[Steve]

Well we know that Canon's life cycle for their cameras is usually 12 months and that the 30D was regarded by most as a reactionary model to the Nikon D200 but it appears that the 40D is very imernant.

Canon had up the first snippets of infomation on their HK website earlier tonight. The information has all but disapeared now but this is usually how they let new slip and feed the rumours before the official announcement...

If you want to check the link its below..although what information you will find there when you check is anyones guess

Canon Hongkong Co., Ltd.

Edit...here is a screen shot of what was on there earlier...not much to wet the appetite but its definate that the 40D is comming.




I wonder what you Canon guys (and gals) are expecting the specs to be for this model an do you think it will be able to compete with the Nikon D200??

[stepheno]

I suppose there is a difference between what I would like and what it will be. I don't think there is a lot they can do to compete with the D200 after all there is peanuts between them anyway.

More to the point what will/can they do which will give a significant upgrade yet not take sales away from the 5D and above. What I'd like to see is 12mp, water sealed, maybe full-time histogram, faster burst and maybe full frame...but really, do I need any more than I have now?

[Steve]

Well they are rumoured to be replacing/splitting the 5D 'range' to give us a full frame camera at a lower price point, possibly with the build quality of the 20/30D and another model, possibly called a 7D whcih will be a upgraded 5D featuring weather sealing too....

Digic III processors throughout the new ranges and quite possibly all including the new sensor cleaning technology too.

Also keep your eyes open for replacements for the top end range too...it really looks like Canon is about to hit us with some major upgrades. The news could be broken officially in the next 7-14 days with the first new models being available as early as March

[stepheno]

Originally Posted by Steve

.... and quite possibly all including the new sensor cleaning technology too.

Well - I can do without that. I believe that whichever gizmo they use the dust is still inside the chamber and eventually needs manually removing. But I suppose it's a good sales gimmick.

[Steve]

I believe its much more than a sales gimmick. You are totally correct that the dust if shaken off the sensor will remain in the chamber but for many that is far better than having it on the sensor and it effecting your photos.

[Rob Barron]

I am with Steve on this, I know the dust is 'inside there somewhere' but frankly that bothers me not at all. After all, dust IS everywhere, all the time (other than in dust-free labs of course.... just put that in for the pedantic!) but as long as it isn't on my sensor it isn't affecting my pictures. i can clean lenses and eyepieces perfectly well so that is not an issue.

I am certain they will include an auto cleaning sensor again but in addition I must say I would like full-frame. That would give it the biggest march on the D200 as, let's face it, there is little else you can do to improve the picture quality. The pixel resolution thing is of little importance these days except for heavy cropping and having a bit faster burst rate is not something the vast majority care about other than sports photographers et al.

I am like a child waiting for Christmas wondering what the 40D will be like.... it is definitely going to be a significant upgrade this time, they can't afford to do another tinker release like the 30D (ok, slightly doing it down but you know what I mean!)

Cheers,
Rob

[Whipspeed]

What I'd like to see is 12mp, water sealed, maybe full-time histogram, faster burst and maybe full frame...but really, do I need any more than I have now?

Now that would tempt me to upgrade from the 20D, but then, as you say, do I realy need any more than I have?

[Rob Barron]

I guess what I am concerned about is whether the 40D turns out to be just a better built 400D. After all in general terms the 10D was a better built 300D and the 30D a better built 350D (not comparing all specs here, just making a general point!) so is the 40D going to be a well-built 10.1MP, 2.5" screen, auto-sensor cleaning, spot-metering camera?

I really hope they are a bit more imaginative and take us further up than that, albeit that is still excellent specification. The extra 2Mp wasn't enough to make me get a 400D to go with my 20D (I am looking to buy a second camera, not replace the one I have). I intend to keep my 20D for back-up and use the 40D for most work as I can't afford to turn up at a wedding with a camera that decides to die on me!

Anyway, I think if most 20D/30D owners are honest, their one biggest wish is a full-frame camera at an affordable price (sub-£1000).

[abirkill]

I can't see it being full-frame - this is Canon's step-up camera from their consumer range, currently the 400D, and they're not going to get people to step up if all their EF-S lenses become unusable. They may well release a cheaper model in the 5D range that is full-frame, but it wouldn't be good marketing to make their step-up consumer camera full-frame now they've brought all these EF-S lenses out. Not only would those who have EF-S lenses avoid it and instead buy second-hand 30Ds, it would also kill their EF-S lens sales, as people don't like to buy things that aren't future-proof.

