30D now or 40D later?

Decision time, and I can't! (Decide, that is).

I can afford a runout model 30D now, and I'm wondering whether you all think I should do this or wait a year or so until I can afford a 40D - savings have slowed a little at the moment due to an impending wedding in January 2008 .

I currently have a 300D, and the main things that are frustrating me, which could be fixed by either of the above, are:

* Slow write to CF card.
* Slow on motor drive mode (shooting race cars is driving me nuts!)
* Slow AF at times.
* Viewfinder size.

Of course there are the obvious IQ and other improvements, but to be honest, as a beginner these aren't an issue for me at the moment, but will hopefully become an issue in the future!

So what does everyone think? I'm leaning towards the 30D, only because the more I think about it, the more frustrated I'm getting with the performance of my current camera.

So...buy now, or save?

Thanks for your input.

It's easy to say "wait" and I could not myself. I am camera-less because some idiots stole all of my equipment. I tried waiting - it's been a month. But this withdrawal is too much - so I found one on eBay today and bought it!!!!! $1400 for body and 28-135 IS USM lens.
If you can make do with what you have, then wait as the camera will be worth it.

30D now..

20D now and the rest to save on some lenses. 30D doesn't give you any more megapixels and little bells and whistles (like a larger LCD that draws more power).

Whatever you get, do it before the wedding!

I chose buy a 30D now. I went from 300D to 40D and the difference was huge! You'd have the same experience with a 30D..

I would wait and get the 40d. It'll be cheaper by then anyway

I was very surprised as to the differnces in images i'm getting from the 40d vs. 30d. Digic III processor, and all that comes with it has been a big deal in my opinion. If you need something soon...get a 400d (XTi). Is almost identical to the 30d in the areas that matter, and will make a great backup to the 40d later.

runninmann wrote in post #4029307
Whatever you get, do it before the wedding!

Why? Maybe I wasn't clear - I'm the one getting married! Not a wedding I'm shooting. So the budget is a bit tight at the moment due to things like dresses, shoes, honeymoons, basically other priorities.

20D now and get the 40D in the spring when new rebates are out (if the come...US all still aren't) but yeah, 20D. You'll be fine and you can invest in glass. The get 40D later. The price difference in used 20D's and 30D's is still a lot for minimal difference really.

Primm wrote in post #4029438
Why? Maybe I wasn't clear - I'm the one getting married! Not a wedding I'm shooting. So the budget is a bit tight at the moment due to things like dresses, shoes, honeymoons, basically other priorities.

Exactly, Once you are married you may find it a whole lot harder to put the camera high on the priority list, and you can bet your last $ that SWMBO will find better use (in her eyes that is) for any spare monies you may have.

Buy the best you can afford now before the purse strings get pulled so tight that it could be years before they become loose enough to once again enjoy the freedom of buying things that you want

Based on my experience with my two week old 40D, that arrived with tons of junk on the sensor and just today ER99'd on me about 10 times in an hour with two different brands of CF cards and two Canon lenses, one of which was an L, I would get the 30D on the cheap.

It seems to me that my concerns about getting a bleeding-edge camera have come true, I've paid the price for the bug fixes that Canon did not.

I've been googling around and there are way too many folks getting ER99s and having other problems with their 40Ds. I wouldn't take the chance. I think Canon released the 40D too soon and many many consumers like me will have to deal with the mess.

I've shot with my 350D since '05 and had zero issues. My original plan was to upgrade to a 400D and get another L series lens. Instead, I got a 40D lemon and am sitting here crying in my beer.

Get a 30D and wait, 1300 bucks is too much to risk IMHO. Google around and see for yourself. The more I look around, the more I'm beginning to think that the 40D will be a debacle for Canon. Gosh!, I hope not, I've got my money tied up in one and am hoping its replacement will be right. Let me tell you, it's not a good feeling.

Well, that's my 3 cents.

Best,

Michael

Like the OP, I was a 300D user and I upgraded to a 30D in June (UK rebate time yay! )


Of course, there were rumours of a forthcoming 40D, but I looked at the cost, and thought I could have afforded either a 30D plus an L lens, or the 40D and a lower-spec lens. On balance, I went for 30D and 70-200 F4L, and I've not regretted it once.

Yes I've seen and handled the 40D, but there's so much on it I'll possibly never use - live view, for example. And perhaps more relevant, the difference between 8.2 and 10 MP is not that great in 'printer' terms - I print mostly A4 or some A3, and I'm not sure that I would be able to tell the difference between the two bodies with the same lens?

So for me, it was a no-brainer; I went for the mature 30D, and I love it!

FUBAR247 wrote in post #4030128
Exactly, Once you are married you may find it a whole lot harder to put the camera high on the priority list, and you can bet your last $ that SWMBO will find better use (in her eyes that is) for any spare monies you may have.

That would be HWMBO, and he has a serious old car addiction which I help to feed, so I'm sure a humble camera body will be easy to swing after the event.

The old car addiction is partly mine as well, which may have been where the confusion over my gender came in.

Thanks for the support though. Remember, not all of us chicks are the same when it comes to money-hungry hobbies. Some of us actually not only sympathise, but indulge!

I was on the fence about this one; ended up voting for the 30D.

The difference between the Rebel and the 30D is going to be huge. I upgraded to the 20D from the Rebel, and the differences were pretty dramatic...

_aravena wrote in post #4029448
20D now and get the 40D in the spring when new rebates are out (if the come...US all still aren't) but yeah, 20D. You'll be fine and you can invest in glass. The get 40D later. The price difference in used 20D's and 30D's is still a lot for minimal difference really.

totally agree. sometimes it's missed that the 20D and 30D share the
same processor and AF system. I'm seeing dead mint 20D's sell for
$300 less than their 30D counterparts...