canon 30D

Bountyphotographer · February 13, 2008

Should I sell my 30 D to buy the 40 D?

gus · February 13, 2008

Bountyphotographer wrote:

Should I sell my 30 D to buy the 40 D?

That depends entirely on what colour socks you have on.

JohnnyJr · February 13, 2008

i vote yes! i have both (and a 20d) and wish i had 2 40s.

Shorthair · February 13, 2008

I did, haven't regretted it for a minute either. You'll notice the quicker, sharper focus especially in low light.

gluwater · February 13, 2008

I think you should buy a D3.

swintonphoto · February 13, 2008

No. I think we all get stuck feeling that our cameras are junk when the new one comes out. We quickly forget how much we praised our current camera to the stars 12-18 months ago. The 30D is an awesome camera. I say save your pennies for the 50D when it comes out.

DoctorIt · February 13, 2008

Shorthair wrote:

I did, haven't regretted it for a minute either. You'll notice the quicker, sharper focus especially in low light.

A camera body can only give you marginally better focusing.

It's all about the glass.

Keep your 30D and use the extra money for an L lens. I did

mmtoruno · February 14, 2008

swintonphoto wrote:

No. I think we all get stuck feeling that our cameras are junk when the new one comes out. We quickly forget how much we praised our current camera to the stars 12-18 months ago. The 30D is an awesome camera. I say save your pennies for the 50D when it comes out.

I totally agree with you there. I have been stuck in that vicious cycle.
Now I have more cameras than I need.
But like Doctorit said:
A camera body can only give you marginally better focusing. It's all about the glass.

dmmattix · February 14, 2008

mmtoruno wrote:

I totally agree with you there. I have been stuck in that vicious cycle.
Now I have more cameras than I need.
But like Doctorit said:
A camera body can only give you marginally better focusing. It's all about the glass.

Yes and no. It depends on what he shoots. Sports and birding could really benefit from the improved focusing over the 30D. A landscape photographer would be better served getting better glass. I have a 20D and since I am primarily a landscape photographer I keep telling myself that upgrading would be nice but not truly necessary. A wider wide angle and a better tripod would be better investments. That said I keep looking anyway as the ultrasonic dust removal, larger/brighter view finder, and MUCH larger rear LCD are tempting...

Edit: I forgot about the interchangeable focus screens....

JohnnyJr · February 14, 2008

Exactly, it really depends. I shoot lots of low-light live theater, and the 40d's quick focus and substantially quieter shutter are hugely helpful.

I've found the improved (to my liking) tabbed menus and the ability to pre-set groups of camera functions really simplifies my shooting workflow, particularly when traveling and shooting different types of scenes: With a turn of the mode dial I'm at ISO 100 with mirror lockup for landscapes, set-up for street photography, or ready to shoot low-light interiors.

To me these workflow improvements are what make the 40d a major change rather than an incremental one as the 30d was to the 20d. The extra pixels are great, too!

dmmattix wrote:

Yes and no. It depends on what he shoots....

Glenn NK · February 14, 2008

Bountyphotographer wrote:

Should I sell my 30 D to buy the 40 D?

I think the answer depends on what you have and what you need in terms of lenses. You list the 24/70 and 70/200 as "dream goodies" in your profile, but are those realities?

If you have one of the kit lenses and nothing else, then changing bodies would seem a waste of money when there are seemingly other more pressing needs.

I only have a 30D and the lenses listed, but I will get another lens before I change bodies; a longer lens would serve me better than a 40D.

claudermilk · February 15, 2008

swintonphoto wrote:

No. I think we all get stuck feeling that our cameras are junk when the new one comes out. We quickly forget how much we praised our current camera to the stars 12-18 months ago. The 30D is an awesome camera. I say save your pennies for the 50D when it comes out.

Speak for yourself! When a friend of mine came around with a 30D & I got a chance to play with it my first thoughts were "nice camera, but I see no reason to update" While I haven't laid hands on the 40D I still pretty much feel the same. No reason to dump my 20D for a newer xxD; my needs are driving me to look at xD bodies--budget keeping me in the same vintage as the 20D. Even with that, I still sing the 20D's praises--it's still an excellent camera.

So there.

JohnnyJr · February 15, 2008

I agree, the 30d is only an incremental step up from the 20d (although ISO 640, 1000 and 1200 choices are nice to have!) But seriously, the 40d is a BIG step in terms of use and image quality from the 20d, especially at ISO 400 and up. However, YES, the 20d is still an excellent camera!!

I got the 30d only because I needed a second body at the time. Then I got a 40d because I wanted to 'retire' the 20d but still needed 2 bodies for paying work. I love my well-worn 20d!! It goes literally everywhere with me and the 30d and 40d are primarily for jobs.

Someone said buy glass before bodies and I think that's the best advice. Wait one more generation (50d) before switching. Unless, ofcourse, you really need a second body. I wouldn't 'dump' a 30d for a 40d... I said 'yes' before only because I was being cheeky & love the 40d so much!
40d =

claudermilk wrote:

Speak for yourself! When a friend of mine came around with a 30D & I got a chance to play with it my first thoughts were "nice camera, but I see no reason to update" While I haven't laid hands on the 40D I still pretty much feel the same. No reason to dump my 20D for a newer xxD; my needs are driving me to look at xD bodies--budget keeping me in the same vintage as the 20D. Even with that, I still sing the 20D's praises--it's still an excellent camera.

So there.

DI-Joe · February 15, 2008

I find myself in the same predicament. I just bought my first L-glass piece and I have a 30D with about 40k shots on it. It's been my trusty steed for about 18 months now and I'm really looking for a 1 series within 6 months as I'm trying to catapult into fulltime pro work. Photography is about 50% of my working schedule and about 40% of my income right now. I love my 30D but as my jobs become higher paying and the like and more important(super special weddings and such) not having a back up rig is going come around to bite me in the ass. I'd of course keep my 30D as a second/backup rig(I can easily see how I'd want to have say... a 5D with my L-glass on it and my 30D with my versital Tamron on it).

For me, frames per second matter little to me as I'm not a sports photographer. Live view seems gimicky to me as well. A student of mine bought the 40D on my recommendation and quite honestly, I was a little jealous at how damn big that screen is and how nice the finder feels. She seems to be figuring it out quite nicely as well. I'd like a MKIII simply because I want a body that will endure the advances of technology and printing. I know that with a MKIII, I can print anything. For me the features I look for are build quality, consistency and noise control.

I don't mind being "stuck" with Canon, hell you might even call me a fanboy as I've invested a great deal into my gear, there's sort of no crossing over to another platform any time soon.

Off-topic, is the 50D the successor to the 5D? full-framed? that's really what I'm looking for in my next body.

canon 30D

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