1D vs 40D

[HiredBitSlinger]

This forum has been entirely to dead for to long, so here is my attempt to get something going.

I have been kicking around my next Camera for a while. Now, obviously, a 1DMIII would be my first choice. Since hell hasn't frozen over and has its own hockey franchise, that choice is out.

Now, a 40D would be my next choice, but an alternate choice would be an older 1D.

The question is, how far back should I go, before I am losing ground to the 40D's newer technology, all the way to a 1D? Or is todays 40D better than the original 1D. I don't know, which is why I pose the question.

The other curve I am working with is price. After selecting the candidate, I still have to find one for the right price.

If you reading AAFO you know what my shooting environment is. I mainly use a Canon 100-400IS on a Digital Rebel (300D) that is 3 and half years old.

I believe that a 40D would probably be a dream come true, but I can't help but think that some of those 1D features would be nice.

So, what do all you Air Race Photog's out there think?


Daniel Plunkett

[jarrodeu]

Re: 1D vs 40D

Here is my unexpert opinion and it could be wrong.

The 1D has a larger sensor than the 40D so you will not have as big of an advantage in focal length (520mm vs 640mm equivalent in terms of full frame 24mm by 36mm) Also the 40D has a self cleaning sensor, 14bit image processing, and 10 megapixels among other features that the older 1D series cameras do not have. And if you have an EF-S lens, it will not work on a 1D.

I'm sure someone more knowing of the subject will chime in.

Jarrod

[HiredBitSlinger]

Re: 1D vs 40D

Thanks for the post. Those things are part of the mix. What I can't get a feel for is the shooting performance of the 1Dxx.

How well the AF works, or doesn't. It would be really great if someone could compare their experience with a 1Dsomething and a somethingD.

With the D300, I find getting focus on one focus point easy enough. The problem that I have is after I shoot, the camera refocuses. If have moved off that pt, which is easily possible, the AF will then hunt. So the task is to always get that point back on the spot before pushing the button again. When trying to track little bitty fast movers, it can be frustrating to get several frames in a row.

[T. Adams]

Re: 1D vs 40D

There are many lovers of the original 1D. I never used one, but I did have a film EOS 3, which has basically the same AF system. Yeah it's fast, it's weather proof, but it has horrible battery life, it's only 4MP, and it's close to six years old!!!!! No way I go that far back in digital technology. Would you by a 75MHz computer with 1MB of RAM?

Let go of the past people, it was fantastic for it's time, but it's time has long since past. The 40D is what I will be buying soon, to back up the 30D. It would be great to have a "1" series camera, but I would not reach that far back.

If you really want a "1" series, I would look for a good deal on a mkIIN on the used market.

Try a 40D at Best Buy or somewhere. You want believe how much faster it is. Just ask Propellerhead about the speed difference between his old 10D and the 30D he bought this year at Reno. It's a huge difference.

[ignomini]

Re: 1D vs 40D

Dittos to everything Tim says. I've also read some very positive reviews of the dust removal system. After spending hours upon hours removing spots from sky, it's a compelling feature.

[HiredBitSlinger]

Re: 1D vs 40D

If you really want a "1" series, I would look for a good deal on a mkIIN on the used market.

Thats the discussion. What I would like would be a 1DIIN. But that may still be to pricey, so how about a II. I didn't think anyone was going to recommend a 1D. That is a little to old, but was hoping someone would say that maybe a 1DII was still a competitive camera.

Incidently, I really love the idea of the dust cleaning system. Having chased dust for 4 years, I have worn out 3 cloning tools in photoshop.

Also, I am considering not what I would be losing by not having a 40D, but what I would be gaining going from a D300 to a 1DII or whatever.

Anyway, at the moment, the 300D works. I am about $800 short of buying anything, and I have managed to get some discussion going.

It is all good.

Dan

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: 1D vs 40D

Something important to remember with any used DSLR, shutter cycle life.

