Canon 40D replacement?

locostbob

locostbob

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Hello!

My trusty (and old!) 40D has given up, very out of touch for kit as only look when I need to replace something. Hoping people could share some thought what's best to replace it with?

Motorsport use / taking on walks not conserned about pixel count or fancy functions. Just a good workhorse that can be well used. Improved ISO would be nice

I really like the 40D focus joystick on the rear of the camera, this seems to be dissapearing from current cameras. Don't want to have to look at the LCD to chance focus points.

Maybe £500 ish budget. I had 7D MK2 in mind?

Many thanks

Bob
 
locostbob said:
I had 7D MK2 in mind?
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That particular breed will get a lot of negative comments, unfortunately.
For me, I've had ( a gripped) one for quite a few years from new, and I'm more than happy with it.
No thoughts of changing
 
Cobra said:
That particular breed will get a lot of negative comments, unfortunately.
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That might well be the case. I have a Mk1 and it's not been great experience, you really have to nail the exposure and give it plenty of light to get anything close to decent files. That said, the 7D Mk2 is allegedly better but it's still a camera you have to work and be switched on to.

For your budget, I'd be considering full frame, you'd easily pick up a 6D, a 5Dmk2 within budget or even a 5Dmk3 for a little more money. Assuming you have EF glass of course as EF-S isn't compatible with full frame cameras.

If you have to stay with a crop sensor, I think I'd look at an 80D (considering your budget)over a 7Dmk2, depending on what suits of course but the 80D sensor is easier to work with.
 
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Dale. said:
7D Mk2 is allegedly better
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Far better in so many ways, not least the iso handling.

But of course I have to agree much has moved on, including new models since I bought mine.
 
Cobra said:
Far better in so many ways, not least the iso handling.

But of course I have to agree much has moved on, including new models since I bought mine.
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I don’t recall ever handling a 7D2 but it was a camera I’d considered a few years ago based on it being a big improvement over the MK1. It offers a lot of other things too like plenty of focus points and it’s about 10 FPS (?), great for wildlife, sports and the like, probably a more useful camera in that sense over the 80D.

Tech has moved on but that doesn’t make old cameras bad cameras, they were good back in the day, they’re still good now and there are some real bargains to be had. :)
 
Dale. said:
I don’t recall ever handling a 7D2
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Its much better with a grip, especially with something like 100-400 mkII hooked up to it.

IIRC its 10 f/sec but tbh I never or hardly ever use the burst rates.

Dale. said:
Tech has moved on but that doesn’t make old cameras bad cameras,
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Agreed, and many are still using the same internal tech as the 7DII.
Dual "DIGIC 6" processors, although some are on DIGIC 8 now
 
I replaced my 40D with an 80D a few years ago, and my dad has a 7D MkII so I've used both. The 7D MkII is much nicer in the hand, a little larger and has the focus joystick. The 80D is smaller, a little more plasticky and doesn't have the focus joystick. The 80D sensor is newer and slightly better, and the AF systems are about on par. I use my 80D almost exclusively for motorsport work, have a look at a few of my threads from the past couple of years on here to see what it can do paired with a very crappy old Sigma 120-400 lens.

ISO performance is absolutely night and day compared to a 40D. Anything up to ISO1600 is fine, ISO3200 perfectly useable with a little bit of noise.
 
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I had a 7DmkII for a while and couldn't fault it. I also had a 40D before that and the difference was night and day.

Are their better cameras now? Sure but it all boils down to your budget. If you were happy with the 40D then you'll be over the moon with the 7DmkII
 
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I have owned the 7D and currently have the 7Dii, plus I have used a 6D a few times as well.
I could not get on with the 6D controls or lack of AF points.
The 7D was a very good DSLR when it came out and was breath of fresh air to the sports & wildlife shooters. ISO was good up to 800 and after that the files started to fall apart !
The 7Dii is a great camera and has a lot to offer over more modern models like the 70D, 77D, 80D and perhaps 90D and a budget of £500 the 7Dii is a good option.
 
I was looking at some old pictures recently that I took on my 40D a few years ago they still look decent couldn’t see much noise
But I can recommend the 7D 2 the autofocus is excellent better than the 7D
I always found the 7D image quality to be decent as well up to ISO 800 but do need to get the exposure right
Should be able to find a 7D2 in your budget no problem
 
I have a 7D mark ii and still find it very good for bird photography and it is fine for motorsports. For landscapes I prefer full frame.
 
The 7dII appears to be the answer to the question.

But I can’t help laughing at at some of the comments about unusable high ISO files from the older cameras. As someone who shot weddings for years with a 7d / 40d combo, no customer ever looked at their album and said ‘we love the picture of Auntie Irene, but there terrible chroma noise in the shadows’.
 
Phil V said:
The 7dII appears to be the answer to the question.

But I can’t help laughing at at some of the comments about unusable high ISO files from the older cameras. As someone who shot weddings for years with a 7d / 40d combo, no customer ever looked at their album and said ‘we love the picture of Auntie Irene, but there terrible chroma noise in the shadows’.
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Exactly when I bought my 7D mark one when it came out some people on forums were saying that the 7D was unusable for birds and wildlife because of noise, I ignored it and carried on and managed some nice pictures and memories with that camera that I’ll never forget
 
I changed from 40d to 70d, I do miss the joy stick however you can assign the wheel at the back to do the same to move af points but it is not quite as responsive or ergonomically the same but got used to it
 
I went from a 40d to a 5diii and I'm glad i kept the joystick although I do miss the reach of the crop sensor at times, I still don't regret going full frame.
 
Thank you all for your time and thoughts, nice they echo my thoughts a 7Dii would be a good option. Just didn't want to miss something else I wasn't aware of. I'm quite curious of full frame but 'need' the crop sensor for my lens range.

Maybe 'old' tech but I do think a camera is only as good as the person holding it.... I know i'm not that good so i'm happy with that, i just enjoy it!

I generally shoot with a slight over exposure on the 40D which seems to help noise control, so may work well again with the 7Dii and with I assume a far better dynamic range should work well?!

Many thanks

Bob
 
locostbob said:
Thank you all for your time and thoughts, nice they echo my thoughts a 7Dii would be a good option. Just didn't want to miss something else I wasn't aware of. I'm quite curious of full frame but 'need' the crop sensor for my lens range.

Maybe 'old' tech but I do think a camera is only as good as the person holding it.... I know i'm not that good so i'm happy with that, i just enjoy it!

I generally shoot with a slight over exposure on the 40D which seems to help noise control, so may work well again with the 7Dii and with I assume a far better dynamic range should work well?!

Many thanks

Bob
Click to expand...

The 7Dii is certainly not the greatest camera with regards to noise but it is quite a bit better than the 40D.

Couple that with some good noise reduction software like DXO's pure raw and you have a very capable camera.
 
ecoleman said:
Couple that with some good noise reduction software like DXO's pure raw and you have a very capable camera.
Click to expand...
I use Topaz deNoise as a plug in to CS5.
Not that I use it much, but its there if I need it
www.topazlabs.com

DeNoise AI - Remarkable Image Noise Reduction

Stunning noise reduction tailored to the specific needs of your photos using powerful AI technology. Effortlessly remove distracting grain while restoring critical sharpness.
www.topazlabs.com www.topazlabs.com
 
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