Amazon has 40D listed on their site

The price is 1299.99$, full specs are also available on this link. Another great move from one of the major retailers, putting full specs and the price on their site before the announcement. I'm sure they'll get quite a few more buyers than they would if they waited until the announcement.

A bunch of news

I've found this intriguing post on northlight images. I'll keep it short and get straight to the point:

* 40D - it's ready, but they did have a 40D ready in Feb/March, but it was regarded as just a bit to similar to everything else. It seems that Canon have put a lot into the 'new' 40D to get back market leadership in this segment from Nikon.
* Features include: 14 bit processing, highlight preservation, multiple custom functions, faster, half the noise level of the 30D, more weatherproofing. Lots of 'trickle down' features from their pro models.
* Their marketing campaign is really going to emphasise the semi-pro angle and the marketing will emphasise the 'pro' heritage.
*
* 1Ds3 - it's ready and production of the 1Ds2 has stopped. To be announced fairly soon. Several studios in New York now have production versions (under strict NDA ;-) and it is supposed to be 'just amazing'
*
* 5D replacement - Now 'feature complete'. Canon is working on the timing, most likely early 2008 [PMA is Jan 31 to Feb 2] Features include 16MP, Digic III and 14 bit.
*
* 400D replacement - March 2008. 14 bit, Digic III, highlight preservation. IS lens as standard.
*
* Sensor technology - Canon have mentioned that full frame sensor chips need two stepper passes. Sony now has the technology to do this in one pass and are preparing their own sensors and selling to them Nikon. However, Canon have a new 'one pass' technology too. What's more, it can do even larger than 35mm (36x24mm) in a single pass.
* Canon are very excited about a next generation CMOS sensors they are working on. Two full frame versions have 40M and 50M pixels at the -same- noise level as the current 1D series. Low power supply voltages give cooler chips and lower noise even with smaller pixels. Different circuit fabrication techniques also promise to make close to 100% of the sensor area active pixels. This technology won't make any of the upcoming models, but is expected in 2009/10.
*
* The competition - Canon were somewhat shocked by the success of the Nikon D80, D40 and D40X. Hence the 'improved' 40D and the improved 400D replacement in the works. Canon know what Nikon have coming (D300 and D3) and have planned the 40D, 1Ds III and 1D III as their answers.
* However Nikon are moving to CMOS sensors to over the next couple of years. Sony are moving CMOS to a near full frame (1.25 or so) and full (35mm) FF, so Canon are getting serious and starting to plan some aggressive upgrades.
* Sony worries Canon somewhat, since with their manufacturing capabilities, they could move the whole price base down for SLRs. So far they haven’t and their lens prices and range are not a worry for Canon. The current Sony Alpha has been less than astounding in the market.
* Moreover, Nikon have the camera credibility and certainly won’t stop with the D3 and D300. Their plans for the lower end (D40-D80 as well) are to replace them in much shorter timeframes than their previous 3-4 years. Nikon have moved emphasis from the low end 'point and shoot' digital into R&D on the DLSRs. They've found this to be 3-4 times as profitable (note Nikon's record profits over last 12 months). Nikon are more than happy with trouncing Canon for the last 12 months in Japan (not so world wide). So the next 2-3 years will see a major DSLR feature 'war'.
*
* IS Technology - This is being introduced in some of their consumer grade lenses. The technology has matured to the point that it can be added at only a small price premium. It gives product differentiation - a reaction to Sony and keeps them ahead of Nikon.
*
* Digic IV - Digic III just won't cut it for the new high density sensors. Digic IV can deal with with the transfer rates for higher bit per pixel images. One Digic IV chip beats the two Digic III in the 1D3.
*
* 16 bit RAW - Canon's target for their next generation of sensors is 16 bits per channel giving true HD quality. They are also looking at processing formats to retain that extra definition.
*
* ISO sensitivity - Canon see their next generation lower voltage CMOS as easily doing ISO6400, with a boost to 12800.

40D ad?

I've found this on the Photography-on-the-net forum. A poster claims this ad is going to be published in October's Shutterbug edition.

40D available at your local dealers by the end of August!

Here's a scan of a today's newspaper article:



Specs translation:
-10 mpix
-3" LCD
-antidust
-sRAW
-6 fps

40D photos

Those photos were published on a Spanish site, but the content is no longer there. I won't bore you with speculations and will get right to the photos this time:

An article about september 40D announcement

I found it on Chasseur d' Images site (which is a magazine as well). It doesn't say anything about specs, just that 40D and Nikon D300 are going to be announced in september.

There are currently many rumoured specs on various sites and forums. All of them are pretty much the same, some differentiate only by mpix count, everything else seems to be the same (5 fps, no weather sealing, same body and LCD...). I just hope that VF is going to be bigger.

