a 2x extender might be in order for my next purchase.
 
xrapidx said:
To all the camera guys, is this a good price? Canon 40D 2x IS lenses 2x 4Gb memory kit

I'm donating my old Panasonic FZ20 to my brother, and need a new camera. Would the above be a good buy... taking into account lense quality most importantly.
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The Canon 70-300mm f/4-5.6 EF USM IS is quite simply the best telephoto for the money. I have actually tested this lens and can tell you that it is sharp throughout the entire range. I love this lens! Get it now. Don't get the L series lens, without the IS, over this lens. That's a mistake a lot of people make. IS is the bomb for telephoto.
 
ldmelsa said:
It's not slow. It's got IS.
Price, bwana. The quality of the optics on both lenses is great. You just don't get better value for money Canon lenses.
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IS doesnt mean much if you're shooting something that moves . . . oh for say the wildlife he's interested in taking photos of for example. ;)
 
I am with Bwana on this one. Get better glass, a good f4 or even still f2.8 lens over a better body any day. Why not go a 30D second hand in good nick or 400D new and get a 300f2.8 second hand. The body you change in 5 years anyway, you even said so. The lens will be with you for 25 years.
 
Guys, you can switch the IS off. ;)
Price/performance = Canon 70-300mm IS USM
Do you guys not want IS? Get the IS one. You can switch it off. :p


And please don't recommend an f2.8 over an f4 just because it's faster. The price difference is not justified.
 
ldmelsa said:
Guys, you can switch the IS off. ;)
Price/performance = Canon 70-300mm IS USM
Do you guys not want IS? Get the IS one. You can switch it off. :p
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Yes - I'm sure you can switch it off but can you make that 5.6 faster too while you're at it? :D

And no - while I dont have anything against IS per se - given the choice I would prefer a faster lens any day because I'm not overly concerned with camera motion but object motion.
ldmelsa said:
And please don't recommend an f2.8 over an f4 just because it's faster. The price difference is not justified.
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Doesnt that depend on what you shoot?
 
bwana said:
IS doesnt mean much if you're shooting something that moves . . . oh for say the wildlife he's interested in taking photos of for example. ;)
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So he should not have it for other things just because he's going to shoot wildlife? He can switch it off. The lens in the kit he wants comes with IS. That's a good thing. Not a bad thing. It would've been bad if you could not switch it off, yes?
 
ldmelsa said:
So he should not have it for other things just because he's going to shoot wildlife? He can switch it off. The lens in the kit he wants comes with IS. That's a good thing. Not a bad thing. It would've been bad if you could not switch it off, yes?
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In my albeit limited experience with wildlife some of the best times for viewing was early morning/evening around the watering hole etc.

Now granted I wasnt into photography back then (which after trips to the likes of the Masai Mara and the Ngorongoro Crater I'm kicking myself now) I'm only imagining that a faster lens would be better than a slower one (even with IS switched off).
 
300mm at f/5.6 looks like this:

The cat's nose is not even in focus. Only the eyes.
The light was dim. That's why I used f/5.6


200mm at f/2.8
Click for 100% crop.

Only the right eye is in focus.


But with a wider shot you can get it all in focus at f/2.8
200mm at f/2.8



So you don't have much depth of field at big f-stops on telephotos.
At 300mm, I've found that I mostly use between f/8 to f/16.
 
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