XTi to 40D.. worthwhile? timing?

With the eminent unveiling of the 50D, there's been a flood of relatively new 40D's hitting the market. I was considering picking up the 5D for a while too, which is "suffering" the same fate as the 40D, but adding the cost of a new walk-around to replace the Tamron 17-50 was a bit cost prohibitive.

anyways, i've read the specs (over and over and over) of both XTi and 40D (well, mostly the 40D, i know what the XTi does) on the-digital-picture.

The thing that i'm most interested in, are the higher FPS, and the better AF. Looking for some testimonials of people who have done the 400D -> 40D switch, and their impressions.

the other part of the question is: what's the speculation on price change with the announcement of the 50D? I can get my hands on a 40D (5k actuations) + grip for $830, which seems like a pretty good deal. but is the value likely to plummit in another month? or do you guys think the 830 is pretty good price even with the anticipated price drop?

The prices won't plummet, but will temporarily go down, then back up just a bit, then stabilize. Canon will continue to sell the 40D alongside the 50D, so the price drop will be the mass exodus of folks that want the latest and greatest. $830 for a grip and 40D (assuming the canon OE grip) is a good deal, effectively netting you a lightly used 40D for $700.

To get a better deal will require you to wait one more month, then watch the forum every hour or so to snag even a better deal out from others doing the same thing. If that is worth saving maybe $50-75 over this price you have found, then I would wait.

I went from an XTi to a 30D and never looked back once. XXD Series is definitely a good choice compared to Rebels.

I still have both. If you’re upgrading to get better IQ, you’ll be disappointed. If you’re upgrading for features, you won’t..

Just did that, XTi to 40D. No regrets...

I went that route in June total cost me less than $40 + a 18-55 kit lens. AF is much faster with all me lenses and 6.5 FPS is very useful for shooing sports. Also LiveView and better build.

I think it is a good time to do it now before XTi price drop too much.

I went from the XTi to the 40D. It is a great camera and quite a robust upgrade. For me, the liveview was worth the upgrade alone.

Metering is better on my 40D than on my 400D. My wife has my old camera and I can't believe the improvement on so many things. Lower noise at high ISO surprised me.

gjl711 wrote in post #6272483
I still have both. If you’re upgrading to get better IQ, you’ll be disappointed. If you’re upgrading for features, you won’t..

I would have to agree..
I sold my XTI back in Nov and snagged a 40 and even though IQ is comparable (to me anyway) I would still trade for the metal body..

+1 for me as well. Went from a 400D to a 40D in February and could not be happier

The 40D is an exceptional camera for the $$

i got my 40d about 2wks ago and i love it. everything about it goes above and beyond the xti.
the build is the first thing that stands out. it feels solid in your hand and doesnt have the plastic toy shutter sound
fps. if you do any sports shooting its a must have.
IQ is a little better, ive bumped up the sharpness one and saturation one.
high iso shooting is pretty good. has iso 3200 which the xti lacks.
and 1600 vs 1600 the 40d wins hands down.
i could keep going on and on, but i wont. someone on here told me when i asked, "get the 40d and never look back". im passing that advice on to you.

oh and the AF is amazingly better.

medicdude wrote in post #6276693
oh and the AF is amazingly better.

this, above all else, interests me.

i shot 313 frames tonight (of birds), and i trashed at least 25% of them, even though the subject was perfectly framed, but the AF just wasn't fast enough to pick it up.. some of them made me sad.. i was FINALLY going to get a GBH in flight..

I think the 40D's high-iso performance is better than the XTi also. Not to mention the more comfortable grip...The XTi is such a pain to hold!
I hope to get either a 5D or 40D after the new ones come out...*Crosses Fingers*
But I'm going to keep the XTi for a backup body fo-sho...

the xti would pick up maybe one or two AF points when i had it on full auto. the 40d picks up like 5-6!