Lawrence Ripsher

Part 2 – Design, Controls and Timings

Design

If it makes sense to say it, the 40D is a great looking
camera. Perhaps it’s because Nikon and Canon are selling so many DLSR’s these
days that they’re setting a defacto standard in camera design, or perhaps it’s
just intelligent and stylish design, but either way – the 40D looks the part.
One of the features that most intrigued me about the 40D when I read the specs
at announcement time was the “upgraded dust and weather seals”. I was very keen
to see if they had gone the extra mile to match the Nikon D200’s seals (which
are extremely effective) or whether it’d be minor additions. It appears it’s
the latter. There is some foam and rubber sealing around the battery and CF
compartment, but I don’t believe it’ll keep out moisture in difficult
conditions. The dials and buttons are not weather sealed either. So, some
improvement here but don’t expect too much. Personally, I don’t consider ineffective
sealing a major downside per se – it really depends on the camera and its
intended use. The value of weather sealing to be directionally proportional to
the cost of the camera (and of course whether the camera will be used in
challenging environments). After all, protecting a $8k camera (e.g. 1Ds) is a
lot more important than protecting a $1500 one. If the latter doesn’t have
weather sealing but you want to take it out in the field into harsh
environments, then it’s cheap enough to buy two, relatively speaking. Still,
weather sealing is definitely a mark of whether a camera is “pro” or not and I
do not dispute that categorization at all. 

In terms of the build itself, with the exception of some
reorganization of controls, the 40D looks a lot like its predecessors and also
like the 5D. From the front, I struggle to tell them apart on a quick glance.
It’s only when you turn the cameras around it becomes very apparent as the 3”
LCD dominates the back of the 40D. In terms of general build quality btw, I
would say the 40D is significantly better than that of the 5D. It’s most
noticeable when you pick up the camera – the grip feels much more secure with
zero creak of any kind. In comparison, the 5D’s grip feels slightly hollow and
has a tiny bit of give around the CF compartment.

Coming to the LCD, I have to say that this was one of the
things I was excited about when I read the specs. It’s also been an area of
disappointment. Canon have increased the size of the LCD in the 40D to 3”,
which is fantastic, but they have not increased the pixel count. As a result,
you’re left with an LCD which is larger, but has a lower pixel density. As
such, images do not look as sharp. I’ve read countless threads on this, hotly
disputed, and ultimately it depends what people are after. The truth is though
is that it’s definitely not the sharpest LCD out there. Reviewing it side by
side with the 5D’s LCD (which is good but is not industry leading), it clearly
provides a lower quality display.

However, does this really matter? Yes and no. In terms of
affecting the quality of the images you produce, I don’t believe so. LCD’s are
a bit of a security blanket in this regard – providing photographers with a
level of comfort of the quality of their shoot before they go back to their
computers to see what they really got. A better LCD does a better job at
providing that feedback but in many cases, there’s little you can do about it
by the time you’re reviewing it on your LCD anyway as reshooting is very rarely
an option. In the cases where you can reshoot, then it means you’re in a controlled
environment (portraiture, still life, landscape, studio, etc) and I find to be
100% sure, reviewing on any LCD is
never good enough anyway (with the PC being the only true gauge). For me, once
LCD’s hit 2.5” and became of reasonable quality, they all became good enough.
Improvements beyond that definitely make me feel better about my images and
increase the enjoyment of reviewing the images on the camera but rarely have
made me a better photographer.

The truth be told, the real disappointment about the 40D’s
LCD is not in its absolute performance, but perhaps just because I was
expecting too much. If you ignore all of the above discussion, I could have
simply concluded that the “40D’s LCD provides a huge, bright LCD screen which
while not as sharp as the 5D’s, provides an extremely fast and satisfactory
means for reviewing images”.

The final part of design brings me to the viewfinder. Now
this was also a surprise but a pleasant one. The viewfinder is excellent. It
has good coverage and provides a big, bright view when peering through it. It’s
not as large as the 5D’s, but I have to view them immediately one after the
other to tell the difference. For a cropped sensor, this is about as good as it
gets on the market right now – I was very impressed.

Controls

In terms of controls and handling, the 40D operates much
like you’d expect from a good Canon. People argue about the advantages / disadvantages
of Nikon vs Canon. For me, the truth is that I’ve always slightly preferred
Nikon, but not by much. When I switched over to Canon in 2006, it took me less
than a weak to feel just as at home with my new gear. In any case, this review
is not an exploration into those minor differences.

Coming back to the 40D, it operates exceptionally well.
Everything about it feels instant, from the moment you switch it on, to cycling
through images on its huge LCD. I have yet to struggle or want for any
additional features in my entire time with it – and that has included shooting
under extremely demanding circumstances, standing at ringside, capturing images
feet away from of Muay Thai fighters going hell for leather. In many respects,
save for some minor differences, the 40D behaves almost exactly like the 5D –
except faster.

Some minor points are noticed in operation were that I
particularly like the fact that you can’t erase all images without going into
the Menu screen. On the 5D, you can do this accidentally using the erase button
if you are careless. Also, in Av mode, the aperture dial operates in the
opposite direction to the 5D. This can be modified through a custom menu
setting. I also liked the fact that a 2s timer option has been included as you
cycle through the Drive modes. Not a big deal but useful.

Note that when I shoot, I always use the AF-ON button for
focusing and allow the camera to continually meter for exposure. This is
essential to the way I shoot and I’m glad this setup is allowed through a
custom menu setting.

The camera also includes the memory of three Custom Menu settings through the
top scene dial called C1, C2 and C3. I’ve only made limited use of these, as I
tend to find switching between Aperture and Manual mode is usually sufficient
to cover 99% of my scenarios I encounter.

Performance and
Timings

This was easily one of my favourite parts about the 40D – it
is FAST. From the minute you flick the on switch, you have a great camera that
reacts immediately to your every whim. The 6.5 frames per second is enough for
the vast majority of situations photographers are likely to encounter – even if
it’s only 6+ fps under certain circumstances as DPReview correctly notes. More
importantly perhaps however is the AF speed. Clearly Canon have not put 1D
quality AF in a prosumer camera, but they’ve got about as close as you’d expect
them to bring it in a camera of this price. If you have a lens of f/5.6 or
faster, all 9 AF points act as cross sensors and unlike in some cameras,
they’re spaced far enough apart to actually be useful. I confidently make use
of all AF points knowing they’ll accurately detect both horizontal and vertical
lines. The centre AF point, when mounted with a fast USM driven lens, is about
as good as it gets under several thousand dollars. Although I make much more
use of single focus than I do of servo mode (even for sports), I’ve done enough
testing to feel comfortable with the AF system in almost all environments. To
compare it to my primary camera, this is a vastly superior AF system than
you’ll find in the 5D. The difference is very obvious.

Viewfinder blackout time is excellent – a claimed 0.1s by
Canon.