450d or 40d

I'm thinking of upgrading from my 400d to a 450d or 40d. I've found the 450d for AUD$979 and the 40d at the same shop for AUD$1189. I'm just wondering what the advantages of the 40d are over the 450d, other than 6.5fps, faster shutter, better low light performance, build quality and custom functions, and would the extra 2 megapixels on the 450d make much difference? All advice appreciated

Maco

Well the 40d just feels like a more solid camera, but feature set wise they are pretty close. I have used both and think they are both pretty descent. The advantages for the 40d would have to be the LCD on the top for shooting settings (you can also assign the rear LCD for this) bigger buffer for raw and jpeg shooting (a big difference), ISO expansion to 3200 (though you can emulate this in post processing), faster and more accurate Auto focus, and bigger, brighter viewfinder. There is also the difference in media with 450d using SD and 40d using CF which could be a plus or minus depending on what if any cameras you currently own. As for the two extra megapixels the 450d has its really not something that will make much of a difference.

The 450d actually has the advantage over the 40d in the area of live view since it has the extra AF mode that allows the camera to focus without having to flip the mirror up and hence cause temporary screen blackout though focus is slower in this mode.

Seeing that you already own a 400d I think the 40d would be the better option. It will just feel like more of an upgrade and has more growing room than the 450d. You will also have the advantage of being able to use your existing CF cards you have for your 400d.

For only a 100AUD extra, the 40D is a better camera. Only disadvantage is the size. If you can cope with a small increase in size, 100AUD seems small change to me. You might even get more in focus shots of the whippets running.

Don't see the point of a 450D if you already have a 400D.

If anybody argues that the 100AUD can go towards a new lens, effectively, it will not make a big difference.

macocroft wrote in post #5722495
I'm thinking of upgrading from my 400d to a 450d or 40d. I've found the 450d for AUD$979 and the 40d at the same shop for AUD$1189. I'm just wondering what the advantages of the 40d are over the 450d, other than 6.5fps, faster shutter, better low light performance, build quality and custom functions, and would the extra 2 megapixels on the 450d make much difference? All advice appreciated

Maco

40D.

faster burst rate, better AF, better build, better VF.

The extra 2MP are not worth the upgrade - mostly marketing by the time you get to real world applications and done with the NR software.

J.

Thanks for all your advice, looks like I'll go for the 40d

The $200USD (or less) price delta means that it tips very much in favor of the 40D, IMO. When I bought my XT, the price delta to the 20D was $700 (or about 2X). The price of the 450d needs to drop significantly for it to be attractive. It is a case of the 450D is too expensive AND the 40D is so darn inexpensive.

The problem is that if you go for the 40d, you'll never be happy with the Rebel derivatives again.

J