They are predicted to have xxx,xxx amount of cycles and it's pretty amazing how rapidly those can build up when you're not buying film and can just shoot away.

They can do and will wear out. The old original D1 that I had (still own it) had a number of issues repaired by Nikon under a single "major repair" bill of about $700. early in 2004... Actually took two trips to them (under same bill) to get it done... Good news was, the camera had all it's electronics replaced, new chip, circuit boards, switches... etc.. Essentially new body..

Save for one thing..

The shutter...

Apparantly, it was already failing when this repair fiasco began but it had not failed enough to get caught by Nikon techs.. (err... at least they didn't replace) By the time the second repair session started, I'd lost faith and bought the D2H thinking the D1 would make a nice backup..

Trying to make a long story short... though the camera has all new 'lectrics, the machine end of it is toast and it's a door stop.. what a waste!

Bottom line, no matter what a bargain a used body might be, pay heed to the fact that shutter predicted life cycle information IS available in camera specs and also should be available to read within the camera body...

OTT... there are probably some VERY good used body deals out there!

[Victor Archer]

Re: 1D vs 40D

but was hoping someone would say that maybe a 1DII was still a competitive camera.Dan

I love my MkllN and I still use my 20D as a second camera.
Jeff has a new rebel 350 and some of his shots are just as good as mine, when we are both using the 100-400 IS USM L. In part it's what can "YOU" do with the camera/lens combination and how much camera do you really need. As Wayne said in a second hand camera you need to find out how many cycles are on the shutter although I have almost 10X the advertized cycles on my 20D and my original 300 is still going strong with only one trip to canon. also another question is storage space and do you need large enough files to do a two page spread in a mag. My 500gig drive is now full as is my computer and my 350gig drive, oh and a 200 gig drive... KRAP... Thinking of what would be of most use to "ME" would be 10 to 12 mega pix and 5+ frames per sec.

[ignomini]

Re: 1D vs 40D

Incidently, I really love the idea of the dust cleaning system. Having chased dust for 4 years, I have worn out 3 cloning tools in photoshop.


Dan

One more item to consider is a copy of Photoshop CS2 or CS3. Using the Spot Healing Brush (added in CS2) instead of the Clone Tool you don't have to option-click to pick up a sky color sample. With the Spot Healing Brush, it's one click/one less dust spot.

[Bill@Interstell]

Re: 1D vs 40D

I have never used a 1D, but I bought a 40D last September and used it at GML. I love it!

Some of you know I actually bought a 30D right before Reno and had problems with it. The lens would just stop communication with the body. When I got home, I took the 30D back to Best Buy where I bought it, and even though it was a couple weeks past their return window, they traded me straight across for the 40D. Therefore, I have nice things to say about Best Buy customer service. That's more than I can say for a certain new aafo sponsor that Wayne would probably prefer I not talk about here.

At any rate, the 40D is a much better camera than the 30D, It is 10.2 compared with 8.2. It has the sensor shake to fight dust. The other nice feature is it goes to sleep if you leave it on for a while without doing anything, but wakes up when you depress the shutter release half way. No drained batteries and yet you don't have to cycle the on/off switch to wake it back up either.

I only wish I could mount the lens from by XL2 video camera on it.

[HiredBitSlinger]

Re: 1D vs 40D

I have never used a 1D, but I bought a 40D last September and used it at GML. I love it!

What was your previous camera. Digital or film? One of my concerns is the Auto Focus. I know it is better than my 300D, but kind of trying to get a comparison from somebody who has used both. With the 300D it difficult to maintain focus on an aircraft(s) coming down towards the home pylon. The camera tends to want to hunt between shots. I do it, but I would like to improve my keeper rate.

Then I look at Victors pictures, and I just want to sell the whole thing and take up stamp collecting.

Dan Plunkett

[T. Adams]

Re: 1D vs 40D

I have not used a 300D. or the 40D yet, but you can buy with confidence. Go to www.johnthawley.com He makes a living doing this so he needs cameras that work. He was using two 10D's when they came out, and then moved up to 20, 30, and now two 40D's.

