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what kind of lense would be better for Canon D40 to get pics clearer?
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Aug 24, 2014 23:08:16   #
c1licata Loc: West Babylon NY
 
davidk2020 wrote:


From last month's exercise, a high-contrasty shot of people playing at the beach:

Nice Shot. I cant believe its the same camera. I cant get mine to do that.

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Aug 25, 2014 00:10:05   #
davidk2020 Loc: San Diego
 
c1licata wrote:
Nice Shot. I cant believe its the same camera. I cant get mine to do that.


Thanks! :) You'll learn.

BTW, your pro was shooting with a Nikon D4 and a 50mm f1.8 lens. His/her shot was taken with the aperture set at f2.0, which is how he or she blurred-out the background like that. I don't think you can manage that effect with either lens you're using.

Canon does make a nice 50mm f1.8 lens that you can get for less than $100. Now that I wouldn't mind spending money on.

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Aug 25, 2014 00:42:36   #
CatMarley Loc: North Carolina
 
c1licata wrote:
I'm going to have it checked. TY Merlin for all your help.
:D


Yes the camera may need some adjustment. The photos taken with the same lens and a different body are better exposed and sharper, so the camera is not doing it's job properly as I suspected from your previous photos. Canon should have a fix for it. I would give them a call.

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Aug 25, 2014 01:29:56   #
c1licata Loc: West Babylon NY
 
davidk2020 wrote:
Thanks! :) You'll learn.

BTW, your pro was shooting with a Nikon D4 and a 50mm f1.8 lens. His/her shot was taken with the aperture set at f2.0, which is how he or she blurred-out the background like that. I don't think you can manage that effect with either lens you're using.

Canon does make a nice 50mm f1.8 lens that you can get for less than $100. Now that I wouldn't mind spending money on.



Thanks for the info. I was wondering what kind of camera and lens she was using and didn't want to ask her.

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Aug 25, 2014 01:36:35   #
skingfong Loc: Sacramento
 
I agree. The 40D is better than the Rebel. Here's a shot from my 40D. The lens is a Canon 70-300mm IS USM non L, nothing special. The jpg is straight out of my 40D.

You can also adjust your sharpness, contrast, saturation, and hue for different situations such as landscape, portraits or standard modes. Do this by hitting the lower right button next to the power switch.The icon looks like a fan. You'll see picture styles. The first one highlighted should be "Standard". Hit the Info button at the bottom. You will now see where you standard settings are. Sharpness is first on the list. Press enter in the middle of the large dial. The Sharpness setting will now appear by itself so you can adjust it by turning the big dial. Crank it up all the way so you can see the difference. Take a couple of shots. Then adjust to your taste. For landscapes I have it set to the second highest at 6. For Portraits, i have it set to 2. Adjustments can be made the same way for color saturation, contrast and hue. I adjust all of them except for the hue. Different situations require different settings. You don't want portraits too sharp or saturated. Skin imperfections (wrinkles or pores) will really show up and skin tones will not be true. Remember this won't work in any of the auto modes. You have to use Av, Tv, P or Manual mode. Do this before taking your camera in for service. Hopefully, this will cure your problem. Also these are jpg settings only and will not affects your Raw files.

Get to know your camera, lens and their limitations before you buy anything else. If you use auto mode instead of the creative modes, new gear will not help you.

Merlin1300 wrote:
IF the 40D is working right - it SHOULD perform better than the Rebel. The basic controls are similar - before you give up on it, have someone check out the 40D to see if there is a simple problem.


(Download)

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Aug 25, 2014 02:35:33   #
Kuzano
 
Another thing to consider, if I recall your post right.

If you received the 40D used from another owner, he/she may have changed a lot of settings.

You may want to read the manual and find out how to RESET the camera to default settings.

The 40D is not that old.. although it's not current. It should be a more capable than the rebel of it's era. If you are using a much newer rebel, it may be a bit more capable.

However the Canon 40D is capable of better shots than you posted, I would not say that a Rebel would be as vastly improved as you think... If that is the reason, I'd be happy to take the 40D off your hands. It was and is a good camera.

But, if you were trying to use it after another owner tweaked the settings from original default, you may not be giving the 40D a fair shot.

Always remember this... With Canon ALL rebels are entry level. All two digit D models are intermediate moving to pro.

Now if you compare the 40D to the corresponding rebel, which would have been either the XS or XSi model, the 40D would have been the superior camera in almost all respects.

If you compare the current midlevel camera, the 60D, with the current rebel, ie the T3i, T4i, and likely the T5i, the 60D would win the race. And now, I think the 70D is out, which is the current iteration of the 40D.

Prices of course go up with the model evolution, so you are going to pay quite a bit more to go up, either to the Rebel, or the 50D, 60D, and 70D.

There then are the professional level models which are essentially simply better build quality leading up to Full Frame.

Again, Rebel is entry level, but a new T5i may appear to be a better camera than the 40D.

If the 40D checks out in good function, I think you may find a full reset (described in your manual) may be the real problem you are struggling with.

Personally, I would take a properly functioning 40D before I would take a much newer T5i. But that's because the price differential will favor the 40D, while the T5i will have more pixels. Image sharpness wise, the 40D should fare good against the T5i REBEL for much less money.

There is locally a 40D on Craigslist with a 28-135mm IS lens, for $225, which I am thinking of picking up for a cheap knock around camera. The lens is worth the price of both pieces and a very good Canon Lens.

And in summary, remember that the first two things you should do with another shooters camera if you acquire one is to make sure the firmware in the camera is the latest from the manufacturer, and do a full reset so that the camera is running all the defaults that it came out of the new box with.

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Aug 26, 2014 03:59:07   #
c1licata Loc: West Babylon NY
 
[quote=Kuzano]Another thing to consider, if I recall your post right.

If you received the 40D used from another owner, he/she may have changed a lot of settings.

You may want to read the manual and find out how to RESET the camera to default settings.

Hey ty for all your info.
I am comparing the 40d against a Rebel T1i. Which I believe is also an older model. I am going to bring the 40 D to a camera store today and see if they can tell me what's going on with it and also try to reset to factory settings. The previous owner took a lot of landscapes and I like it more for portraits.

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Aug 26, 2014 04:12:52   #
tdekany Loc: Oregon
 
c1licata wrote:
Ty. I know someone that hasvone. I'm going to try it.


These kit zooms will not cut it. Not if you want anything close to what the pro used to take that picture.

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Aug 26, 2014 12:22:23   #
Albuqshutterbug Loc: Albuquerque NM
 
[quote=c1licata]
Kuzano wrote:
Another thing to consider, if I recall your post right.

If you received the 40D used from another owner, he/she may have changed a lot of settings.

You may want to read the manual and find out how to RESET the camera to default settings.

Hey ty for all your info.
I am comparing the 40d against a Rebel T1i. Which I believe is also an older model. I am going to bring the 40 D to a camera store today and see if they can tell me what's going on with it and also try to reset to factory settings. The previous owner took a lot of landscapes and I like it more for portraits.
Another thing to consider, if I recall your post r... (show quote)


Just to let you know that yes you can get great photos from this model.
This is a shot that I took at Disneyland a few years ago using the stock 18-55 lens that came with my Eos 40D.
I really strained it for this one but was happy with the results.
I shot this in manual mode not automatic so some prep went into the shot just FYI.

F/4.0 27mm (focal length) 1/25th second at ISO 1600.
I really had good luck with this camera and ultimately replaced it with a 7D but it served me quite well.

Disney California Boardwalk at Night
Disney California Boardwalk at Night...
(Download)

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