Canon EOS 40D

Canon’s EOS 30D gets a new treatment with arrival of the EOS 40D, a new 10.1-megapixel CMOS model boasting rugged build and some neat new kit that makes it look a corker. Let’s have a closer look…

The EOS 30D has been revamped and updated with this, the EOS 40D, which arrives with all the latest high-tech gadgetry on board including live view high resolution, 10.1-megapixel CMOS sensor. There’s a new sensor cleaning system and Canon’s latest image processing engine, the DIGIC III processor.

Other excellent additions include a new, brighter and higher magnification viewfinder that looks similar in use to that on the EOS 1D Mk III and is simply superb in use as it also includes a more detailed information read out.

Other improvements include an increased frame rate of 6.5fps for up to 75-shots (JPEGs) and a nine-zone, wide-area AF set up with cross-type sensors for improved focusing accuracy when using faster (above F/5.6) optics.

The camera’s new CMOS sensor has on-board processing for each pixel and that, combined with the DIGIC III processor and 14-bit analogue to digital conversion means fast processing and shooting speeds and reduced noise; it also means reduced power consumption as well.

The camera’s handling will be familiar to any EOS user, even EOS film SLRs, if you’re thinking of trading across to digital and, though the camera is quite chunky (and can get chunkier with the addition of the new vertical grip that, incidentally, incorporates WiFi connectivity) the camera’s new, magnesium alloy body is very tough indeed; sealed against dirt, dist and moisture ingress. While build is great, the handling suffers slightly from crammed buttons particularly round the new, larger screen.

However, on balance, the key button combinations needed to adjust shooting settings are very good. The main shooting control buttons are placed on the top plate behind the shutter button and control dial. Pressing one, say the ISO/exposure/flash compensation button for example and then spinning either the control dial or the large dial on the back plate adjusts one or other of the variables the button deals with.

Ditto the metering, AF, and white balance buttons also ranged across the top plate. While seemingly complex at first, once you’ve tried the controls they’re pretty obvious and simple to quickly get a grip of. The central “Set” button within the large, back plate control dial activates the Live View mode for 100% field of view framing. The Set button also confirms selections in the camera’s excellent menus system.

Overall, the image quality is stunning, with colour, white balance control and sharpness – out of the box – set up by default to get cracking shots. In fact the balance makes it ideal for most general shooting jobs plus you get RAW and JPEG snapping with a fine level of control, no less than 20 settings in fact, and at a variety of resolution and RAW or JPEG compression options.

There are many other adjustable parameters and picture “style” settings plus the additional downloadable picture styles (visit: www.canon.co.jp/Imaging/picturestyle/file/) and various user customisable picture styles, the latter via the excellent software package that comes with the camera. These fully customisable settings allow you to tweak the cameras colour response in certain situations and use presets such as those more familiar options for portraits, landscapes and monochrome capture for example.

On the downside, the evaluative metering system on the 40D seems predisposed to underexpose by around a stop, itself quite common on Canon’s I’ve tested over the years and exhibited a lack of reliability: I could not always rely on the metering, which was a shame, particularly on a camera at this level and price.

I was able to bracket or compensate for the problems, however, and while general shooting scenarios were okay, this is the only real problem with the camera but it has stopped the camera from providing an otherwise perfect performance.