40D or wait for D90 ?

[astigmate]

Hi all

I'm currently using a Pentax K10D and I plan to switch soon but haven't decided between Canon or nikon. I would have your opinions regarding the 40d. What are the pros cons, I mean things that doesn't necessarily appear in reviews, things you've discovered through daily use or eventualy some flaws / technical issues.

I could now invest in better quality lens, and because of that, I want to buy FF capable stuff to later invest in a FF body. Canon and Nikon have them, but not Pentax. Worse, they develope APS-C only lens forcing people to be stuck with aps-c format. There are many others things not on par with C or N but it's really not the place.

So, I'm waiting for your input.

-----------------
Posted in Nikon forum as well

 

[xblk33360]

wait for canon's announcement. they may come out with a 50D.

 

[astigmate]

wait for canon's announcement. they may come out with a 50D.
--

I'm waiting till october, just after photokina. I've not followed Canon rumors about a 50D, is there more ?

 

[aVolanche]

I could now invest in better quality lens, and because of that, I
want to buy FF capable stuff to later invest in a FF body. Canon and
Nikon have them, but not Pentax.

So, I'm waiting for your input.

-----------------
Posted in Nikon forum as well

If this is the case(go to FF),I'd suggest making the decision based on lenses more than an APS body.

 

[astigmate]

If this is the case(go to FF),I'd suggest making the decision based
on lenses more than an APS body.

The canon 70-200 f4 is very temping and has no nikon counterpart. +1 for canon

 

[gburgos]

...if the do suck then they both suck but for different reasons. I personally have an older Canon 30D and i quite enjoy it (it sucks the least in the area that are important to me, but you might hate it). However if you are currently in the market and are not vested in expensive lens from either brand i would go to the local retailer, take your own cf card and shoot away. Take them home and see which yield more keepers for you, base on how you like to shoot. (dont judge based on what you see in the store on the LCD, take a CF card).

Good luck keep us posted.

 

[Lemming51]

...
I could now invest in better quality lens, and because of that, I
want to buy FF capable stuff to later invest in a FF body. Canon and
Nikon have them, but not Pentax.
...

Do not even think of dropping another $1100+ on another crop camera if this is your goal. 5D (or 5D replacement), and D700 are your options.

 

[astigmate]

...
I could now invest in better quality lens, and because of that, I
want to buy FF capable stuff to later invest in a FF body. Canon and
Nikon have them, but not Pentax.
...

Do not even think of dropping another $1100+ on another crop camera
if this is your goal. 5D (or 5D replacement), and D700 are your
options.

The 5d is too old. The D700 cost too much right now. Lens are better investissment than bodies so it's better to wait. There is no rush for me.

 

[rmok]

The 5d is too old. The D700 cost too much right now. Lens are better investissment than bodies so it's better to wait. There is no rush for me.

Oh yes, you can wait but then the 5D replacement or the D700 will be too old)
5D with the current price can't be beat! Go for it.

rmok

 

[RobertoAvanzi]

wait for canon's announcement. they may come out with a 50D.

But then, I would wait for Nikon's announcement. They may come out with the successor to the D90

Roberto

 

[pceh777]

The only thing I don't particularly like about the 40D is the on/off switch. Other than that incredibly minor quibble - I love it to bits.
--
pceh777

 

[Greg Henry]

The only thing I don't particularly like about the 40D is the on/off
switch. Other than that incredibly minor quibble - I love it to bits.

Ditto on that. I held on to my 10D until the 40D came out, and when I saw the new on/off switch I was like, "Oh geez, what the hell??". The D-series still have better build quality overall when compared to say, the Rebels, but when you skip a couple of generations and put a 10D next to a 40D, the 10D does feel more solid and tank-like in comparison. You CAN tell where over time some cost cutting measures have been taken with this series. They're stilll within the "good" build category, though.

 

[astigmate]

After reading some stuff on web about the 40d, I found there is an annoying thing that need confirmation. Is it true you can't set the camera to pick automatically an iso value from the 100 - 3200 range ? the auto iso seem fixed ? I just want to choose the aperture et shutter speed and let the camera pick the right iso value from the whole range. Is it possible ??

 

[me2000]

In my mind, the D90 would have to shoot at 6 FPS and have as good or better high ISO performance for me to consider it.

I like Nikon. I considered a D300 before I bought my 40D. I used to shoot with a D50. I didn't buy a D80 because the high ISO performance wasn't nearly as good and it didn't have nearly as many features as the 40D.

The 40D is an awesome camera.

It will be very interesting to see if the D90 has a video capture function. That could change the entire equation.

--
40D, 28-135, 50 f/1.8, 85 f/1.8, 430EX
Broken G9, soon to be fixed.
Ufraw and Gimp power user.

 

[KariP]

Hi all

I'm currently using a Pentax K10D and I plan to switch soon but
haven't decided between Canon or nikon. I would have your opinions
regarding the 40d. What are the pros cons, I mean things that
doesn't necessarily appear in reviews, things you've discovered
through daily use or eventualy some flaws / technical issues.

Really minimal problems - 99% of my problems have been user errors ( or the fact that i should read the manual)
Compare DPreviews D300 and 40D tests and results.

I could now invest in better quality lens, and because of that, I
want to buy FF capable stuff to later invest in a FF body. Canon and
Nikon have them, but not Pentax. Worse, they develope APS-C only lens
forcing people to be stuck with aps-c format.

