Canon EOS 40D - Latest Information
AUGUST 2007 - latest news of the Canon EOS 40D: The Canon EOS 40D is the successor to the EOS 30D (which itself replaced the EOS 20D). The 40D is a major upgrade of the 30D with an upgraded sensor, upgraded AF, larger LCD and many other new features.
A Full Hands on review of the Canon EOS 40D has now been posted
UPDATE AUGUST 20th: Canon has published full specs on the EOS 40D and I have a breief preview with the full specifications on the new Canon EOS 40D Specifications and Preview Page Update: August 14th 2007. I have independent confirmation from a second source that BestBuy do indeed have an EOS 40D listed in their in-store database as reported below. It's their item number 8472244. If you look at their public website, that item isn't listed yet, but it is in their own internal database.
Update: August 12th 2007. This image of the Canon EOS 40D is supposedly from an ad scheduled to run in Shutterbug in the fall. It really doesn't show much at all, and sheds no light on the EOS 40D pixel count (probably 10MP), bit depth (possibly 14bit) or features such as live view. It would certainly come as no surprise to see such an ad since the 40D now seems pretty certain. We should know all the details on or around August 21st.
Update on the update: The ad above may be a fake (obviously). Someone is claiming that they did it, but who knows. Maybe they are faking that! In the end it really doesn't matter. I think we have just about all the info on the 40D that we need short of the Canon announcement confirming the rumors and giving the detailed specs!
Update: August 8th 2007. Well, the Canon EOS 40D has a UPC code, so it must be real, right? Well, actually, no, it doesn't have to be. The upcdatabase.com site isn't really an official UPC registry. It's a user maintained site which means that anyone can enter data as long as they register with a valid email address.
(see http://www.upcdatabase.com/item.asp?upc=013803086607)
There's also an associated "leak" from "Best Buy" which claims to show their stock sheet showing the Canon EOS 40D with availability starting September 2nd and a price of $1599.99. It looks real and it does have the same UPC and shipping weight data, but if one was faked then both could be as there's no evidence they come from independent sources. As for BestBuy, well, in stock by September 2nd sounds very optimistic for a camera announced in late August though and $1600 sounds too high. Maybe both those data points are somewhat wishful thinking on their part and will be revised. It's possible their system demands a price and availability date, so something has to go in there. They still list the Canon EOS 30D at $1499.99. I'm not sure it ever sold for that much anywhere (I think the street price was $1399.99 when it was launched) and it's currently under $1000 from most discount stores, so clearly BestBuy isn't the best place to check on prices...It's possible Canon may have a "list" price of $1599.99 but nothing ever actually sells for the list price.
If you have a local BestBuy store, drop in and ask them to check stock on their item 8472244 and let me know what they say! It's not in their public access database, but according to some reports it is in the stores own database and sales staff can look it up for you.
Update: August 3rd 2007. There are a couple of shots of what may be the new Canon EOS 40D floating around the web right now. Their origin is unknown, but they do look like official "product shots". They don't reveal a lot, except for maybe a 3" LCD screen. Other info "leaked" suggests the 40D may have an sRAW mode (small RAW,like the EOS 1D MkIII), ISO display in the viewfinder (at least while changing ISO settings), and 3 "Custom user settings" available on the main mode dial. No clues from the images as to the pixel count of the sensor though, but other 2nd and 3rd hand rumors from other sources are suggesting 10.1MP, which I think is entirely reasonable. Same as the EOS 1D MkIII and Rebel Xti, less than the EOS 5D, equal to the "competition" consumer DSLRs from Nikon, Pentax and Sony.
The new EOS 40D perhaps?
See larger versions here
Update: August 2nd 2007. It looks like we may see an announcement around August 20th/21st. There is known to be a UK dealers meeting with Canon then to show off some new products, and Canon have announced three of their DSLRs within a few days of that date in previous years. There are a number of rumors circulating, most are 3rd or 4th hand by which time they have taken on as much "wishful thinking" as actual facts. I'm pretty much sticking with my predictions below.
As soon as any announcement is made, I'll have full details on the Canon EOS 40D - Specifications and Preview page.
So will there finally be a Canon EOS 40D in the fall of 2007? Well, I put the chances of a EOS 40D at about 10% last fall, about 50% this spring, but I'm inclined to say that I think the chances of an EOS 40D this fall are much higher and I'd estimate them at 90% or more. Though I hesitate to say a 40D will appear for certain (given past rumors that have turned out to be inaccurate), I'd be very surprised indeed if there wasn't a 40D this fall.
