[SouthBayPhoto]

Hey all,

Sorry about the delay in the little Canon 40D write up I was going to do, but had to go through all my photos from yesterday at the race track. All 2,087 photos. LOL And that was only in a few hours. I've limited my selection to 10 photos to post here. I hope that's not too much. If it is, just let me know Gene and I'll delete some. I actually picked out 42 photos, but thought that might be a LIIIIITTTTLLLLEEE too many to post.

Well, I'll put up the photos first to make you suffer through those before I give my personal impressions of the 40D below. And no, you're not allowed to just skip over the photos and get to the 40D part. LOL!!!!

All of these shots were taken with the Canon 40D along with a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens. They were either only cropped and/or resized to fit here in the post. I didn't even do any sharpening on them. (which I ALWAYS do a little sharpening, but I knew I was posting more for a "review", so I didn't touch them)

As a little side note, I would go AGAINST buying Kingston CF (compact flash) cards. The one I used screwed up A LOT (almost 300 photos...seriously) of my photos. It didn't save them correctly. It would half expose them or not expose them at all. I even used a cheaper "no name" card and that worked perfectly fine. I've had issues trying out Kingston cards on my Canon 1D MKIIN as well. So, just a little warning for everyone.

Okay, onto the shots...(by the way...no laughing...out loud anyway! )






















One other quick thing...just remember that you never know when something will happen at the track. I had a girl highside right at me in Turn 2 while I was there. This was the first run of the morning. When she highsided, it knocked her out cold and she slid off the track right at me. I admit that I do have photos of it because I just happened to be shooting her at the time, but I don't post things like that. However, my friend and I didn't know if she was alive or dead (seriously). I did something I'm not supposed to do...I entered the track area to check on her. (you can blame former training for that) Yes, I put myself into a "crash zone" doing it. I just couldn't stand there and wait for help. My friend waved off the rest of the riders coming while we waited for the track officials. Afterwards....thinking about it was pretty scary. I mean she didn't move a muscle until she woke up about 3 minutes later while I was "tending" to her. So, just remember...you never know what will happen and when you'll have to help...even if it means going against the rules. They think she had a broken right collarbone and a major concussion. She didn't know what year it was or anything when she came to. I'm hoping to find out later this week how she's doing.

Okay, sorry, just wanted to interject that. As for my impressions of the 40D. My background of camera bodies I have used professionally include: Canon 10D, Canon 1D, Canon 1D Mark II-N and now the Canon 40D. So, I have a lot of 1 Series experience and that is what I'm basing the 40D after. If you have any questions, please feel free to post them and/or PM them to me and I'll do my best to answer them.

I think that the 40D is an exceptional performer. Admittedly it's no 1 Series, but it's pretty close. I do a lot of motor sports photography, thus need a fast AF (auto focus). The 40D did really well with the AF. It's almost as fast as the MKIIN. You can tell when there are times that it doesn't lock on as fast as a 1 Series, but it's definitely the fastest "prosumer" AF camera. I didn't get to really use it in a "dark" or low light setting as of yet, so I'll have to do some testing with that. One thing I noticed with the AF on the 40D is if you have something coming almost directly at you at a high rate of speed, the 40D might not compensate with it's AF as fast as a 1 Series does. Shooting sport bikes on a track, sometimes you have to start your AF with them in the turn and wait until they are accelerating out of the turn to get the shot you wanted. Sometimes the 40D would "lose" the AF during that time. It wasn't too often and maybe it was more me than the 40D, but it did happen from time to time. I could see in a "series" of three shots that maybe the first two are in focus, but then the last is OOF (Out Of Focus) when the bike was getting pretty close to me.

It's also pretty darn sharp. Admittedly the 1 Series are a bit sharper in terms of an overall image, but the 40D isn't much behind at all. Especially when you're right on the money with the focus. I didn't take many still shots, so that probably didn't help much in my evaluation. I'm sure still for still, it would be on par with the 1 Series bodies. But I did see some shots from the 40D that you couldn't tell from my friend's 1D MKIII. Now that's what I'm talkin' about!

Now, one thing I did learn from the 40D is NOT to trust the little LCD picture. LOL I don't know if it's because it's now 3.0" instead of 2.5" like the other 1 Series bodies (except for the 1D MKIII) or what. However, I wouldn't go by that if you are judging coloration or sharpness of your photos. Maybe because it's a bigger screen I expected to realize my photos are sharp or not. Wait until you get to the big screen. I specifically remember a few shots that I looked at in the 3.0" screen and thought that I missed the focus horribly. Saw them on the big LCD and they are beautiful. Same with the colors. They seem a touch drab in the 3.0" screen, but are perfectly fine on a monitor. Now, I'm not saying that the screen is terrible. It's not...it does what it should and I'm sure if you magnify it while viewing, that it'll show that you were in focus for the shot. I just don't have that much time, so I basically just glance down at it for a quick review.

