You just know when it feels right.

irish1 wrote in post #3996989
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.

Which diagrams are you referring to? dpreview? Please let me know.

They have some 3d renderings on canon's website

ed rader wrote in post #3998280
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

Wow....

It was hard enough getting the door off to install my grip...I doubt that plastic hinge will ever be a problem.

Jon

Jon_Doh wrote in post #3998337
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.

'more camera like'

'toy camera'

I've decided to get the 5D instead of the 40D because of the shutter noise. I want the best shutter noise possible because it'll improve the IQ tremendously.

As the origional poster of this thread it amazes me how many of the discussions on this forum turn into a game of chinese whispers. I never questioned the quality of the images produced by this body but I am someone who appreciates the unspoken intrinsic quality of something. Sure it will do the job and unquestionably do it well but.......
Its the way that a BMW gear change feels or the way that a Breitling feels on your wrist or the glorous kick you feel from a Purdy over-under.

You can't write it down or tell someone if you cant feel it you cant feel it.

Its like the movie says, you cant hear James Brown. You may be listening but you cant hear him.

It personally amazes ME how ridiculous it is to read all these gripe threads about the 40D not feeling like the 30D or 5D, about the 40D not being full frame, about the 5D being less noisy. One of my photography professors told us that you can have a pinhole/box camera and take a better photo than someone with a $3500 camera. I wish people would spend less time getting wrapped up in the technical/physical aspects of a camera and focus on taking wonderful photos with it.

My $0.02 for the evening.

madhatter04 wrote in post #3999204
It personally amazes ME how ridiculous it is to read all these gripe threads about the 40D not feeling like the 30D or 5D, about the 40D not being full frame, about the 5D being less noisy. One of my photography professors told us that you can have a pinhole/box camera and take a better photo than someone with a $3500 camera. I wish people would spend less time getting wrapped up in the technical/physical aspects of a camera and focus on taking wonderful photos with it.

My $0.02 for the evening.

you're on the wrong forum then. this is a gear forum. go to any one of a million gear forums on the internet and this is what they do whether they're talking about automatic watches or campy vs shimano.

the 40d is a new product and it will be discussed to death. it all goes away if you don't click on the forum ... i'll bet your instructor doesn't come here and complain about human nature !

ed rader

So, it seems like there is one huge question:

All things considered, is there a compelling argument for the 40D as a "one camera does all" as far as an upgrade to the 30D and a reasonable "almost as good as" for the 5D?

Tony

http://www.pbase.com/t​onylong

Everything is relative and subjective. Some will say the 40D does it all and that it's almost as good as a 5D and others will argue that no camera does it all and it's not nearly a 5D.

Sorry, not trying to be cocky.

TMR Design wrote in post #3999714
Everything is relative and subjective. Some will say the 40D does it all and that it's almost as good as a 5D and others will argue that no camera does it all and it's not nearly a 5D.

Sorry, not trying to be cocky.

And Some will say the 40D is just rubbish, poorly cheaply built, that is no better than a 400D

I have the 30D and the 40D feels better to me...as well as sounds better...*-)

ed rader wrote in post #3998280
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

Oops, sorry I missed your complaint. Duly noted More annoying to me than the plastic hinge is the fact that you have to dig your fingernail into the latch to get it to open. I just know that one day I'll be in a hurry and bend my fingernail backwards trying to get that battery door open. But that's not so much a build issue as it is a design issue. It wouldn't be an issue if I had a grip on it, but I steered clear of the 20D grip after all the early flexing problems, and I think I've already complained enough about the build quality of that grip to last a lifetime so no rehashing that right now

To summarize this entire thread with its 4 simple main points...

People who bought the 40D like it or don't like it for various reasons.
People who didn't buy the 40D don't like it or like it for various reasons.
People who like the 40D bought it or didn't buy it for various reasons.
People who don't like the 40D didn't buy it or bought it for various reasons.

I decided to sell my 30D and pick up a 40D, but I haven't got around to doing the selling yet, so I have both at the moment. When I first picked up the 40D, I definitely thought it felt much cheaper than the 30D, but after using both for a few days, I've realized it was just me being critical and trying to find flaws.

There is not really a huge difference between them as far as handling goes. The 40D sits in my hand a bit better, but the clickwheel is further from my thumb. I really prefer the rubbery buttons on the back of the 30D -- the clicky little buttons on the 40D feel a bit cheap. The 30D's shutter sounds a lot more substantial than the 40D's -- a really positive CLACK instead of clunkwhirr -- but the 40D's is a little bit quieter. I am not impressed with the way you can feel the vibration of the mirror motors in the 40D's hand grip. It really makes the camera feel cheap, and Canon should have installed some damping material to eliminate this.

I got the 40D for a superb price, but I have been debating whether it's worth replacing the 30D, given how used prices have tanked lately (the rising Canadian dollar isn't helping me either). I really like the new features of the 40D, but it feels like I'm getting rid of an old friend! It would be great if I could keep both...