So I was lucky enough to get a chance to try out the new 40D a week before its official launch. I was swamped with work and couldn't shoot everything in sight, but I was able to grab an hour or so with the kids.

First thing you notice is that whopper of a screen - 3 inches! Who said size doesn't matter. It doesn't seem as sharp as the 20D's screen, but that is only at full zoom.

I put it on burst H mode and it feels more like a cash register than a machine gun. Thats not a bad thing, its just different to the 1D Mark 11 or 111. The shutter curtain almost feels muted, but it is really quick. For me, honestly, 6.5 frames per second is more than enough for just about any situation.

Live View: This is the best I've tried so far. Better than the Mark 111 - although granted I didn't have the Mark 111 as long and I was shooting out on the race track and had no use for it, but there seems to be no delay. For the most part, I can see myself using the accuracy of the view finder, but boy, you will be very grateful for it when you start shooting low mounted tripod stuff. And your neck will thank you for it. Just wish there was a swivel feature.

Shutter doesn't feel anywhere near as violent as my 20D. For some reason, the shutter sound and feel is different when you're in live view mode than in normal. This is not a critisicm, I just unsure as to why this is. I'm sure there's a perfectly logical explanation.

Body: Feels just like a 20/30D/5D. previous owners of any of these cameras will feel quite at home. Only minor mods have been made to accomodate the 3 inch screen. There's a handy shortcut button next to the power switch that really helps. There's also C1 C2 C3 settings that I haven't used as well as an AF button right where your thumb rests that comes in handy for those that prefer to bypass the half press of the shutter. A nice feature handed down from the Mark 111.

Image quality: Typical Canon brillance. Guess I'm biased, but I feel right at home with Canon's colors and warmth. Its a personal thing. Can't say its a radical improvement over the 20D, but with all its new features and Digic 3 etc, better images are easier to create. I love it.

Noise: I tried it with 3200 expanded ISO. The images are still useable.

More impressions to follow after another track session. In the meantime, here are some stolen shots to give you a rough idea of the picture quality.