So I finally did it...and wow, just wow!

Well I went to frys with my wife today and decided to take a look at cameras. I swore that I wouldnt look thru the viewfinder of a 40D a while back...


Well I told her it cost a little more than my L lens I just purchased, then she said then dont look at the price of this camera over here...


Well at that time I had put the 40D upto my eye and snapped a few shots, played with the controls (how do you turn the LCD on? I couldnt change AF points either on that camera!) I even tried burst, but it was set to low and half the buttons on the display didnt work.

Then I looked at the camera she pointed out, which was a 5D and I put it upto my eye. OMFGWTFBBQ! Thats about the best way that I can describe it. It was like going from 640x480 to 1920x1200 for the first time. Funny thing was that when I looked at my shot on the LCD there was only half the image, since the shutter had failed

Even the XSi had a bigger viewfinder than my XTi


To my ear the 40D shutter sounded soft. I guess Im too used to the sharp 'can hear from a mile away" shutter on my XTi. I think that the 5D sounded perfect.


I fought the urge and am now holding out the the 40D successor...

You care what the shutter sounds like? The 40D sounds FAST. The 5d goes kerplunk.

What does the 50D do that the 40D doesnt that you want to wait for?

I care what the shutter sounds like and I wish it were quieter. I hope the 1d3 quiet mode makes it on to other bodies now.

Well the only thing that the 50D has that the 40D dont is that it will be new and improved in some way when its realeased. Which happens to be exactly when I plan on upgrading from my XTi


Shutter sound dont matter as long as its not super loud. Weird thing is, I didnt even noticed the build quality difference over my XTi. I just now realised that I didnt notice that the camera was not plastic. Tho 40D was made to fit my hand it felt like. Unlike the Sony a350 right next to it...

Hmm...my 5D viewfinder must be defective because compared to my 40D, it's not OMFGWTFBBQ!

ef2 wrote in post #5945445
Hmm...my 5D viewfinder must be defective because compared to my 40D, it's not OMFGWTFBBQ!

But compared to your XTI?

The shutter sound on my 20D is amazing. Amazingly loud. Considering my near-silent PC, I'm surprised I love the ridiculously loud sound of my 20D's shutter. It's just... satisfying

BTW... Controls on a xxD/5D are SO much better than the xxxD for two reasons:

1) BIGGER/heavier body = better grip
2) Quick Dial makes me happy in manual. I shoot only manual, thus quick dial makes me happy in general

SolidxSnake wrote in post #5945455
But compared to your XTI?

I didn't really notice any difference in viewfinder moving from XT to 40D. I'll have to check on Monday to compare, though I find myself squinting into the viewfinder no matter what it is. I did pick up a Rebel T2 a few weeks ago, but I don't know what the viewfinder size for that relates to. They all seem the same to me

ef2 wrote in post #5945553
I didn't really notice any difference in viewfinder moving from XT to 40D. I'll have to check on Monday to compare, though I find myself squinting into the viewfinder no matter what it is. I did pick up a Rebel T2 a few weeks ago, but I don't know what the viewfinder size for that relates to. They all seem the same to me

Any film should be close to the 5D. I don't recall if the 5D has a 100% coverage or what magnification it is though.

The 5D isn't 100%, but I'm too lazy to look up what it really is.

I did have the T2 and XT side by side at the time and looked through both viewfinders before passerbys saw me and thought I was being weird. I didn't notice anything extraordinary there between old film and digital.

I really prefer the 40D viewfinder over the 5D just for all the ISO reading and the numbers are alot bigger.

But anyway, I do agree that the controls on a xxD/5D are SO much better than the xxxD

TheHoff wrote in post #5944865
I care what the shutter sounds like and I wish it were quieter. I hope the 1d3 quiet mode makes it on to other bodies now.

Its not all its cracked up to be. To make it quieter makes the shutter lag terribly, its really off-putting.

Anke wrote in post #5945625
Its not all its cracked up to be. To make it quieter makes the shutter lag terribly, its really off-putting.

But it is a lag AFTER you have taken the frame, right? So it lags getting ready to do the next one... or does it actually have shutter lag before the frame is shot?

TheHoff wrote in post #5945719
But it is a lag AFTER you have taken the frame, right? So it lags getting ready to do the next one... or does it actually have shutter lag before the frame is shot?

Feels to me like before and after, like the mirror moves slowly to get out of the way then the shutter fires and the shutter softly goes back again. Its great on a tripod or sturdy surface (like in a bird hide) but apart from that I don't like using it.

SolidxSnake wrote in post #5945561
Any film should be close to the 5D. I don't recall if the 5D has a 100% coverage or what magnification it is though.

ummm, not really. try out any manual focus film camera, and you'll think the 5D viewfinder is a piece of crap. Heck, I still think the 1Ds III viewfinder is crap, and it's bigger than the 5D's.

mmmm... F3-HP

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ef2 wrote in post #5945553
I didn't really notice any difference in viewfinder moving from XT to 40D. I'll have to check on Monday to compare, though I find myself squinting into the viewfinder no matter what it is. I did pick up a Rebel T2 a few weeks ago, but I don't know what the viewfinder size for that relates to. They all seem the same to me

Viewfinder is one of the reasons I went with a 40D instead of a Xti, it's much bigger.