The camera's predecessors, the Canon 20D and 30D, performed well in low light, with fast and accurate focusing, good flash performance and low noise. Canon's engineers went a few steps further with the Canon 40D, though. The first time I went clubbing with the EOS 40D, I was impressed.

Canon EOS 40D, EF 17-40 - 1/8 s, F/5, ISO 800

I used the Canon EOS 40D, the EF 17-40 L lens and the 580 EX flash.

Canon EOS 40D, EF 17-40 - 1/6 s, F/5, ISO 640

It only took a few shots to notice the difference in focusing. Focusing is faster and very accurate. I took more than 500 shots that night, some of them in burst mode with 6.5 fps, and the AF system proved to be equal to that of Canon 1-series cameras. The central point worked well even without flash. I can’t think of a single other camera in this class with such a great AF system.

Canon EOS 40D, EF 17-40 - 1/4 s, F/4.5, ISO 640

Canon EOS 40D, EF 17-40 – 0.3 s, F/4.5, ISO 640

The Canon EOS 20D and 30D had probably the best Canon flash system before 1D Mk III and the 40D came on the scene. Canon 40D works extremely well with the 580 EX. No matter what the scene, the metering performs well. Except when it doesn't. This usually happens with large white surfaces. This is usually the case with wedding photography – the bride in white, the groom in black – and usually causes underexposure. Nikon's flash system still works better, but the 1D Mk III and the EOS 40D come damn close.

Canon EOS 40D, EF 17-40 - 1/15 s, F/4, ISO 1600

Canon EOS 40D, EF 17-40 – 0.6 s, F/4, ISO 640

Canon EOS 40D, EF 17-40 – 0.5 s, F/4, ISO 640

Canon 20D and 30D were no slouches when it came to high ISO performance. Despite cramming  two more megapixels on the same sensor size as the predecessors, they managed to reduce the noise further still. ISO 1600 is perfectly usable,e ven at long times and underexposure. Not only that, but a moderately underexposed ISO 1600 image can be pushed in post-processing without losing too much image quality. All in all, an admirable performance.

Canon EOS 40D, EF 17-40 - 1/25 s, F/5, ISO 800

Canon EOS 40D, EF 17-40 – 0.6 s, F/4, ISO 640

Canon EOS 40D, EF 17-40 – 0.4 s, F/4.5, ISO 640

Canon EOS 40D, EF 17-40 - 1/10 s, F/4.5, ISO 800

The flash works well – both the DJ and the people in the background are exposed correctly.

Canon EOS 40D, EF 17-40  - 1/15 s, F/4, ISO 1600

This was taken using Live View. I didn't have to crop the image later, because I could frame it pretty much as I wanted it the first time. The camera was raised waaaaaaaaay above my head, because let’s face it, 17 mm isn’t a lot on a 1.6 crop factor camera.

Canon EOS 40D, EF 17-40  - 1/5 s, F/4, ISO 640

To summarize – Canon made a big step forward in just about every area - image quality, usability, ergonomics and features. The only thing that's lacking, compared to the Canon EOS 5D, is a full frame sensor. In every other respect, the 40D is as good or better than the 5D.

 For full size images, go here.

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