Hot on the heels of the Apple rumours come a rumour of an impending release of the Canon 40D digital SLR. As the product name suggests, this model is intended to supercede the 30D released in February 2006. The money seems to be on or around August 20th being the announcement date of the 40D. I personally use the 30D and I think it's a fantastic DSLR. My only complaint (like many other DSLR owners) is the ease with which dust gets on to the camera sensor.

The release of the 400D or the Digital Rebel XTi saw the introduction of the EOS Integrated Cleaning System, also known as the self cleaning sensor. This technology uses an ultrasonic vibration motor to shake dust particles loose from the sensor when the camera is switched on and off. This has proven to be quite an effective anti-dust mechanism.

The pundits are saying that a 10 megapixel anti-dust sensor will see its inclusion in the 40D. That is not the only new technology to be expected in this upgrade. The Canon LiveView technology is also expected to make an appearance in this upgrade. LiveView is currently only available in Canon's high end DSLR - the 1D Mark III. LiveView brings the familiar LCD-based viewpoint that is widely available in all consumer grade digital cameras but have been missing in all but a very few digital SLR cameras. The lack of a LCD-based viewpoint is primarily to the use of mirrors in DSLRs which direct the light from the camera lens to the optical viewfinder. This mirror is only retracted when the shutter button is depressed.  I'm a little skeptical that Canon would so quickly migrate this technology down its product line to the 40D range but time will tell if the pundits are correct.

Another 1D Mark III feature that is speculated to be in the 40D is the support for Canon's new sRAW format. sRAW is basically a low resolution RAW format - 2.5 megapixels instead of 10 megapixels native to sensor. Personally, I do not know why anyone would want to use sRAW. If I bought a 10 megapixel camera, I would want every single pixel in my photo. 

Here's a rundown of the other specifications expected to be found in the 40D :

• 1.6x crop factor
  
• 3 inch LCD
• ISO 100-1600, expandable to 3200
  
• 6.5fps