The only SLIGHT downfall I saw was the continuous high shutter speed. I admit that I'm used to 8.5 fps on the 1D MKII-N. With this only being 6.5 fps, you feel like you missed some shots here and there. However, once I got my "shooting style" back (it has, admittedly, been months since I shot), then I felt I wasn't missing any shots. So, I think if you know your subject/sport, you won't miss anything with the 6.5 fps. For people that have never used a 1 Series body, you'll be more than thrilled at the speed. Just make sure you have a high speed CF card and you'll be in business. This thing can take 75 "fine jpg" frames in continuous 6.5 fps. Now that's definitely a nice buffer! Definitely a plus.

Also, I didn't get a chance (yet) to play with any of the custom settings/functions on the 40D. When I got to the track, I just formatted the CF card, set all the functions to their defaults (including custom functions) and then just shot. So, this camera might be even better once I get a chance to read up on and set the custom/camera functions.

I just did all my shooting in manual (M) mode. So, that means I set my aperature, shutter speed and ISO for all my shots. I always do. So, I'm not sure how well the other modes work, but I'm sure they will work just fine.

Overall, I see a LOT of potential in the 40D. There aren't too many sports that need a faster AF than motor sports and I think the 40D handled it very well, especially for the price range the 40D sits in. As long as you have some good glass (which you should always try and use the best glass you can) to use with the 40D, I think it can definitely be an exceptional performer.

I haven't shot any portrait/studio stuff with it, so I will try to review that once I do, but I believe it will be exceptional in that area as well. That is another one of my fortes and I'm looking forward to putting the 40D through it's paces for portraits.

I believe you can't go wrong with this camera body. There are some things the 1 Series bodies do a bit better than the 40D. However, I feel that if someone has never owned a 1 Series body, the 40D will make them feel like they do own one!

Again, sorry about the length of this, but I thought I'd try and cover everything I could think of. If I think of anything else or if anyone has any questions, I'll post the answers here too so all can benefit from them.

Hope you all enjoyed the presentation. Thank you for coming, I'll be here all week.

[Poseidon]

Excellent series Mat! I'll have to come beck to this when I have more time.

[charlie]

Excellent pics and nice write up Mat. If I could ever get rid of this other hobby that I have, maybe I could invest in one of these.

[SouthBayPhoto]

Thanks guys.

Sorry it's so long though...I was trying to condense it as much as possible, but trying to get my impressions across clearly. Thank gosh I can type about 75 wpm otherwise it would have taken me a decade to type all that. LOL!!!!

I just hope you all benefit from it somehow.

[SouthBayPhoto]

Howdy again all..

Just in case the above pics weren't enough, here are the 42 that I picked out of the bunch really quick. Just in case anyone would care to view.

Beware that the page is picture heavy...if you have dialup, it might take a little bit of time to view them all. I did do resizing and such so they aren't really bad, but I can't make them so small that I sacrifice quality ya know.

GO HERE FOR MOTORCYCLE PHOTOS

Enjoy!

By the way Gene, is it okay that I posted those? I wasn't sure if the "Photo Lab" section is actually only for fish related photos. I didn't think about asking you that prior to posting up. Sorry!

[zhenya]

By the way Gene, is it okay that I posted those? I wasn't sure if the "Photo Lab" section is actually only for fish related photos. I didn't think about asking you that prior to posting up. Sorry!

It is perfectly fine, Mat. In the context of your write up any pictures you saw fit(barring the nudies, of course ) are OK with me. Besides, those are great images and nice write up, Mat.
I could never shoot anything moving remotely this fast. If you want me to take your picture you better freeze...

So, my impression is that you liked your purchase, eh?
Perhaps I should consider getting that body and keep my old 350D as a back up?
Something to think about.

PS> Bummer about the Kingston card. I have one and it works flawless, but that is only one so I can;t say anything to defend them. It's 2 gig card that I bought last year, I think.

[Poseidon]

Thanks for the initial impressions! I think you did a fabulous job at the track, your shutter speed was slow enough to show movement of the tires, but it froze the riders.

I have to ask though, were these crops or are you THAT CLOSE? Cause if you were that close, then you have some, uh, STONES!

Oh, as for Kingston, it is strange that you had issues. I have 3 2GB Kingston cards, and an 8GB card, and all of them have been fantastic. Which card was it?

[charlie]

He said he used his 70-200 Mike, That could explain part of the fact that you feel like rubber on the tires.

[Poseidon]

LOL!! Ya, I know Charlie, but the 70-200 is not THAT long, even on a 1.6 crop body.

[SouthBayPhoto]

Thanks Gene, Mike and Charlie.

Maybe the Kingston cards just don't like me. However, I didn't get this one new...the guy left it in the camera when he sent it to me...maybe that's why. It's a 4G Kingston Elite Pro 133x CF card. What's funny, is my friend gave me a "no name brand" CF card while at the track and I had no issues with that one. It's a Transcend 120X 4GB CF card. I've never heard of Transcend. LOL However, I figured I'd use it as a backup. Well, it ended up being the one that worked well and the Kingston messed up. I was able to salvage most shots off there, but there were a few really nice keepers that got messed up in the save/transfer. So, I was bummed. The card was probably shot to begin with and he figured he'd just let it go with the body, I guess. That'll teach me.

