Canon EOS 40D Links - The Giant List

Pending the collection of links to Canon EOS 40D user reviews and sample images (which should hit the forums by end of September 2007), here's where I compile information on discussions and other related resources on the Canon 40D.

Canon 40D - Available Configurations

• Canon EOS 40D Body Only
• Canon EOS 40D 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera with EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens
• Multi-vendor listing

The Canon EOS 40D Journal

Links to Canon 40D reviews, samples, tips, resources and examples of amazing photography

Official Canon EOS 40D sites

usa.canon.com

Here's the official product page and the 40D Press Release, dated 20th August, 2007.
Downloadable images of the camera are also provided, and are available in High and Low Resolution formats. This photo allows a peek at the new EF 28-135mm IS USM lens, while the photo of the back of the camera shows the location of the new AF-On button (first introduced in the 1D Mark III) very clearly (yup - the 3-inch LCD screen looks gorgeous).

Image samples

Get the official sample photos from web.canon.jp. Images were shot in RAW and then converted to JPG / JPEG.
Lenses used for the images:

• Portrait - EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM
• Wedding - EF 50mm f/1.2L USM
• Dirt Rally - EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM. This image, despite being underexposed and shot at ISO 800, exhibits excellent low noise characteristics (free of chroma or patterned noise), even when compared with the 20D / 30D. Even when the levels / curves for the image is pushed in postprocessing, the increase in noise is hardly noticeable.
  Although not directly comparable, Romy has posted a screenshot of an ISO 800 image from his Canon 20D being processed in RAW Image Task, with a link to the JPEG output. Look closely at the JPG and you'll notice the presence of chroma noise in the green background, which is absent in the 40D photo.
• Landscape - EF17-40mm f/4L USM

Pre-production samples at Fotopolis.pl

Take these for what they're worth, because the photos were snapped with a Canon EF 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 II USM lens mounted on a pre-production model of the EOS 40D.

Tons of full-sized images can be found there, and you might like to read this related discussion on them.

Of interest to me are the night and high ISO shots - ISO 1600 and ISO 3200 - in a word - excellent!

Camera comparisons

Kamerabild.mkf.se, a Swedish site, has images and commentary comparing the EOS 40D side-by-side with the 30D - the 40D is noticeably larger than the 30D. There's also an image showing the new battery grip BG-E2N and new wireless transmitter WFT-E3.
DPReview.com has a detailed table of differences between the 40D vs 30D (scroll down a page or two).

Camera technology and software

Is the 40D sensor the same as the one in the 400D / Rebel XTi?
Quote from Amazon.com's description of the 40D: " ... Although it is based on the image sensor used in the EOS Digital Rebel XTi, the EOS 40D Digital SLR's 10.1-megapixel CMOS APS-C size image sensor has been significantly improved thanks to the use of larger microlenses over each pixel to reduce noise and expand sensitivity up to ISO 3200. ... ".
There are other differences in the sensors used by the 40D compared with the 400D / XTi, such as the fact that the sensors for Rebel / XXXD series and the higher end XXD models are never made in the same plant, and only 2-channel sensor readout in the Rebel / XXXD series vs 4-channel readout in the 40D.

What are the benefits of a 14-bit A/D converter ...
... as opposed to a 12-bit converter? Michael says you get 16k (actual number is 16,384 on the 40D) steps in variation for each color versus 4K steps with 12-bit converters found in older Canon models such as the 30D and Rebel XTi / 400D.
You'd need to shoot RAW to enjoy this benefit though, since the data is mapped to
8 bits per color or 256 steps in color intensity if you're capturing photos in the JPG / JPEG format.
Here are two other ways of seeing it: in formula form, for the mathematically-minded, and as a ladder and the rungs in it.
Lastly, a superb explanation of how sensors and ADC (A/D converters) and response curves work together, and the starting point for two discussions on in-camera image processing.

Which Canon lenses are weather resistant?
Now that the 40D has enhanced weather sealing, here's a list of Canon lenses and teleconverters that have DW-R (dust and water resistant).

9 cross-type AF (auto focus) sensors
This is a definite improvement, on paper, that the 40D has over the 30D - however, there must be improvements in other areas related to AF too. Nelson has a good explanation on the sensitivity specifications of the 8 outer AF sensors vs the central one.

Live View with optional mirror-drop auto-focus
Live View simply means you can view the scene in front of you through the 3.0 inch LCD on the back of the EOS 40D rather than only through the viewfinder.

Canon first introduced this feature in the EOS 1D Mark III and many continue to wonder what the big deal about this feature was. Well, Vincent Laforet wrote an article about the Live View feature on his 1D Mark III which you must read, and right at the end of that article, he provides a link to a 50 MB Quicktime video showing how he's able to use the Live View feature to remotely view a scene through his computer.

You can do the same with the 40D, viewing the scene the camera currently sees (complete with a selectable grid overlay and live histogram), and adjusting camera settings on your computer with the supplied EOS utility software -especially useful in a studio setting.

The EOS 40D goes one step further and allows you to configure the AF-ON button to temporarily flip the camera mirror and activate auto focusing - this feature is absent on the 1D Mark III. You might like to view this Japanese language video that shows you the effectiveness of the 40D's 9 cross-type AF sensors (the camera seems to magically select the appropriate AF point to correctly focus on the kingfisher bird) in the first third, and a demonstration of the Live View mode with mirror-drop autofocus in the last (ignore the middle segment since what is being shown is the ability to calibrate lenses on the 1D Mark III - not applicable to the 40D). You even get to choose a 5x or 10x magnification of the live image in the LCD to aid with focusing.

What's new on the 40D?
DPReview.com has a fantastic summary of key new technology and functionality that has been incorporated in the 40D. Most interesting is the description of the new mirror mechanism that is now quicker and quieter.

Picture Style Editor 1.0
This free software is a new one from Canon, and comes bundled with your purchase of the 40D or Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III. The utility allows you to change the color response of your camera (say, if you want your reds to appear more orange) by performing the necessary edits (hue / saturation / luminance for a particular color) on your computer, and then uploading those edit to your camera in the form of a Custom Picture Style. Not only that, but you also get to set values for overall sharpness, contrast and saturation based on existing Picture Style. Read more at DPReview.com fantastic write-up on this feature.

Last but not least, you can even download and play around with the various picture style files available at web.canon.jp. I personally like the Emerald (for "clear blue sea in vivid hues") and Twilight (this example shows the astounding difference between a scene shot in Standard Mode vs Twilight styles).

Highlight Tone Priority (HTP)
This feature was first introduced in the EOS 1D Mark III, and what it does is instructs the camera to preserve tonal gradations in highlights as much as possible without affecting overall exposure. Rob Galbraith has an excellent explanation of this feature in his Notes from Canon Headquarters article. Even though it's written for the 1D Mark III, it should be equally applicable to the 40D. Scroll down about 4 pages until you see the heading "Making highlights a priority", or just do a browser search for the term "highlight". Notice the difference in the appearance of the sunset with Highlight Tone Priority set to ON vs OFF. You also get to download two full-sized wedding photos by David Sparer demonstrating the difference between HTP On and Off - notice the subtle but unmistakable increase in detail in the bride's white veil and gown when HTP is ON. Importantly, your choice of HTP affects the recoverability of highlights in RAW files too, so it definitely pays off in spades to master this feature.