In the end the only shots I got in at the weekend were a few of one of the two lunchtime Iberworld A320s at Cork. Tried the Shutter Priority, ISO 160, 1/160th of a second and f20. Had the camera body steady as I could on a railing. Result was only fair. Worse than that though is that I have now noticed a speck of dust/dirt presumably from the sensor on the image. Now, before the 40D I had bought a 20D (both second hand) and traded in the 20D due to the same issue and it was an expensive enough upgrade to the 40D. Original shots on the newer 40D had no signs of dust etc and the 18-200 lens has been aboard her since the start when I took the plunge. It is really galling me. Only for the fact that there are two nice machines due in later today at Cork I would be giving out like stink in the shop.
Maddening though.
I am enjoying reading the replies to the original post.
Thanks.