I've had a Canon 40D since December 2007 which I've used for bird and other wild life photography. I've recently come to the conclusion that the image quality is not as good as the Canon 5D. I've checked several on-line discussion threads, and it seems that others have reached a similar conclusion about the 40D.

When I've asked other photographers about the Canon 1D Mark III as an alternative, I've been advised to wait and see what Canon does with the various fixes with image tracking and quality. The camera store that I use locally is also telling me not to consider the 1D Mark III, and to perhaps look for a good 1D Mark II.

Are others finding the same shortfall is image quality with the 40D? Is the 1D Mark III worth considering, and why, or why not?

In the meantime, I'm back to using my 5D, but missing 6.5 fps and 1.3X factor on the sensor of the 40D ... but happier with overall image quality.