I've had this camera for about 2 years now, and it still works wonderfully. This is a great starter camera, and at a same time a great camera for those wanting to take a leap into the professional world. In the years that I've had this camera, I've encountered no problems or errors. The camera has it's basic settings for those starting out: automatic, night scene, portrait, action, etc. Very similar to the settings you see on your basic point-and-shoots. There are also settings for those who are more advanced, like aperture priority, shutter priority and a full-manual mode.  The camera also features a "live mode" where you can view the image before taking the picture on the LCD screen, akin to standard point-and-shoots without a viewfinder. Although I rarely use this option, it'd be great for those that are at an angle or position where they can't look through the view-finder. I do love this camera, and it has been great, but it isn't something I would think a professional would stay with forever, though. Eventually you will want to upgrade to a higher-up camera, like the Canon 7D or 5DMarkII. Nonetheless, this is a great camera!   Battery Life Battery is excellent - lasts very long

ColonelSanders

New Port Richey, FL

This camera is in line with the other Canon products. I like the way you can control your shot (not just a point and shoot) I have had some problems with the Auto Focus. Other than that I love this camera

patyouth

Hixson, TN

The Canon 40D was my first canon camera (I had the Nikon D40 before it). I entered into the realm of canon because I liked their selection of glass more. I chose the canon 40D over the canon xsi or the canon t2i because I did not want a camera that felt like a toy. I held the canon xsi and it was too small for me. It really is geared towards people who are hopping on the photography trend and just want to look cute and cool. One thing I liked about the XSI over the 40D was that the LCD screen showed information between each shot automatically. For the 40D I had to click 'Info' manually to see my settings.  Overall, my experience with the 40D was amazing. I had a 50mm 1.4 on it and together they would take wonderful crisp pictures. The Live-View is helpful when you set up your 40D on a tripod and don't want to look through the optical viewer. The only reason I had to leave the 40D was because it was a crop (1.6x) body. I bought a used 5D for twice the price so that I can take full advantage of a full frame body!! But if you are a pro-sumer and looking for a crop body this is the camera you would want!

bonaina

Irvine, CA

Excellent value camera.  Not quite professional level because it is not weather sealed or titanium cased like the 1 series, but it takes approx 8 frames per second and has a good sensor that captures detail well.  Since it is a APS-C sized sensor you can use the EF-S lenses.  I suggest a wide angle lense.  10mm wide would be approx 16mm in the standard 35mm frame.   The ISO goes up to 1600 and that is usable but not to the level of the newer cameras.  For best results, keep at 800 or below.  At 100 there is no noise and the images are class leading in noise and resolution.   The 40d is also a good step up from the lower end Rebel line for the scroll wheel on the back of the camera.  The scroll wheel can cycle through menu items faster than using the button navigation found on the rebel line.  Most importantly the scroll wheel allows for fast changing of exposure compensation that would be much more time consuming on a rebel.  This feature alone is worth the price to upgrade in my opinion.

STEVEZ32

Berkeley, CA

My husband bought the 50D and I therefore inherited this camera. I love it. I don't consider myself particularly gifted at photography, but with this camera, you don't really need to be. The manual mode takes great pictures and I enjoy playing around with the various settings to get different coloration and brightness. It does take awhile to learn what you should set the aperture to and how much light you should let in or not let in, and it can get frustrating if you don't know how it works. My husband spent a lot of time trying to explain it to me, but that's my own fault, not that of the camera! People were really impressed with the pictures I did take with it, regardless of the fact that I did not program it on my own. It is pretty large and bulky so taking it out with me was not always an option, which is why I also have a smaller point and shoot. Also, it will be necessary to purchase lenses and stuff, for variation in your pictures. It is a lot of fun, though, and awesome to be able to create impressive photographs!

Mindylane

Lawrence, NY

I am a professional photographer and I use a 40D as both  my primary and one as a back up body.  I really love the ease of use this camera offers in the control wheels when shooting in manual.  I chose it over the 50D when I was upgrading from the Rebel xt (the 5D is just not in the budget yet) because of it's better noise performance.  It produces beautiful color and quality images.  I shoot wedding, commercial and lifestyle photography and it's versital through it all.  It does best in perfect lighting, but that said I've had good results in darker situations.  I love the sensor cleaning addition.  It's nice that it does that little extra bit every time I turn the camera off and on.  I also love the ability to turn both control wheels on or use the switch to only have the wheel on the top adjust settings.  I throughly happy with it as far as a crop sensor body goes and would highly recommend it to anyone, pro or not.

Sadyrose

Lexington, KY

I just upgraded cameras and purchased a 40D. The picture quality is excellent and the features are great. I use this camera as a professional and enjoy using it to photography portraits. The pictures turn out great. I've used it to make prints as large as 20x24 and they were great. The camera is simple to use and with an added battery pack, the battery hasn't given out before I have! The camera is great for indoor and outdoor pictures and will work for whatever your needs. I would highly recommend a version of Photoshop to edit the photos, as most SOOC {straight out of camera} pictures aren't the quality that you'd want to frame typically. If you use a high-quality photo lab for printing, you will be very happy with the quality.  If you are looking for a camera that is for Chuck E Cheese and the park to take pictures of your kiddos at the park, this probably is more than what you are looking for, but the portraits of your children if you are a mom and wanting to take superb images of your children, this is the camera for you.  You will want to get some good lenses and your quality can improve even more with that.

ktharg2

Northwest Arkansas, AR

When I bought this camera two years ago, I considered myself to be an Amateur photographer.  I mainly take pictures of families and children.  This was my second Canon.  My first was the Canon Rebel XTI.  I taught myself how to shoot strictly in manual on that camera so when I purchased the 40D, I already had the knowledge of shutter speed, aperture, ISO, etc.  This camera was a huge step above the Rebel.  It had a higher ISO than I became used to and also had a 10.1 megapixel.  I would suggest reading the manual that comes with the camera several times.  The lens that comes with this camera is the 28-135mm.  I have used it maybe once or twice because I have other lenses that are much superior.  I love this camera.  I have not had any problems with it so far.  One thing that took me a long time to get used to was the heaviness of the camera.  Two years later and I am ready to make the move up to the next model Canon has to offer.

hairspraymomma

Arlington, TX

This camera has been such a good friend of mine for the last year. I have taken it everywhere! I love how easy it is to use. There are many new-user friendly settings that give anyone great quality pictures with a simple twist and click. I love the large lcd screen to view all the images on. The camera is easy to operate and it is easy to view and delete images on the spot. The 40D is also a great learning tool to shoot manually. There are tons of settings to use the camera professionally with any lens you choose. I love the quality of pictures I've done with this camera. The only thing that I wish it had, was more mega pixels. The 50D has I think 15, and the 40D has only 10. This makes a difference when cropping, etc. But overall, the difference between the two bodies wasn't worth the price variation for me, a beginner. I love that the body is light weight, but sturdy. The camera strap isn't bothersome either. But I always wear it for safety. The camera body is perfect for someone like me with smaller hands. My husband doesn't have a problem with it either, and he has larger hands. It is comfortable to hold and we have enjoyed using it very much!

bumblebbambie

Gainesville, FL

The 40D is my first  DSLR camera on the Canon line!  I would say it's a really great camera! The photos are awesome, the noise is minimal and the quality is great! The only downfall I would say would be the weight, It does get very heavy eps if you are hiking etc. If I was just beginner photographer I would prolly choose a little something lighter like a xsi or a Canon Rebel XTI...Although the 40D is a step up from the Rebel line..Either way I would still say you would be happy with this camera, it doesn't leave my neck much!

Lefty15

Marion, IL