Without at least one of the following features, I think it's going to have a hard time competing with Nikon D300, besides that they might loose a small percentage to Pentax k10d:
-weather sealing (D300 will have it, k10D has it)
-larger VF (D300 will have it, k10d has it)
-image stabilisation (that won't happen, but k10d has it)

40D announced on 6th september?

I just read the info posted on FM Forums, that says:

I was told yesterday that the 40D will be announced on September 6, that this is a firm date, and that there likely will be no further camera announcements this year .

CIPA put 40D on their list

I've found thi info on microstockgroup. Here's the quote:

CIPA has updated its PictBridge Certified Model listing dated July 17, 2007.

And there is a new listing for a camera called EOS 40D!

Check it out:

http://www.cipa.jp/pictbridge/CertifiedModels/PictBridgeCertifiedModels_E.html#DSC_CANON

Another rumour about 40D specs

This was posted on a spanish site. Like expected it has 10 mpix and a few tweaks already seen in 400D. No weather sealing this time (I don't think Canon will offer at the expected price). It seems like 18-55 kit lens is getting an upgrade (I wonder what will that be, probably it will be marked as 10 mpix compatible:D). 6,25 fps sounds like a nice framerate, but with the same AF it's still not a real sports camera.

* Sensor 1,6x de 10 Mpx.
* Limpieza de sensor.
* Pantalla LCD de 3 pulgadas.
* LiveView.
* Formatos habituales, JPG, RAW y aparece un nuevo formato llamado sRAW.
* ISO 100 a 1600 en pasos de 1/3.
* Velocidad de disparo 6,25 fps, 75 JPG o 17 RAW.
* Se podrá usar el grip BG-E2 (el de la Canon 30D).
* Parece que el 18-55 se renueva.

40D specifications? 18-200 IS?

I found this on DPR forums. It seems like 40D will have the same ISO range as 1D mkIII (100-3200 + 6400 expansion), weather proof and 3" live view LCD. Everything else was already expected. Here are the specs (translated):

EOS-40D

10,100,000 pixel 5 scene/second 40 shot buffer
iso100-3200 (Hi6400 expansion)
Digic3 dust reduction
Live view photographing
3 inch liquid crystal
Highlight brightness priority setting loading
Drip-proof dustproof

Actual sale 168000 Yen 10% restoration
7 end of the month sales

EF-S 18-200mm f3.5-5.6 IS USM
Simultaneous sale.

Here is the original link:

http://translate.google.com/... ...ndow%3D1%26rls%3DGGLJ,GGLJ:2006-33,GGLJ:en

40D pics

The rumour about July announcement is still alive and kicking. Besides that I found this "40D" photos
.

Interesting 40D scenarios

I found yet another interesting post on FM forums, posted by Tentacle (which is known for his interesting posts and educated gueses):
40D: There are 3 scenarios...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Do the usual, tweak a bit, squeeze more Mpixel from the sensor, 10.1 Mpixel from APS-C. This would only be catch-up, and a poor one at that, to the rest of the 10 Mpixel dSLRs out there. The D40x, the D80, the D200, the Alpha 100 and the K10D. I don't think Canon would do this.
2. Bump the resolution to 12 Mpixel from APS-C. Can you say "Sensor out-resolving most glass"? The only current 12 Mpixel (from 1.5x crop instead of 1.6), the Nikon DX2(s), is already hitting the limits of high quality glass at the full frame equivalent of 27 Mpixel. Putting 12 on 1.6x crop would be the equivalent of 31 Mpixel at full frame. Will Canon be that silly?
3. Take the sensor from the Mk III, halve the number of output channels, put it in the 40D and link it to a single DIGIC III instead of 2. That means 10 Mpixel, 5 fps, APS-H, with native ISO 3200 and extended ISO 6400.


Now, let the "Canon will NEVER drop EF-s!!!111" flames begin...

Canon has stated, by words of Brian Worley, dSLR productmanager for Canon Europe, that Canon will eventually go to full frame on all dSLRs, except entry level. (Source here.)

So if you ask me ... Canon might just use the 40D to ween the xxD users from EF-S. They do this by using the 50% larger APS-H size sensor (compared to APS-C) to bump high ISO performance to new levels. The 1.25x crop sits at the production sweet spot of being the biggest slab of silicon that can be processed in single lithography exposure passes. That makes them only 50 to 70% more expensive than APS-C. (Compared to 10 -20 times for full frame sensors that need yield-wrecking field-stitching in its lithography production.)

Yes yes, that would relegate EF-S to entry level ... Boohoohoo! Well, Tough luck. The future is Full Frame anyway. It's my educated guess that Canon will take this route. Okay, maybe not untill the 50D.

1Ds Mk III:
Just look at the 1D Mk III and extrapolate: Bump in reso, assume the same 1.25x increase (from 8 to 10) so you'd get 21 Mpixel. Double DIDIG III, 5 fps, ISO 3200 and extended to 6400. Add Live preview.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Someone else even stated a very exact date: 17th July.