That slideshow on his front page probably looks real familiar to mine. That's because it is. He is the one who told me about Soundslides Plus.

[Bill@Interstell]

Re: 1D vs 40D

What was your previous camera. Digital or film? One of my concerns is the Auto Focus. I know it is better than my 300D, but kind of trying to get a comparison from somebody who has used both. With the 300D it difficult to maintain focus on an aircraft(s) coming down towards the home pylon. The camera tends to want to hunt between shots. I do it, but I would like to improve my keeper rate.

Then I look at Victors pictures, and I just want to sell the whole thing and take up stamp collecting.

Dan Plunkett

The 40D is my first digital SLR and my first departure from film, at least for stills. I have a Canon XL2 video camera. My dad was a fairly well know photographer, and I've inherited a bunch of really nice film equipment so it was a difficult choice.

I had been using his set of Minolta Maxxim 7000s. They have autofocus lenses, but generally I just turned AF off and used manual focus. The AF on the 40D is much faster and quieter, and seems to work pretty well since most racing shots are centered on the airplane. You have control of the focus points used if you're planing something off center.

Historically, I've stuck to manual focus, setting focus on the predicted location. This might me a habit caried over from shooting video. The problem there is AF fishing while one is looking for a small plane in the distance against a blue sky background. It's just easier to set it on infinity and leave it.

The downside to going with the Canon 40D for me is none of the Minolta glass fits on it. The Minolta lenses fit the Sony Alpha, so that was a hard choice to make.

I'm really happy with the 40D.

Don't sell the kit. I look to Victor, Tim, Bucky, Wayne and others on this site for inspiration, not discouragement.

[T. Adams]

Re: 1D vs 40D

Sometimes it's hard, but AF is the way to go. Your really not at infinity when your shooting. Setting it there gets you slightly soft images. Yes it will hunt if you lose the plane, but it locks right back on when it sees it again. I look back at my old manual focus shot when I had my Minolta X-700 and just cringe. They are not even close to the results I have with AF.

In one of John Shaw's nature photography books he talks about being leary of AF when the first AF Nikon's came out. As an test he took a roll of 36 exp. film and shot a Thunderbird solo jet with the AF on. All 36 were dead nuts in focus. That was the end of his manual focus days.

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: 1D vs 40D

Sometimes it's hard, but AF is the way to go

I completely agree, with the exception (not very often) of when you're taking a carefully planned static shot....

For action, I'm completely at the mercy of my AF system! One of the reasons I was/am happy with the D2 series Nikons and didn't even consider the D200 when it came out was that the AF system on the 200 was less capabile than that on the D2 cameras.

With the release of the D300 Nikon, the ballgame changed because the D3 and D300 share the same, superior to the D2, AF engine!

Amazing thing about guys like Wingman and Bucky, well I'm not sure how Bucky shoots but Neal has told me that he does not often use AF... Same with Shawn Aero....

Talk about aliens!

I think Victor and Tim are very good examples of what you can achieve if you practice PRACTICE PRACTICE and then PRACTICE!!! some more!

I was having problems with my new (heavy) 200-400 lens at Reno and Victor immediately told me to get some weights that were heavier than the body/lens combo and work out... then when you lift the combo, it's light and you're steady.... We get to see these guy's work but we don't get to see them working off season to get ready for their work!

I don't know if I'm dedicated enough to equal or even get close to Victor, Tim, Bucky, Wingman, Cobra and some of the others here.. But I'm sure that practice REALLY helps!

I live at the beach and have birds flying around all the time.. A good friend from Hawaii told me she practices by shooting birds.. a good giggle was that when she first said it.. I thought she meant SHOOTING birds!!!!

Yech!!!!!!!! And here I thought only us guys would do that stuff!!!



Anyway.. Neat thread!!

Lots of talent here, sharing techniques.... wow... what a valuable asset that is!

Thanks to all who contribute here!