I really like the camera body. If you know what to do with it, I believe it can pretty much hold it's own against the 1 Series...especially if it's somebody that really doesn't know how to use a 1 Series body. LOL

I really appreciate the comments, Mike. Actually I'm pretty close to the edge of the track. A few of the shots are cropped, but mainly I always try and "crop in the camera" so to speak. None of the real "close ups" are cropped at all...just resized straight out of the camera.

However, you'll love and appreciate this. I used to use a 50mm prime to shoot the inside corner shots. Ya, then I was REALLLLLLLLLYYYY close to the track...probably about 2-3 feet from the edge. Some damn nice shots, but a little too close for comfort at times. LOL :slap: Especially around the newbies!

Gene - So you're saying I shouldn't post up any of the modeling shots I normally take? They all aren't nudies, but they aren't exactly clothed either.

[zhenya]

Gene - So you're saying I shouldn't post up any of the modeling shots I normally take? They all aren't nudies, but they aren't exactly clothed either.

Hey now, we try to keep this board family oriented, you know..

[Poseidon]

Originally Posted by SouthBayPhoto

However, you'll love and appreciate this. I used to use a 50mm prime to shoot the inside corner shots. Ya, then I was REALLLLLLLLLYYYY close to the track...probably about 2-3 feet from the edge. Some damn nice shots, but a little too close for comfort at times. LOL :slap: Especially around the newbies!

Gene - So you're saying I shouldn't post up any of the modeling shots I normally take? They all aren't nudies, but they aren't exactly clothed either.

That is uh, either IMPRESSIVE or INSANE LOL! I'm not sure that I would be comfortable that close. Now, in a football or basketball game, I stand on the sidelines and keep shooting as they get closer and closer and closer.... When you see your OWN FOOT in the frame as they crash to the ground at your feet, you may question that decision! I have been landed on at a B-Ball game, and that was interesting, but no real harm to me or the camera. (I am a pretty big guy, so I am hard to break. ) HOWEVER those bikes have to weigh in at least 4-500lbs, and they are moving at what 40 or more mph right? That would REALLY HURT!

Oh, I am sending a PM about sports shooter to you...

[SouthBayPhoto]

Originally Posted by zhenya

Hey now, we try to keep this board family oriented, you know..

Exactly. LOL

Hey wait...aren't the fish nude? (totally kidding!)

[SouthBayPhoto]

Originally Posted by Poseidon

That is uh, either IMPRESSIVE or INSANE LOL! I'm not sure that I would be comfortable that close. Now, in a football or basketball game, I stand on the sidelines and keep shooting as they get closer and closer and closer.... When you see your OWN FOOT in the frame as they crash to the ground at your feet, you may question that decision! I have been landed on at a B-Ball game, and that was interesting, but no real harm to me or the camera. (I am a pretty big guy, so I am hard to break. ) HOWEVER those bikes have to weigh in at least 4-500lbs, and they are moving at what 40 or more mph right? That would REALLY HURT!

Oh, I am sending a PM about sports shooter to you...

Mike - I think it's a little of both (impressive and insane) LOL

The bikes are usually around high 300's to low 400's in weight. So, ya, they would hurt if they hit me. 40 mph? Nope...more like 60 to 80 mph depending on the track and the turn. Sometimes in triple digits depending on the track. (turn 8 @ Big Willow or turn 6 at LVMS Classic)

I used to have a shot my friend took of me when I was shooting at the LVMS Classic course...it would show you where I'm at in relation to the turn/track...however, I don't know where the heck that is...if I ever find it, I'll post it up.

That's why I switched to a longer lens (at least the 70-200) for those shots. Preferably I'd like to have a 400 to 600 lens, but I definitely don't make enough money to justify buying one or two of those. I'm trying now to get a 300mm. That would be my biggest lens yet...I've almost always worked with a 70-200 unless I was shooting with my friend. Then I have borrowed his 300 & 400 before.

I scared the heck out of myself at my first football game before. I was shooting with my 70-200 f/2.8L and the running back was coming closer and closer in the frame as I was shooting and then it looked like they were RIGHT THERE. I literally jumped back (still looking through the viewfinder) about 5 feet cuz it scared the heck out of me. Looked up from the view finder to find them about 10 yards from me...BEFORE I jumped. I probably looked like a total idiot in front of everyone. Well, you live and you learn.

[charlie]

Originally Posted by SouthBayPhoto

Exactly. LOL

Hey wait...aren't the fish nude? (totally kidding!)

Only you would come up with that.

[SouthBayPhoto]

Quote:
Originally Posted by SouthBayPhoto
Exactly. LOL

Hey wait...aren't the fish nude? (totally kidding!)

Originally Posted by charlie

Only you would come up with that.

Of course...would you expect anything less?