If the 40D was full-frame it would certainly put me off buying it - a full-frame camera needs much more expensive lenses to maintain quality, otherwise you're seeing the soft edges that 1.6FOVCF sensors nicely hide. And all my zoom lenses suddenly get 1.6x less long-reaching. Sure, you can go wide, but I have the Sigma 10-20mm which is pin-sharp and as wide as a 16mm lens on a FF camera, and I don't honestly want to go any wider than that.

[silver]

whats missing from the 20d/30d and exists on the d200 is ease / speed of use,. it depends on how you wish to use a camera of course but to me having a switch to go to spot meter or whatever is really a handy thing

noise handling will be interesting to see,. the 20/30d's really are nice in this regard remains to be seen what happens if as seems likely they put in the 10mp sensor from the 400d and try to make it do 3200iso

you could say already the 30d is better than the d200 or the other way round,. it all depends on what it is you need from the camera...

Sil

[Fangman]

I was about to upgrade from 350D to 400D whilst in USA but sure that a 40D with all the new features in the 400 plus those of the 30D with build to match would be coming - so treated myself to the Sigma 2.8 70-200 instead!

[Dave]

Good choice of lens there Fangman

Although a Nikon man, I'm looking forward to seeing what the Canon 40D offers It's all good for the consumer

[Rob Barron]

Whilst I can see abirkill's reasoning about marketing, I think there is one part missing:

The battle for sales over the last few years has been massive and Canon has been winning hands down so far. Nothing to do with which are the best cameras or anything, I am simply referring to item sales. There have been many battles in the general enthusiast market....

The biggest battle was the first to get one out that was under a grand. Canon succeeded but the market soon flooded with loads of cameras all getting cheaper and cheaper so then the battle becamse to get one out there for under £500. We have passed that milestone and now have several around that price.

The battle now is not to add to the myriad of entry levels and not to keep the professionals happy (they already are and are not needing to spend out more thousands on another upgrade) so the middle ground area is hotting up big time. Canon are not fools, they are mapping their way forward very carefully. They went for a major upgrade in the lower range to sell more of the 400D, not only by new sales but also upgrade sales. They had to go up a level to fight off the competition and let's be honest.... they succeeded big time! The 400D is the best DSLR for anyone looking to move into the DSLR arena for the first time and has won every head to head in mags and things that I have seen in the last 6 months.

So, where are they at with the middle ground? They smashed the scene wide open with the 10D which at the time was a stunningly good step up from the previous D60 and earlier D30. Then they pushed the bar up a significant step again with the 20D. They stabilised at that point, listened to their market user and asked what things were missing that they really wanted? They knew the resolution thing was not critical as few people were printing out at bigger than 12" x 8" and the users at this level were becoming a lot more savvy about how much difference a couple more megapixels would make in reality: not that much!

So, they went for an upgrade that added a larger viewing screen, spot metering and a few other internal functions. No new pixels this time. Most people saw it for what it was: a 20D Mk II, definitely an improvement but not enough to tempt the 20D users to upgrade en masse. 10D users went for it in their droves of course.

So, where do they go from here? Who is their biggest rival? No question there, definitely Nikon with their D200. So whatever they do now has GOT to better the D200, at least in terms of numbers that they can use in adverts! They have to match or beat the pixel count because there are several DSLRs with 10mp and so this one has to be right up there. Will it be 10 or will they steal a march and go for a 12mp sensor? Have to weait and see.

Whilst it is true that the 1.6FOVCF sensor does enable the use of the more central portion of lenses and thus cheaper lenses can be used because the edge losses are not so apparent, Canon know their sales figures and they know that sales of L series lenses have absolutely gone through the roof in the last 3 years so there are plenty of people out there with lenses good enough to go full frame. I never thought I would ever have one a few years ago but through keeping my eyes peeled like a hawk for Ebay bargains I now own four. The two lenses I own that are not L series are the 100mm f2.8 macro, pin sharp and perfectly capable of going full frame, and the nifty fifty which is no problem at all.

I do entirely agree though that the EF-S lenses will be of little use so that could be an influencing factor. But there is one possible route they could choose to go....

Instead of going full-frame they could split the difference and go for a 1.3FOVCF sensor. That would be a very suitable middle ground which would enable telephoto lenses to still gain an advantage over film focal lengths, wide angle lenses to be much more useable without having to go down to a 10mm lens and more pixels without going for greater pixel density so that noise can be reduced significantly.

What about that option? Any thoughts?

Cheers,
Rob

[silver]

Originally Posted by Rob Barron

...
What about that option? Any thoughts?

Cheers,
Rob

for every review you can find a review with an opposing viewpoint and all you are seeing is what the reviewer thinks is important,. there's no "Best XXX" because different ppl want different things,. if everyone thought the same it would be dull indeed,. there's some great cameras at prices that last year would have seemed amazing,. lets hope it continues

Sil