Canon 40D Specs Leaked on Amazon.com

For the first time in recent memory, specifications and other detailed information of a digital SLR camera is leaked on Amazon.com.

It's not a "leak" anymore!
As at Monday, 20th August 2007, Amazon is offering up two different Canon 40D bundles for sale:

The Canon EOS 40D, a camera that "Tsiphoto" bills as a "1D Mark III lite" is a true upgrade to the 30D, beating the Nikon D200 in every category except build quality..

The forums were ablaze with discussions on the leaked photos, and juicy and informative posts on the features and functionality of the EOS 40D have been linked below and summarized for your reading pleasure:

Price for the 40D body-only retails at $1,300, which is $100 less than the 30D Mark paid for when it was new
Thread started by Matthias
- 6.5 fps (frames per second) continuous shooting capability for bursts of up to 75 Large/Fine JPEGs or 17 RAW images - I like this spec; this takes the 40D beyond the shooting rate of 5 fps that the Nikon D200 has.
- Integrated Self-Cleaning Sensor Unit
- Canon finally fixes the issue of image writing being stopped when opening the Compact Flash card door
- AF (auto focus) speed improved by 30%
- Andrew's summary: 3.0-inch LCD (and brighter, smaller viewing angle), rated at 100,000 shutter actuations, two interchangeable focusing screens (grid-type or focusing screen for manual F), Wireless File Transmitter WFT-E3A (and GPS option)
- Automatic ISO capability in Creative Zone exposure modes - a first for Canon
- ISO is viewable in the viewfinder, highlight priority mode - highlight priority mode was first introduced in the Canon EOS 1D Mark III
- Larger microlenses (vs the implementation in the XTi / 400D model)
- One kit option available is the 40D bundled with the EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM lens for an additional $200 - here's how the lens might be useful despite not being wide enough for a 1.6x APS-C crop camera.
- ISO range: 100 to 1600, in 1/3-step or full-stop increments; ISO can be expanded to 3200 via C.Fn (custom function) I-3-1"
- 14-bit A/D converter - this was first seen on the EOS 1D Mark III, and might help with better ISO 3200 performance. Also, the number of colors the 40D is able to recognize is 4 times more than the 30D.
- Central AF point has enhanced precision for both vertical and horizontal subject contrast when using EF or EF-S lenses having maximum wide open aperture of f/2.8 or faster. One possible interpretation of this functionality (not previously available in the 20D / 30D / XTi / 400D cameras) is offered by JimH. David echoes a similar opinion.
- 9 cross-type AF points
- Viewfinder optical magnification, viewing angle and eyepoint have been improved and can now rival the unit found on the Nikon D80.
- New battery grip BG-E2N (weather- and dust-sealed, and backward-compatible with 20D and 30D) and new BP-512 battery, but you also get to use the old BG-E2 unit and BP-511 batteries too.
- New dust and weather-resistant magnesium alloy body, particularly with sealing around connection ports, battery compartment, and single-slot compact flash (CF) memory card door
- AF-On button (first seen on the EOS 1D Mark III). This bestows LiveView with autofocus capability - which beats the non auto-focus version found on the 1D Mark III !

Desirable features which are still missing

Dedicated MLU (mirror lock-up) button / mode
On-board wireless flash commander