The new BG-E2N grip for Eos 40d

I have picked up my new BG-E2N grip for my Canon EOS40D today. I have made some shots and comparison with the old BG-E2 grip.
First, some pics of the new grip.
The external appearance of the new BG-E2N grip is virtually identical to the old BG-E2 grip
The main difference between the 2 grip is that, the old BG-E2 grip has no rubber seal for the battery compartment

Whereas in the new BG-E2N grip, you can clearly see the rubber seal

-------------------------------- REVIEW BY by Roland Lim ------------------------------

Technologies Explained in EOS 40D

CMOS

Canon’s CMOS technology is one of the company’s key competitive advantages, with noise reduction circuitry at each pixel site delivering virtually noise-free images. In comparison with CCD technology, the lower power consumption characteristics of Canon’s CMOS sensors also contribute to longer battery life.Signal conversion in Canon’s CMOS sensors is handled by individual amplifiers at each pixel site. Unnecessary charge transfer operations are avoided, vastly speeding up the process of getting signals to the image processor. Noise generation is reduced, power consumption is limited and faster frame rate potential is increased.
EOS Integrated Cleaning System
The EOS Integrated Cleaning System combats sensor dust in three important ways: Reduce, Repel and Remove.
Reduce – Internal camera mechanisms are designed to minimise dust generation. The redesigned body cap prevents dust generation through wear on the cap itself.
Repel – Anti-static technologies are applied to the low-pass filter covering the front of the sensor so as not to attract dust.
Remove – A Self-Cleaning Sensor Unit uses hi-frequency vibrations to shake dust from the infrared filter for a period of approximately one second after each start up. For instant shooting after power up, this feature is disabled immediately the shutter release is depressed.
Canon has also developed an internal Dust Delete Data system, which can map the position of visible dust on the sensor. This can then be deleted automatically after the shoot with the latest Digital Photo Professional software.

Picture Style
Picture Style pre-sets simplify in-camera control over image qualities. Picture Style pre-sets can be likened to different film types – each one offering a different colour response. Within each selectable pre-set, photographers have control over sharpness, contrast, colour tone and saturation. The camera’s factory default configuration is set to deliver immediately-usable JPEG images without need for additional menu settings. Picture Style pre-sets applied to a RAW image can be revised with Canon’s Digital Photo Professional software.
The six presets include:
Standard – for crisp, vivid images that don’t require post-processing
Portrait – optimises colour tone and saturation and weakens sharpening to achieve attractive skin tones
Landscape – for punchier greens and blues with stronger sharpening to give a crisp edge to mountain, tree and building outlines
Neutral – ideal for post-processing
Faithful – adjusts colour to match the subject colour when shot under a colour temperature of 5200K
Monochrome – for black and white shooting with a range of filter effects (yellow, orange, red and green) and toning effects (sepia, blue, purple and green)
The User Defined Picture Style can be used to store up to three customized pre-sets, or any of the pre-sets available for download from Canon’s web site at http://www.canon.co.jp/Imaging/picturestyle/file/index.html. Additionally, users can create their own custom Picture Style pre-sets using the supplied Picture Style Editor software.

Software
Digital Photo Professional Software
Digital Photo Professional software provides high speed, high quality processing of lossless RAW images. Processing with Digital Photo Professional allows real-time display and the immediate application of image adjustments, giving control over RAW image variables such as white balance, dynamic range, exposure compensation and colour tone. Images can be recorded in camera with sRGB or Adobe RGB colour space. Digital Photo Professional supports sRGB, Adobe RGB, ColorMatch RGB, Apple RGB and Wide Gamut RGB colour spaces.
ICC (International Colour Consortium) profiles can be attached to TIFF or JPEG images when converted from RAW. This allows faithful reproduction of colours in software applications that support ICC profiles, such as Adobe Photoshop. For improved efficiency, a set of image adjustments can be saved as a combination and applied.
Improvements in the latest version of Digital Photo Professional include three times faster image previews, an enhanced Noise Reduction tool and simultaneous batch processing of TIFF and JPEG images.

EOS Utility
The latest version of EOS Utility provides essential support for remote shooting control, camera configuration, remote Live View support and configuration of the new Original Data Security Kit OSK-E3 and Wireless File Transmitter WFT-E3 accessories. EOS Utility can be configured to monitor ‘hot’ folders, automatically renaming and moving incoming images to a structured file system – ideal for Wi-Fi transfers, or for commercial and studio photographers who want to shoot direct to a computer.

