Canon Eos40d

[ShadowKnyght]

I checked one of these out the other day - very heavy and much larger than the 400D - but the 3" LCD looks awesome!!! I was going to buy the 400D twin lens kit but now....

The other horrible thing as far as being indecisive is concerned is that the D3 and the D300 from Nickon are soon to be released and even though I would prefer a Canon these two cams look to be far better than the 40D!

They support Autofocus with the liveview - the canon only does manual focus with liveview LCD.

[Lepperfish]

Liveview is a gimmick anyway, Its a function that is hardly going to get used on my 40D.

[ShadowKnyght]

I disagree - if you do a lot of macro work - live view on a 3" LCD will always give you a better shot than just using the viewfinder!

The only thing these new DSLR's need is the ability to digitally zoom the live view to 100% guarantee that the focus point is correctly chosen!

Similar to my old Minolta Dimage 7i and the Panasonic Z30/Z50's pretend DSLR's did - a very nice feature to ensure the item of choice is in focus instead of some random point the camera has chosen to focus on!!

I found this the most desirable feature to have so when I was going to upgrade from my Minolta I was going to buy the Panasonic Z30 then the Z50 for this very feature alone.

But the poor ISO performance of these pretend DSLRs made me instead look towards the Canon 350D then 400D and now 40D - it is just the glass that scares me - so bloody expensive!

In fact thinking back - when I was doing the macro work I always used manual focus anyway so the 40D's lack of Auto focus in liveview mode does not scare me to much!

[Col-GTSX]

I checked one of these out the other day - very heavy and much larger than the 400D - but the 3" LCD looks awesome!!! I was going to buy the 400D twin lens kit but now....

The other horrible thing as far as being indecisive is concerned is that the D3 and the D300 from Nickon are soon to be released and even though I would prefer a Canon these two cams look to be far better than the 40D!

They support Autofocus with the liveview - the canon only does manual focus with liveview LCD.

The Nikon D3 and D300 are not going to be $1999 tho...

The D3 and D300 are not competing with the 40D, the 400d and 40d are entry level DSLR's they compete with the Nikon D40, D40x & D80.

You should be compairing the D300 and the D3 to the Eos 1d series all of which are a shit load more than $1999inc GST...

As for live view, I think it will be benificial to studio photographers. Taking them out from behind the camera and allowing them to have a more personal touch with their clients.

Its turns a photographer back into an artist. However that said, if you dont like it you dont have to use it. Its a selling feature that just might make the difference for some buyers.

I mean its better to have a feautre you are not going to use rather than not having it at all, otherwise the buyer might be turnedoff onthat model and buy an Olympus

BTW. The 40D can auto focus in live view mode... It also offer two different silent modes in live view mode for the Jame Bonds of the world...

To clairify on auto focus in live view, you need to press and hold the AE-on button for a second til you here the usual focused beep and then release, the shot will then be in focus.

I have to say that Canons system to do this is the fastest I have seen in the live view cameras and this puppy is only 2 grand... Thats impressive...

[ShadowKnyght]

Well I bought one... Just hope it is that much better than the 350D with the 18-55mm kit lens I had before...

Ok So I bit the bullet - after my bad experience with a couple of Sellers at DHgate , I pulled my head in for a while - watching the prices of the 400D twin lens kits drop more and more...

But I could not resist the 40D...

The problem is - with a higher end DSLR - one can't just own kit lenses - oh no - that would just not do...

So I looked at a few options... and settled on 2...

The 70-300mm F/4-5.6 IS USM (retails from $1000+ but Camera house has one at $695 last time I went to the market)

And the 70-200mm F/4 L USM (retails in excess of $1000 - eBay's lowest is $700 slightly used or from HK)

Now the IS (built in image stabilization - essential for full zoom shots when not using a tripod) would have been nice as would have the extra 100mm of zoom - but this lens's image quality is only just a little better than the kit lenses (75-300mm F/4-5.6 III and the slightly better 75-300mm F/4-5.6 III USM) targeted at the more main stream retail customer... and I just could not think of settling for that.... :?

So instead I looked for the cheapest 'L' Lens I could find with a decent zoom range - I came across a number of very good reviews on the 70-200mm F/4L lens and although it does not have the full zoom capabilities it has a F/4 rating across its' entire zoom range (means it is better for inside / darker shots) and is supposed to produce far better images - much crisper.

Plus everyone knows that a white lens on a camera means a pro is looking down the barrel

I only wish I could have afforded an EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM but at $2400 to $4000 depending on where you buy it - I think not!

Kit Contents

Canon 40D Digital SLR Camera Body

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM Lens

Extra Battery

2 x LCD Protector (one for use, one as a spare)

Wireless Remote

Camera Cleaning Kit

Hoya UV filter

3 years total warranty

$2,446

I bought this through a guy in QLD.

So far Ben has been very good to deal with - he takes the time to email you back with full responses to all your questions, is helpful and offers suggestions as well as the human element you seem to fail to find with most sellers now-a-days. On his customer service alone I would recommend him!

I just hope he comes through where DHgate failed me. Then I really have to get off my butt and do something with this camera to make the investment worth while!

wish me luck!

Edited September 28, 2007 by ShadowKnyght

[Sl!m]

So, how much are you getting paid for that advertisment?

[ShadowKnyght]

Sorry - is that better?? Not being paid at all - and there was no link just a banner I scabbed from his eBay page - all gone now sorry bouts that is that seemed a bit to much - just letting people know!

[Sl!m]

haha I was only joking mate..