The reason I think the chances are now high are:
- The EOS 30D was introduced 18 months ago and 18 months is the typical product life for Canon consumer DSLRs. It's time for a new model and the name is likely to be the EOS 40D
- The EOS 30D was a fairly small upgrade of the EOS 20D, more of a 20D MkII, which really makes it 3 years since Canon made a significant upgrade to its prosumer level DSLR.
- Canon have reportedly been losing sales to Nikon (at least in Japan) in the consumer DSLR market, making Canon's introduction of a new model more probable.
- The consumer XTi has a 10MP sensor while the prosumer 30D only has an 8MP sensor. Clearly Canon can make 10MP CMPS APS-C sensors that work well, so an upgrade of the 20D/30D sensor (they are the same) is overdue.
- The Canon EOS 40D was spotted on a CIPA (Camera Imaging Products Association) PictBridge certification list, which suggests that Canon are certainly working on it and that the name will be the 40D. The listing is now gone of course ( see http://www.cipa.jp/pictbridge/CertifiedModels/PictBridgeCertifiedModels_E.html#DSC_CANON) but I found it on the page that Google had cached (see crop below)!
So what can we expect to see in the new Canon EOS 40D? I think the following are reasonable guesses based on my knowledge of the Canon system, plus what I think are reasonably reliable "leaks". I have no "inside info". Canon don't tell me any of this stuff - and even if they did I would not be able to repeat it!
- The Canon EOS 40D will have all the features of the EOS 30D (larger LCD then 20D, Spot meter, Picture modes etc.)
- A nine point AF system withe the same "diamond" pattern AF zone layout as EOS 30D.
- LCD size up from 2.5" (30D) to 3" (40D)
- Same general shape and size as the EOS 30D. It works, why change it.
- Dedicated "picture styles" button
- The Canon EOS 40D will stick with the APS-C sensor size. Given the upgrade path from the XTi and 30D, maintaining the EF-S lens mount seems inevitable, which means sticking with APS-C
- More Pixels. I'd expect to see at least a 10 to 10.5MP sensor in the EOS 40D. It could be 12MP, but that's unlikely in my opinion, since the 1D Mk III only has 10MP and the EOS 5D is 12MP. A 12MP EOS 40D could possibly affect sales of more expensive models. It would be nice if they used the 14-bit A/D from the 1D MKIII for more dynamic range and I think that's a possible. The Digic III processor (see below) may be able to handle the higher data load. The new sensor may be based on the design of the 1D MkIII sensor which has a better capture ratio than earlier sensors due to optimized pixel design.
- Noise levels equal to or lower than the 30D. Same ISO 100 - 1600 + "H" (3200) range.
- A single Digic III processor (the 1Ds MkIII uses two of them). I'd expect this since Canon are now using the Digic III in their digicams. It could help lower noise a little and speed up camera operation.
- The dust repelling sensor features of the XTi. They may not work perfectly, but they can help a little.
- The EOS 40D will stick with Compact Flash memory rather than going to SD(HC) cards.
- A larger buffer for both JPEG and RAW files. New models always have a larger buffer!
- Sticking with a 5fps frame rate seems reasonable. There's little real need to go faster even if they could. Some rumors are suggesting 6 or 6.25fps. Certainly possible I guess. For most users it will make little difference though.
- I do not think the Canon EOS 40D will have ECF (eye controlled focus).
- I do not think that the EOS 40D will be fully weathersealed (gasketed dials, buttons and lens mount). That will stay a "pro" feature. The popup flash on the consumer and prosumer DSLRs would make full weathersealing quite difficult.
- I'd say "live view" is a possibility. The EOS 20Da had it and the 1D MkIII has it. It's something few DSLRs have, some consumers want and is mainly a firmware feature. Canon obviously have the technology to do it and I doubt that the cost is high. All the development has been done and it would be a "unique feature" in the price range for APS-C DSLRs. It's not quite like the live LCD view of P&S digicams, but that may not matter.
- Though I'd love to see image stabilization in the body, I really don't think Canon are ready to do that yet. They have too much invested in IS lenses. Right now Nikon doesn't have IS in the body. Sony and Pentax do, but I'm not sure they represent too much competition for Canon.
- A price for the EOS 40D in the $1400 range, +/- $100. The Nikon D200 is selling for $1500 and I'd expect Canon to try to match Nikon on features and certainly under cut them on pricing. It's guess that $1300 is more likely than $1500.
- EOS 40D real availability by October 2007 (i.e. when you might actually get one in your hand).
In the meantime, keep an eye open for falling prices and great deals on the Canon Digital Rebel XT, Canon Digital Rebel XTi, Canon EOS 5D and Canon EOS 30D (now down under $1000), all of which are excellent cameras!