This FF thing sometimes irritates me . People are making lens decisions now because it is possible that they move to FF. Do you really need a FF camera - as a pro shooting for big posters ? That decision leaves out some very good and very usable lenses (like 17-55f2,8 or 10-22 and macro 60f2,8 ) .

Why not buy 5D that is not so much more expensive than 40D and still a good camera ---- especially if you count how much you have to pay for FF L-lenses. With FF body right now many lenses - like 24-105L - are very useful .

With "cropped sensor" it is very difficult to find a decent WA lens from EF or L lenses.
There are many others

things not on par with C or N but it's really not the place.

So, I'm waiting for your input.

My very unscientific non pro experiences here:
http://web.mac.com/karipenkkila/iWeb/CANON%2040D
--
Kari
SLR photography for 40 years
60°15´N 24°03´ E

 

[ewelch]

Because you're in no hurry, it would be smart to wait until after the dust settles on Photokina and decide what to get then. The future road map for Canon and Nikon both should be clearer, and you should be able to make long-term decisions that right now are not good to be making.

Rumor has it that Nikon has some new fast primes coming, which should mean significant benefit for full frame bodies later.

If you decide to go Canon, maybe you should get a slightly-used 5D and buy some great glass. Then you can upgrade to the better camera later once your lens collection is mostly complete.

I'm very happy that I decided in late 2006 to go with only Nikon lenses that are full frame. I can use whatever I have without reservation when I get my D700. Oh, who am I kidding? I'm selling my 17-35 and getting a 24-70 in preparation for the D700. :-D

At work we have an EF-S lens which I can't use on the 1Ds Mark II. And that's quite annoying. Luckily I decided to go with mostly full frame lenses with that camera. The 24-70 2.8 is my workhorse lens. But the lens works great on our 20D. But after using the 1Ds Mark II I have a hard time even picking up the 20D and using it. The viewfinder is hard on my eyes.
--
Eric

All cats are mortal.
Socrates died.
Therefore, Socrates was a cat.

 

[MaxFX]

Wait for 50D.

--
MaxFX

 

[astigmate]

Hi all

I'm currently using a Pentax K10D and I plan to switch soon but
haven't decided between Canon or nikon. I would have your opinions
regarding the 40d. What are the pros cons, I mean things that
doesn't necessarily appear in reviews, things you've discovered
through daily use or eventualy some flaws / technical issues.

Really minimal problems - 99% of my problems have been user errors (
or the fact that i should read the manual)
Compare DPreviews D300 and 40D tests and results.

I could now invest in better quality lens, and because of that, I
want to buy FF capable stuff to later invest in a FF body. Canon and
Nikon have them, but not Pentax. Worse, they develope APS-C only lens
forcing people to be stuck with aps-c format.

This FF thing sometimes irritates me . People are making lens
decisions now because it is possible that they move to FF. Do you
really need a FF camera - as a pro shooting for big posters ? That
decision leaves out some very good and very usable lenses (like
17-55f2,8 or 10-22 and macro 60f2,8 ) .

I don't care much about pixels density, the fact is that larger sensors will always produce better noise performance than smallers ones at the same iso. You can push the exposure and still have a usable result bescause of the lesser noise at first. I'm not saying that I'm a pro, nonetheless, I enjoy great quality shoot.

Why not buy 5D that is not so much more expensive than 40D and still
a good camera ---- especially if you count how much you have to pay
for FF L-lenses. With FF body right now many lenses - like 24-105L -
are very useful .

As I said, the 5D is too old for me, the others like D700 are new but the price will drop.

With "cropped sensor" it is very difficult to find a decent WA lens
from EF or L lenses.

Wide angles are not my priority. I'm more a tele shooter guy.

 

[KariP]

Hi

I have a Canon 50f1,4 ( that i have not used so very often) and i tried some low light shooting with it. 40D has quite acceptable quality ( big prints possible ) with ISO 800 - sometimes even ISO 1600. With a fast lens and high ISO shooting in very low light is possible - i would need ISO 6400 or higher really very seldom - if ever. Of course some people have special needs (photographing owls , fast indoor sports etc)

Perhaps i have not seen really good pictures from FF cameras and i just do not know how good they are ?

40D picture quality is still very satisfying for my needs and even for prints like 100cmx150cm (i have tried that) . I can not justify the cost of FF to myself ( even if i win the lottery).

If you like teles there is also the huge money eating black hole in the FF world - just a good and fast tele lens for FF (600f4) costs 2x more than my whole bag full of gear...

At the moment i am staying with these smaller sensor cameras - because if i really want better visible IQ , the price tag of a small bagful of FF gear starts from (D700 + 1-2 good lenses ) 5000€ , Canon (1DsMkIII +1-2 good enough lenses ) from 8000-9000€.

If i stick with XXD series , a real state of the art package (40D+10-22 +17-55 + macro 60f2,8 + 70-200f4 + flash etc ) could come home with me if i pay 4000€. In FF world a package like that would cost ....
--
Kari
SLR photography for 40 years
60°15´N 24°03´ E

 

[xblk33360]

now that i've taken a look at both the 50D and the D90, i personally am going to buy the D90. you should check out both cameras and see which one suits you most.