Canon EOS 40D Preview by dpreview.com, August 2007

Live View in 40D

The Canon 40D has the ability to flip up the mirror to see what's on the image sensor, live. Canon calls this "Live View" and it's only useful for manual tripod shooting, since autofocus doesn't work in Live View.
If you set a custom function and press the AF-ON button, the mirror flips down (cutting off live view), the 40D autofocuses, and then you can take your finger off the AF-ON button to resume live viewing on the LCD. Yes, you can get some AF in Live View, but no, you can't get them at the same time.
You can magnify the live image by five or ten times to check focus.
Live view adds a grid for helping get level shots.
Live view is also a mirror lock-up and slightly shortens the already minimal shutter delay
Live view also adds two quiet shooting modes, which can happen because the mirror is already up. This is advantageous for remote surveillance, since you can duct tape your 40D someplace it doesn't belong, and with the WFT-E3A wireless transmitter you can see what's going on and fire it from your laptop as you sit in your car . The images are transmitted to your laptop with the 40D not making much noise. If your target sees your 40D, you may lose your camera, but you've got your images and you're rolling before they see you. You also can do this with a USB cable, but it's not as stealthy.

Specifications EOS 40D

Body: Specified as "magnesium alloy exterior," implying the frame is something less exotic.

Finder: 95% linear coverage. 0.95x magnification (50mm lens). Eye relief (eyepoint) 22mm. -3 to +1 diopter. Glass pentaprism, no eyepiece shutter.

AF: 9 cross points, work up to f/5.6. (Same points as 20D and 30D, but otherwise completely new.) Auto and manual selection. The central point offers extra precision at f/2.8 in both cross directions, a first in any Canon. Canon claims the "AF calculation speed" is 30% faster than the 30D, but that's fluff, since the calculation speed is only one part of many processes involved in the AF system.

Flash Metering: E-TTL II, identical to the 20D and 30D. New wireless remote control of the settings of the 580EX II.

Built-in Flash: Yes, covers 17mm lens, GN 13m/43' at ISO 100.
Maximum Shutter Speed with Flash: 1/250, normal sync
Shutter: 30s - 1/8,000.

Shutter Death: Tested, but not guaranteed, to 100,000 cycles. I suspect if you can kill it under warranty, you're covered regardless of how many frames you get off.

Frame Rate: 6.5 FPS. The shutter and mirror have separate motors.

Buffer Depth: 75 JPG or 17 raw

Image Sensor: 10.1MP CMOS, 1.6x crop factor, made by Canon. 22.5 x 15.0mm. 14-bit A/D conversion, suggest better high ISOs and lower noise.
Ultrasonic Sensor Cleaner.

Image Sizes: 3,888 x 2,592 native, also 2,816 x 1,880 (M) and 1,936 x 1,288 (S). Raw comes in your choice of 3,888 x 2,592 (raw) and 1,936 x 1,288 (s-raw).
ISO: 100 - 1,600 (ISO 3,200 turned on in a custom function).

LCD: 3," 230,000 pixels. a 3" LCD has 20% less linear resolution. In simple English, this 3" LCD shows the same detail and information as today's 2.5" LCDs, just bigger.
Storage: Compact Flash types I and II. with optional WFT-E3A you can plug in a USB hard drive and record to it.

Power: BP-511A rechargeable lithium-ion and CG-580 charger, same as 30D, 20D
Size: 5.7 x 4.2 x 2.9" W x H x D, (145.5 x 107.8 x 73.5mm), rated.

Weight: 26.1 oz (740g), rated, usually stripped of battery, card, lens, etc.

Canon EOS 40D Preview

The EOS 40D becomes the sixth Canon 'prosumer' digital SLR, a line which started back in 2000 with the EOS D30, and how far we've come. It's been eighteen months since the EOS 30D and although on the surface the 40D looks like a fairly subtle upgrade there's a lot that makes this an even better camera. Of course we expect a step up in megapixels, and so the 40D comes with a ten million pixel CMOS sensor with the same sort of dust reduction as the EOS 400D, an ultrasonic platform which shakes the low pass filter. Other improvements bring the EOS 40D closer into line with the EOS-1D series, these include a move to the same page-by-page menu system, both RAW and sRAW (2.5 MP), 14-bit A/D converter and 14-bit RAW, cross-type AF points for F5.6 or faster lenses, a larger and brighter viewfinder, interchangeable focusing screens, a larger LCD monitor (3.0") and faster continuous shooting (6.5 fps).

Canon EOS 40D PreviewPhil Askey, August 2007

What's New in EOS 40D

-10MP up from 8MP, insignificant.
-6.5FPS up from 5FPS, important for action.
-New AF sensor. Same number of sensors, but better sensors.
-3" LCD up from 2.5 in 30D.
-Better weather sealing.
-Built in sensor cleaning like the eos 400d