Its all good in saying the 40D is a high resolution sensor for its size, but the sensor is not as high quality, its not just the fact its a "full frame" sensor, its the fact that the pixels are larger and therefore higher quality.

There are a lot of things that make the 5D better. One main thing for me is the size. The 5D is a hefty camera and it feels good in the hand, the 40 is still a relatively small camera, and doesn't have that comfort of a larger body.

I personally think that if your going on about the "speed" of the camera then your a crap photographer. I personally hate nothing more than press photographers standing next to you using burst mode, then going back and deleting all the bad pictures. It takes all the skill out of the image. The 5D in theory is no slower than the 40D, infact it may be quicker. What you have to remember, is that the 5 is handling up to 60mb RAW files, and the 40 is only working with 20-30mb. A lot of a camera's speed is down to what CF card you use and the processor inside, not down to how many frames it can shoot per second.

If I were you, I would keep your 20D and stick a telephoto lens on that and use the crop factor to get a bit of extra reach and use a 5D for shorter stuff, where its nice to get a true wide angle. If you need to use burst mode to take good pictures, then you should consider if your even a good enough photographer for a 400D.

2 reasons why the top cameras have such daft FPS burst figures;

1) To ensure the photographer gets the image that will get him/her paid.
2) Because the company can't produce the slower burst camera and sell it as the best. It doesn't gel well with the marketing department, which in turn doesn't gel with with persuading consumers they're at the forefront of camera technology.

It really really annoys me when someone evalutes a cameras sports performance based on it's burst mode. It has no use for most people yet it's always one of the main points when choosing a camera. TBH i wish my 20D had a function to drop it from 5fps to 3, it has such little use so so much of the time.

Thank you, that is the answer I was looking for. Burst mode is for the kids and their 350/400s with live view so they can wave the camera at arms length. (I'm aware that apparently this isn't why live view was developed, but it's how soooo many people will use it. Morons.

Burst mode on my 20 is too quick for most things, If I make a stitch of kayaking or biking photos then I don't use half of them.

FYI I've got a 20D with a 70-200 F4 IS L.

There isn't a point keeping the 20D if you had a 5D, other than the fact they're worth pretty much beans and are more use as a backup, but then that would still hold true if you brought a 40D.

My solution with image quality in mind (As thats the only real reason to buy a 5D) Keep your 20D + L glass for when you NEED digital (try and replace the body with a cheap 5D when the new one is released). Shoot 120 film for everything else. Simply because, if you need to use a prosumer DSLR the quality most likely isn't important, and if you need quality, you're not going to get enough from a DSLR costing under 2 grand anyway

A lot of people also underestimate the importance of planning a shot. Which you're forced to do in quite a measure when you only have 10 shots per roll and it costs one fifty a frame It will improve your photography more than blasting 200000 s**t frames at something ever will.

id agree with ady if you want to learn how to take photos properly shoot film. ive shot s**t loads of film around the world and got sick of the cost. i now only really shoot b n w film as is still much better than digi. its also handy having a darkroom at home to keep cos down. you also get your full frame for only 100quid. the only thing is you actually have to be able to use a real camera, non of this kiddy digi looking at the back to see if you got the shot  .

if the 5d was meant as a sports camera then it would be marketed to and used by pro sports photographers. they dont, they use a 1d, and if full frame was important and fps wasnt they would use a 1ds wouldnt you say? at the end of the day buy what ever you want to use and will help you progress in photography.


fyi i shoot a crop digi and med format (admittedly not mine), 35mm and med format film.