Show Me Your 40D Action Photos

Hi all,

To make a long story short, I had a 1D Mark II and sold it about a month ago.

I'm ultimately questioning why the (insert expletive here) I did that, especially with the Minnesota State Hockey Tournament and WCHA playoffs (I'm a student photographer for a Division 1 hockey team) coming up.

I am asking to see photos that push the 40D's autofocus to the edge of it's ability, preferably taken @ f/2.8 or f/4. Why? I don't really "need" the FPS of the 1D Mark II, but I would like to know how well the 40D can handle extreme situations.

If you want to pm/email me links to high res photos, all the better!

During the State Tournament, I will be far enough away that the Mark II really needs a 1.4x extender to go with a 300 2.8 - the 40D really doesn't.

Thanks!

Ben

How about pick up a 1DIII?

MinhThien wrote in post #7337792
How about pick up a 1DIII?

*Checks bank account*

Uhhh no, but I do WISH.

You could go to the pbase site and search for 40D and sports. Should give you some examples, and many of these images include EXIF data.

Here are my latest photos from an NCAA men's basketball game I covered last week (University of Toledo vs. Bowling Green). All shot with my 40D around 1/500 @ 2.8 (ISO 800). Haven't gotten a chance to shoot hockey (yet), so I'm afraid I can't give you any direct examples.

http://www.flickr.com …721576136822545​48/detail/

I have some shots of skateboarders and BMX'ers going off ramps etc. No AF can keep up so don't bother. I focused on the ramp, put the camera in High Speed and ripped through shots as they came up and went off the ramps doing their tricks. I was at about a 35 degree angle to their path, Worked out very well.

www.doubleplayaz.com/g​allery.htm

I shot those with my 40D (when I had it) using 70-200 and 100-400 mostly. Yes, bright lighting, but still. The 40D did well.

Eagles

http://www.pbase.com/r​yans_photography/eagle​s

Snowboarding

http://www.pbase.com …raphy/billabong​_flaunt_it

Last years Supercross race.....all with the 40D
http://www.pbase.com/b​lue622/a3_2008&page=al​l

Ben, I went from 40D to MkIIn. There are two major drawbacks to the 40D for what you will be doing.
1.) The AF is just not comparable. The 40D does well enough, but never seems to "nail" it like the 1D does consistently. For smaller prints, the minimal OOF of the 40D shots doesn't present too much of a problem, but if you print large often, or have to crop much, it does start showing up. It really depends on if "good enough" is good enough for you. For me, it wasn't.
2.) The smaller viewfinder in the 40D. I never realized how much easier it is to follow the action with a 1D vs. the 40D until I used both of them to shoot a game. The larger viewfinder makes it MUCH easier to track your subject IMO. Switching back and forth between the two, it's night and day when tracking an erratic, moving subject. For static shots I honestly never noticed the difference, but for sports, the 1D makes it much easier for me to track players.

40D benefits:
Crop factor - you do get that extra "reach", and it is a noticeable difference.
Extra MP - the extra 2MP can help when cropping or printing large (IF the focus nailed it)
Non-sports use - the 40D is a smaller, lighter, more discreet camera for casual use. I HATE lugging my 1D around Disney World.
High-ISO noise - It's not a huge difference, but I think the 40D is slightly better from ISO 1000 and up. It's barely noticeable, but it's there.

IMHO, if you're used to a 1-series for sports, you won't be happy with the 40D. However, the only way to know for sure is to give it a try.

Hockey Blaine Arena

http://jeremyd.smugmug​.com …yUuV#448950474_​DTkZ6-O-LB

http://jeremyd.smugmug​.com …yUuV#448950580_​6hpHk-O-LB

Motorcycling/quads
http://jeremyd.smugmug​.com …qbup#470291969_​5MbV9-O-LB

http://jeremyd.smugmug​.com …qbup#470291703_​HzWU4-O-LB

http://jeremyd.smugmug​.com …qbup#470292846_​B7PdM-O-LB

Madison, WI...February 15, 2009

http://picasaweb.googl​e.com …ography/Madison​WinterFest

Let me play.

Byte size: ZERO | Content warning: NOT AN IMAGE

Ben,

You go to SCSU right? Go into the STC CC and check for 40D's. They were on the cheap about a week ago. Just go get one, you might be a LITTLE disappointed, but with the extra cash you can probably buy a back-up or three... PS, I know a few of the officials working the tournament. If I send you a schedule, can you pop a few shots?

MinhThien wrote in post #7337792
How about pick up a 1DIII?

Here is your answer