A nice one:D.

Another 40D rumour

That I found on CDP forums:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A salesman at my favorite camera store told me that he has personally seen pre-production units of the 40D and was told that it will be released on a Monday in late August. He said it would match the XTi's 10 megapixels and have the sensor dust removal technology. It will also supposedly be equipped with the latest processor, but only one of them (unlike the Mark III that was just released with dual processors). He also said that it would indeed be called the "40D". He's a great photographer that knows the Canon and Nikkon lines intimately, so I don't believe he is mistaken.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I still hope it's going to be a 1.3x crop 10 mpix. That way the IQ could be much higher then competition's. Higher DR, lower noise and better DOF control.

40D specs, that I would prefer

Canon always states that they listen to their users. I hope that's true and that they'll come across this (wannahave) specs:
-1,3x crop sensor, same as in 1D mkIII
-DIGIC III, ISO 6400, 5 fps
-Slightly improved body, especially grip, a bit larger (10D style)
-dust reduction
-2.5 oled display
-improved AF (at least accuracy if not speed), or even better AF from the old 1 series (now that they have a new AF system in 1D mkIII)

I intended to go FF (5D+135L+28-75 2.8 Tamron, new bag and memory card), but I've done numerous calculations, but the sum is still to high. Almost 3x higher then remaining on APS-C, where there's no need for new lenses, bags, memory cards...

More 40D speculations

Here's an interesting quote of the post from FM forums:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spoke with 2 Canon reps, over the last 6 weeks or so, and one of the major retailers' store owners over here.

The 40D is expected in store at the end of June, and at the latest the beginning of July. This is what they said. No specs, though.

Furthermore, the replacement for the 1Ds MkII is expected in September, and at the latest beginning of December.

Oh, and all in this year, 2007 .
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I still hope there will be a 6D/5D mkII announcement, but if there's going to be a 1Ds mkIII announcement (40D will be anyway, there so question if, but when in 2007), I'm afraid there's no room for 4th announcement this year. Even Canon is not that big...

40D available in july?

I've just read this on FM forums. As this is one of the most anticipated Canon's cameras, I'm sure lots of people would buy it and Canon's sales would increase significantly. Here are the quotes I mentioned earlier:

The Canon retailer in Paris where I bought a lot of stuff just told me that Canon has annonced them the 40D will the there in July. They did not get any details (except it will be an EF-S compatible camera), but they say that the 5D replacement will not ship this year.
For what it is worth...

And:

I got told the same as well from my source.

Latest rumours

I found this latest prediction on Canon PMA announcements on FM. I'm not sure about 800 f5.6 DO, since the photo floating on the web two weeks ago was a fake, but the rest of the stuff is more likely to be announced, at least when in comes to the 2 cameras mentioned below:


40D=10Mp, anti dust, new display, 5fps, 9+2 AF points pricing: 100-1600+H, EF-S,x 1.6, SD, new viewfinder, DIGICIII, option: Wifi grip

1DsmkIII= 22mp, 2,5"lcd, PS, 45AF, DIGICIII, 100-3200+H+L, 1.0, 4fps, high speed crop mode 8,5fps

12-24EF

17-135EF-S IS

800/5.6 IS DO

Pixma ip6xxx: wireless pictbridge,

Selphy ipES miniprinter wireless pictbridge,

Powershot A740 IS wireless 10Mp DIGICIII, 6x zoom, WiFi.

IXUSi10 zoom 10Mp lifestyle, IXUS 70 edition,

DC50 DVD camcorder

40D rumours

I've found this on FM forum:

Now, while I can't argue against your logic, it is pretty safe to say that the likelyhood of the 40D coming out this year is so high that it borders on certainty. 30D sales are hurting, that has been shown several times already. The competition has surpassed it on all sides, most importantly the pixel count. A potential xxD user switching brands hurts more than just the loss of the sale of one body, it will also hurt in lost lens sales.

The 30D is still using the same sensor as the 20D (as far as I know, save a few tiny tweaks maybe) so that particular sensor technology is definately 2.5 years old. Ample time to complete the bump to a new resolution.

I see two scenarios: One is that Canon does the disappointing stop-gap trick and simply catches up with the rest, 10.2 mpixel CMOS bayer sensor, and it will leave it at that. The other one is that Canon gets its act together and jumps ahead in terms of technology. This could be going to APS-H, with all the associated benefits and, admittedly, drawbacks, or it could be stepping away from a traditional Bayer sensor to a TrueColor/Foveon sensor. Either way, it would leave the current 10 Mpixel dSLR competition in the dust.

40D just around the corner?

According to this let's go digital site it's is. They've prepared the site already and stand by to fill in the official specs. Was there a leak, or they just took a wild guess? Maybe they're just so hard working and do many things in front of schedule:).