Camera dilemma

So what would you do. My 40D's in with Canon for repairs to the shutter. I have the option of repairing it or losing it and replacing with a 60D or 7D via the Canon loyalty program.

I think I know which is my preferred option (4) as I can't quite make myself part with the 40D and have enjoyed my wife's 5DII so much I think I'll buy the 5DIII when it eventually emerges!

In the end only you can decide.

However, I think there are a few questions that need to be answered:
What do you shoot? Would you benefit from a 60D, 7D when you plan to buy a 5D MK III (or whatever it will be called) anyway?
Can you afford all?

On a side note, it could happen that the 5D MK III takes another year, though this becomes less and less likely, it isn't impossible.

I would say get 60D or 7D based on your needs. You can still get 5D III when it comes out. At that point, we either keep 60D/7D if you need the reach or sell them. If you subtract the repair cost that you need to pay with option (4), you should be easily get what you paid for 60D/7D.

The 40D is worth about $500. Start doing the math. You could use any camera for the loyalty program so upgrade with an old beater. Would you buy a 40D if one became available for the cost of the repair? If so, there is your answer. If the repair is less than $500 you can always pay it and then sell the 40D and make the difference between the repair cost and its value.

Do you like your 40D? Happy with it overall? if yes, repair it. No, take the option that appeals to you.

Wissigle wrote in post #13778750
I can't quite make myself part with the 40D

Then don't. Its a great camera.

someone is bound to say the 7D is crap

someone is bound to say the 5D3 is the new holy grail

Teamspeed is bound to show up to say the 7D is actually good, but of course he has a 1D4 now.

and have you talked to your wife about all of this yet?

This is very interesting. So far the results are in line with at least one of my views. I know I do not want the 60D option, the body's just a little too dainty for me. Ecomonics wise, I would say that all options are roughly equal, with I guess slightly better value from the '7D option' as the total cost of the 7D option is likely a couple of $hundred less than repair, sell and buy new 7D if I eventually did that. It's pretty marginal though, and repairing the 40D leaves the most flexibility. Thanks for all your views, it's definitely an interesting problem to have... And yes, I love the 40D but it fails in one crucial aspect which I've been shooting in more and more recently - low light, it's very noisy in anything above 1600.

If you're not going to repair the 40D, don't just send it in to the CLP.

Sell the 40D as is, with full disclosure.

Use part of the cash to buy a broken P&S for sending to CLP, use the rest of the cash to help pay for the camera from the CLP.

pyrojim wrote in post #13779642
someone is bound to say the 7D is crap

someone is bound to say the 5D3 is the new holy grail


Teamspeed is bound to show up to say the 7D is actually good, but of course he has a 1D4 now.


and have you talked to your wife about all of this yet?

You forgot...

- someone will mention that 60D doesn't have Micro Adjust, uses those tiny little SD memory cards, and is made of plastic.... but has the cool articulated LCD screen and is good for about one stop higher ISO than 40D, with almost twice the resolution.

- someone will point out that a 50D also would be a nice upgrade... more resolution, equal high ISO performance, focus Micro Adjust feature and some other nice improvements over the 40D, but still shares the same build quality, shooting speed, AF performance, and more.

- someone might mention that 7D has a steep learning curve and, unless the OP is a sports/action shooting, they are paying extra for features they may not really need. But it has uprated durability and sealing, plus can share batteries and memory cards with the 5DII the OP already has.

- someone else might mention that a 7D Mark II is a possibility, may want to wait for that announcement.

- someone will point out that 5DII exists, 5DIII doesn't... yet. We love to speculate and are hoping something good is in the works.... But no one really knows if or when 5DIII will exist, what it's specifications will be or how much it will cost. At least, no one who knows is talking about it (they can't legally... they signed a non-disclosure agreement).

Chatting about this decision with the wife is probably the best suggestion. I bet she likes the $250 repair option best! A 40D that's just been rebuilt by Canon will have a lot stronger resale value than a broken one or a CLP trade-in, anyway, even if one of the other, rather "iffy" things happen and OP ends up selling the beloved 40D in the near future for an upgrade (Hey, the 1DX will be out soon! ).

Now that's a shrewd answer, thanks Tom!