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Post by mantarey on Jan 30, 2008 12:00:47 GMT
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Post by Romy Ocon on Jan 30, 2008 12:28:08 GMT
Hi Rey, The 40D's AF, while not yet as good as the 1Dxx series, is at least as good, if not slightly better than the 30D/20D. Mine is working well, as do those used by many birdshooters the world over. There are reports of off-copies though, like in any mass manufactured product line, and I have no reason to doubt these. In fact, the first 40D I tried at Infomaxx-Park Square 1 was consistently off-focusing with all my birding lenses. They had to get a second unit at Megamall for me to test, and fortunately the AF of this one was spot on (it was the unit I bought). We have to separate a design defect from a QC issue. The 1DM3's faulty AF is a design defect, while the 40D at worst is a QC issue, most probably isolated occurences only (the unhappy buyers of off-units are the noisiest in the forums). Good that we can test cameras here in Manila before committing purchase. It's tougher to deal with QC issues in the mail-order markets abroad. Romy I'm in the market right for a 40D upgrade and stumbled upon this very disturbing information. Any comments, Sir Romy. www.birdphotographers.net/forums/showthread.php?t=2219Actually saw discussions of the same nature about the 40D in another forum but this one has more detailed info and looks to me like a serious concern for those wanting to get this camera. |
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Post by mantarey on Jan 30, 2008 12:46:39 GMT
Thanks for the heads up but could be a potential problem for me, hope not. I'm asking somebody to get it for me in Hongkong, price difference is too great for me to pass up the chance. 40D is about 59K in Infomax, while in Hidalgo street price is about 55K. I can get it for around 41K in HK. Hope I can get a good copy.
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Post by Ding Carpio on Jan 30, 2008 21:08:56 GMT
I also share the opinion that it's best to get the body locally and get the lens in HK. But I got mine in HK because of great savings and my bad experience on a warranty challenge on my old 350D; but I won't get into that now.
Just wanted to recommend that, if you go the HK route, try the WingShing/ManShing shops. They're a chain of reliable shops that are recommended by many DPReview forum members.
When I got mine, I emailed in advance to reserve a copy and once there, the shopguy patiently let me try it out and pixel-peep the shots. None of the painful haggling and worrying that I had to suffer through in my past shopping sojourns in this city.
The shop I went to is at 55-57 Sai Yeung Choi Street, Mongkok(MTR Mongkok Station, D3 Exit). Tel-2396 6886.
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Post by Romy Ocon on Jan 30, 2008 23:31:58 GMT
Thanks for the heads up but could be a potential problem for me, hope not. I'm asking somebody to get it for me in Hongkong, price difference is too great for me to pass up the chance. 40D is about 59K in Infomax, while in Hidalgo street price is about 55K. I can get it for around 41K in HK. Hope I can get a good copy. Hehe.... at that price difference, I'd probably do the same and buy it from HK. PHP 14 K can buy a nice, large capacity Benro CF tripod already. Some bad people (robbers or other criminals) are even willing to risk their lives for much less.  The odds of getting a trouble-free 40D is actually very good - I'd imagine it's way better than 1 bad out of 100 units on the shelves. |
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Post by mantarey on Jan 31, 2008 1:16:02 GMT
Ding is right WingShing is one of the better shops to shop for cameras, sad to say there's just a few of them that are in the same category, so much tourist traps in HK. Actually got my glass (400 5.6) from them. That's true Ka Romy, a 14K is a very substantial savings, if you do the math it's a whopping 27.5% discount. Not too shabby, I must say  |
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Post by Bobby Kintanar on Feb 1, 2008 3:53:11 GMT
While my 40D is tack sharp in focusing, I do find that it is easily thrown off when the background is around 2 or more stops brighter than the subject. I noticed this when I locked on to a White-vented Whistler with some bright areas behind it. A slight shift of the subject sent the focus to the back, as I fired away. Got me at least 6 frames of a blurred bird with sharp leaves behind it. Let me say however that the 40D's focusing is better than the 30D, from experience. Just my two cents worth.
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Post by mantarey on Feb 1, 2008 4:28:31 GMT
While my 40D is tack sharp in focusing, I do find that it is easily thrown off when the background is around 2 or more stops brighter than the subject. I noticed this when I locked on to a White-vented Whistler with some bright areas behind it. A slight shift of the subject sent the focus to the back, as I fired away. Got me at least 6 frames of a blurred bird with sharp leaves behind it. Let me say however that the 40D's focusing is better than the 30D, from experience. Just my two cents worth. Some are saying that this is because of the very sensitve AF of the 40D which they say becomes a disadvantage with BIFS. I read it somewhere that you can fine tune the settings for BIFS, just forgot the site though I remember Ka ROmy was one of the people discussing it in the threads. I guess he can tell us how to do it  |
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Post by Romy Ocon on Feb 1, 2008 4:49:38 GMT
Nope, the tracking sensitivity is not adjustable in the 40D, unlike in the 1Dxx series. The 40D's central AF point is indeed very sensitive, and one has to keep the bead on the bird always, otherwise it can jump to the BG if such is contrasty. One has to adapt his muscle memory to the properties of the tool by doing a lot of practice. It's not much different to using a race car for the first time.... a slight step on the pedal and the engine revs like crazy. Some are saying that this is because of the very sensitve AF of the 40D which they say becomes a disadvantage with BIFS. I read it somewhere that you can fine tune the settings for BIFS, just forgot the site though I remember Ka ROmy was one of the people discussing it in the threads. I guess he can tell us how to do it |
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Post by mantarey on Feb 1, 2008 10:16:39 GMT
Nice analogy sir, it's crystal clear to me now |
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