You just know when it feels right.

cheap as in canon should be charging more? or cheap as in build quality? I think they have a fantastic product and it's a great value for what it offers. Far better than the XTi.

Photo diagrams of the 40D show it to have much more metal in the body than the 30D, so I'm not sure what the critics are talking about. To me, it feels just like the 5D.

It's .2 inches bigger in width and 2 ounces heavier. I don't have a problem with it, I'm also at a loss of trying to figure exactly what they mean. I'm at this point just randomly making guesses.

the 40d is a much better fit in 'my' hand than my 30d is, the grip is just ever so slightly bigger and has the finger groove, and both these things make it feel more comfortable for me. Besides that, i can't see that it's any worse built than the 30d........ Feels very solid, as does the 30d and as irish1 posted above^ the 40d is meant to have even more alloy in the frame of the body than the 30d, so in reality the 40 should be tougher.........

It seems i may be on my own on this, but i actually like the sound of the 40d shutter better than the 30d too, and i like the 30d shutter sound better than the 5d.....

Anyway, it's all horses for courses, what i like somebody else won't........

My dad use to have this saying that I never understood till now...."You would b*tch if they hung you with a new rope..."

Instead of talking about what the camera is...people want to complain about what it isn't. No, it isn't a 1299 5D (why are we comparing this camera to a 5D?????? It isn't FF, it isn't $2500.....sheese...giv​e it a rest!), no it isn't a 1299 series one body (Are you kidding me? It doesn't have the BQ of a Mk III????).

It is the replacement for the 30D. Let's at least keep the topic between those two.

I am all for people who have owned the 30D an have an opinion for the 40D....but come on....I picked one up in the store, shot 4 pics...and it sucks????? I came from the XTI. The 40D is soooooooooooo much better from the XTI it is not funny. I have shot a 20D, 30D and a MK IIn. No comment on the MK IIn...see above....but as far as comparing the 40D to the other 2....the 40D feels lighter, bigger, and better to me. The BQ is excellent. I always felt like the XTI was going to break...not so with the 40D. And this comparison about he 5D shutter and 40D shutter is crazy. Bigger mirror let alone a shutter that is built for more shots on the 5D....

Apples to apples people.....

Now..I have to admit I get a kick out of people comparing the 40D IQ to the 5D IQ....

IMHO the only legit complaint about the 40D so far is the backward compatible thought process on the grip. I think that was the only miss on the 40D. Canon stood a real chance to meet a lot of people's needs there. Plastic battery door hinge????? Come on people.....if that is your only concern..then you are missing out on one sweet, low price camera here.....

Jon

Well said.

umm.. I think people were comparing the build quality, fit and finish between the 40D, 30D, 20D and the 5D of the chassis. Not IQ.

Feels much better than the 20D/30D for me.

40D? When did this come out?

JBaz wrote in post #3997763
umm.. I think people were comparing the build quality, fit and finish between the 40D, 30D, 20D and the 5D of the chassis. Not IQ.

ummm..my point is it should never be compared to the 5D. Do you compare VW's to Jag's?

The IQ comment was just me poking fun at all the other...Let's see your 5D images compared to the 40D....threads that are out there...

Jon

Depends on what price point you refer to. Jags, while they are more elegant and suppose to be higher class, their build quality has suffered drastically ever since Ford acquired them, but they are getting better again with better sourcing and materials. Ford finally realized they shouldn't skip out on materials with that brand line and they'll have a tough time to retain their customer base and try to win back the ones they lost.

VW on the other hand has improved their build quality and now are aiming more to be towards a safe and reliable car with great engineering and build quality. They strive to be a rival of Volvo's, who are renounced to be safe, reliable cars that are built like tanks. You can compare the two, but now days, you find that VW's are nicer than jags, when a decade ago it was just the opposite with the past brand identity.

Also, They are two different car companies, that have two different focuses, and in different sectors of the market. You can say the same with the 40D and the 5D, but it's all from the same company, both are semi-pro bodies, and both have relatively similar functions. The build quality maybe slightly different between the 20D, 30D, 40D and 5D, but it's so nominal, at best, that it really isn't a big deal and if you think it really is, then you should switch to Nikon...

The amount of engineering chassis work that's involved in such a tight fitted consumer/prosumer product is crazy ridiculous. To get such a tightly fitted built quality that consistent in large volumes is a very hard thing to manage, specially you deal with so many vendors and variances. At my work place, we spent a good 250k on developing our plastic chassis for the past 18 months and it's no where near the quality of canon (of course, Canon is a lot bigger than us), but for us to match them, we would have to buy special tooling, engineer to a very high level with almost no tolerances in the process and invest a good deal in managing it all, which costs millions. Because I know how products are engineered and develop a bit, I have a lot of appreciation for mass produced, high quality items. I actually show cased the 30D when we started development and showed my boss what we should do, but he showed me the $$$ it would take to do it.

IIRC, one of TMR's impressions from playing with a 40D was that the buttons felt different than 30D/5D buttons--too click-y. Other than that, I haven't heard complaints about any other build area compared to the 30D/5D.

One complaint I have about the 20D/30D build quality is the creaky CF door. Did Canon design a different/better door for the 40D? It doesn't look like it to me. I shot with a 20D this weekend for the first time in a while, and I'd forgotten how the plastic creaking noise bugs me. It's easy to take for granted the feel of a 1-series until you shoot with a non-1-series again (I didn't miss the 1-series weight though). A 1-series feels absolutely rock solid, whereas a 20D feels, well, cheap with that creaking door. If not for that, the 20D would feel quite solid too. If they fixed this on the 40D it would be a nice solid camera build-wise. Does the 5D's CF door creak too? Shame if it does.

Yohan Pamudji wrote in post #3998192
IIRC, one of TMR's impressions from playing with a 40D was that the buttons felt different than 30D/5D buttons--too click-y. Other than that, I haven't heard complaints about any other build area compared to the 30D/5D.

One complaint I have about the 20D/30D build quality is the creaky CF door. Did Canon design a different/better door for the 40D? It doesn't look like it to me. I shot with a 20D this weekend for the first time in a while, and I'd forgotten how the plastic creaking noise bugs me. It's easy to take for granted the feel of a 1-series until you shoot with a non-1-series again (I didn't miss the 1-series weight though). A 1-series feels absolutely rock solid, whereas a 20D feels, well, cheap with that creaking door. If not for that, the 20D would feel quite solid too. If they fixed this on the 40D it would be a nice solid camera build-wise. Does the 5D's CF door creak too? Shame if it does.

how about the plastic hinge on the battery door? i use a grip so it wouldn't affect me but for those who don't i'd make sure to throw some duct tape into your camera bag .

ed rader

I have owned the 10d, 20d, 30d, and 40d now. I love the feel of the 40d. I think it feels bigger and completely more comfortable. I don't know why or how, but if you give me a choice between any of those chassis's, I am picking the 40d everytime.

I agree with TMR. I picked up a 40D and it did feel cheap. They have done something to the shutter button - it feels like a toy camera. I had a 30D and Nikon d80 on display to compare and both felt much more substantial and more camera like than the 40D. Canon is trying to pull the wool over its users eyes with this upgrade and the Mark III.