GaryJP’s 40D Experiences

Gary was among the earliest in Hong Kong to get their 40D (he bought it on the 25th of August, 10.30 am, to be exact), and offers up some thoughts about why he’s adding the 40D (instead of an EOS 1D Mark III) to his arsenal of digital SLR cameras which already includes a 30D and 5D.

2 sample photos of a cat - Gary shot this with the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Lens, and you can view a large size version of those images here. There’s also a focus test (ISO 1600) of the 40D’s AF (autofocus) on a static subject in there. Based on his comments in that post, I’d hazard a guess that he shot these images in RAW mode and processed the files with the included DPP (Canon’s Digital Photo Professional software) program. You can also access the full-sized versions of the cat photos by clicking the following links - first photo, shot at ISO 1600; second photo, shot at ISO 800.

ISO 1600: High ISO noise comparison between the EOS 30D and 40D - Hope you have enough bandwidth to view these full-sized comparisons - there’s a 30D image at ISO 1600, compared with images from the 40D, one with NR (noise reduction) ON, the other with NR at OFF.

ISO 1000 photo of an indoor scene illuminated with warm lighting - This is pretty impressive for ISO 1000. There are two versions in that post, sharpened and unsharpened. Gary also shows another version with Neat Image applied to it to reduce noise.

40D vs 5D in terms of high-ISO noise - Gary warns that these images are not strictly tests, but one gets a pretty good idea about the relative noise performances of each camera by judging the ISO 1000 image from the Canon 40D vs the ISO 1600 image from the 5D. Gary also remarks that having a 14-bit image processing pipeline doesn’t give the 40D (with its APS-C, 1.6x crop sensor) any image noise advantages over the 5D, which has a much larger, full-frame sensor.

Miscellaneous feedback from Gary:

• The 40D gives you an option to turn off NR (noise reduction) from being done in-camera. This capability is not available in the 30D - NR was done whether you wanted it or not. Additionally, the chosen NR setting seem to also take effect in RAW files.
• Image quality between the 40D vs 30D is broadly similar, but the availability of HTP (highlight tone priority) mode on the 40D to preserve highlights is a useful feature.
• There are no PDF user manuals in the 40D box. The two included CDs are for the software and manuals for using the software.
• Gary has the impression that the CF (CompactFlash) door and the On / Off switch on the 40D feels less robust than on the 30D.

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Tags: Canon EF 50mm f/1.4