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We clicked with:
Class leading autofocus
Extremely long battery life
No image noise to speak of
Super-sharp high resolution images
Three custom memories on dial a joy
Shots in the dark:
Live view isn't as elegantly integrated as Olympus version
Battery indicator not graded properly
Incandescent light tricks AWB
Price Comparison: Canon 40D
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If you read the gearhead camera forums, you might think the Canon 40D is nothing special. Only an incremental change over the 30D, say the loudest voices. Perhaps it's because, from the front at least, the new model looks very similar to the old, which makes it easy to gloss over the changes under the skin. Forget what you read in the gearhead forums. The Canon 40D is a honey.
The camera still uses the same EF-S sensor size (0.625x the size of a 35mm frame, fractionally smaller than the sensor found in Fuji, Nikon DX, Pentax/Samsung and Sony/Minolta cameras), but now delivers 10.1megapixel, which now works at 14bit resolution (in RAW), over the 8.2MP, 12-bit sensor of its predecessor.
Every one of the nine points of the AF system has been reworked to be cross-type sensors and the centre sensor has been made even more sensitive than before.
The icons and menu system have been changed to make the camera operate like a baby 1D mk III pro-grade camera and the Canon 40D now comes with sensor cleaning, a three-inch LCD screen and live view (this only works if the autofocus is disabled, so it's more for tripod users than an all-round preview mode). It also features some weatherproofing and can deliver up to six and a half frames per second.
There's a lot more, too. Like the fully configurable Picture Styles - six useful presets that can be adjusted for sharpness, contrast, saturation and tone. Then there is the handy 'My Menu' settings, that allow you to move those functions to the top of the tree that are important to you (but otherwise buried in the menu structure). You can also register specific camera settings and assign them to one of three custom memories, accessed from the exposure mode dial on the top left of the camera.
Back to the gearheads again. In the furore surrounding autofocus issues with the 1D mkIII, people seem to have overlooked just how good the AF system of the 40D has become. If there's the least light and texture to latch on to, the Canon 40D will focus and focus fast. Faster than any of its rivals currently on the market, although not up with the pro-grade sport-shooter cameras.
Battery life is excellent, too. It's hard to assess lithium ion batteries well, because they have a tendency to improve as they 'bed in' - the first charge may represent only a fraction of what a battery that has seen 10 or more charges might deliver. Even so, the Canon 40D's battery life was astounding, delivering hundreds of images, with lots of chimping, before the charge indicator even began to drop. One potential issue is - like most cameras in its class - the battery lacks a monitoring chip, so the battery life indicator is not that accurate.
If the nearest we get to harsh criticism is the battery indicator, it's a sure sign that the camera is a good 'un. In fact, the Canon 40D is a great 'un.
It's effectively 'noiseless' from ISO 100 up to ISO 800 and has lower noise than any of its rivals right up to ISO 3200, with or without in-camera noise reduction. Better yet, if you are prepared to go without ISO 100 and ISO 3200, the new Image Highlight tone priority setting gives the images the sort of dynamic range that only the Fuji S5 Pro could approach.
Images are crystal clear and beautifully sharp, with excellent detail throughout (the superb 17-40mm f/4 L lens supplied for the test helps). We aren't particularly convinced that 14-bit files add anything substantive to most RAW photographs, though (perhaps files with greater and greater bit depth will be the new megapixel war). Colour rendition is excellent on the Canon 40D; Canon's traditionally zingy reds are tamed here - although London buses and fire engines are still vivid - and skin tones are extremely natural. Only the auto white balance under incandescent light foxes the system, giving too much of a red-orange hue. Even the pop-up flash is very good, especially for fill-in applications.
Bottom line is the Canon 40D is the sort of camera that does its job so well, you need to find something else to blame if your pictures aren't up to scratch. Right now, there is no better camera in its class. Buy one.
