Canon 50D
It’s exactly eight years ago this month that Phil posted his review of the Canon D30. The camera was Canon’s first ‘developed in house’ DSLR and therefore a milestone in digital photography. But it was also the first model in the popular line of cameras of which the EOS 50D is the latest descendant. Technology has moved on at the speed of light since the year 2000 but each generation of x0D cameras left its mark in the marketplace and the photographic community alike and there is no reason to believe to 50D would be any different. Or is there?
Canon EOS 50D bridges the gap between the novice and the seasoned pro with a perfect combination of high-speed and quality. It features an APS-C sized 15.1-megapixel CMOS sensor for tremendous images, new DIGIC 4 Image Processor for fine detail and superior color reproduction and improved ISO capabilities up to 12800 for uncompromised shooting even in the dimmest situations. It features a refined 3.0-inch Clear View LCD (920,000 dots) monitor, supercharged Live View Function with Face Detection Live mode, plus a number of new automatic Image Correction settings and HDMI output for viewing images on an HDTV. The standard zoom lens features a wide focal length range from normal to telephoto equivalent to 29-320mm in the 35mm format. It features an Optical Image Stabilizer for up to 4-stops of effective correction even at full zoom. Since Canon’s optical image stabilization system is in the lens, not in the camera, you can see the stabilized, steadier images through the viewfinder. And the circular aperture can give beautiful background blur effects. This new wide zoom ratio EF-S lens delivers excellent high-speed performance at an affordable price
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Canon 50D Live View
Live View mode grows up a bit with the Canon 50D, offering two grid modes, more informational icons, focus confirmation in Quick mode, and a new face-detect mode.
Most importantly, the new features make the Canon 50D’s Live View work more like experienced digicam users will expect, though it’s still slower than most digicams on the market at focusing, regardless of focus mode. Experienced users will know to expect this from the mode, and use it only when nothing else will do, as when shooting off-angle, or while carefully composing and focusing on a tripod.
Live mode. Contrast-detect mode is called Live mode, because the Canon 50D does its focusing with the data that comes live from the sensor. You get a rectangle that you can move around the screen with the Multi-controller. When you press the AF-ON button, the Canon 50D focuses and changes the gray rectangle to green. You can zoom in either five or 10 times to confirm focus, the zoom following the AF point. It takes many seconds to focus in this mode, between 2.24 to 7.32 seconds in our testing. A histogram can also be overlaid over the image, though it’s a shame that the histogram is still opaque, blocking so much of the image, rather than translucent as other companies have managed.
Quick mode. The first Live View focusing mode uses the traditional SLR method of flipping the mirror back down to use the phase detect autofocus sensors for focusing. This can indeed be quicker so long as you put one of the nine AF points over an area with good contrast that enables fast focusing. New to the system is that the selected AF points light up after the mirror flips back up to tell you which areas are in focus, rather than leaving that to guesswork as the Rebel XSi does. Autofocus in this mode is quite a bit slower than with the optical viewfinder, but faster than Live mode. Because you have to press the AF-ON button as a primary step before you press the shutter button, the fastest time we could get was 0.85 second.
Creative Auto mode. Canon’s new exposure mode is called Creative Auto, marked with a "CA" on the silver mode dial. The CA mode is not just for shooting in California or Canada, nor does it have anything to do with chromatic aberration: Instead, it’s a cross between the Auto and Program modes. When set to CA mode, the Canon 50D allows the user to adjust the Flash, resolution, drive mode, and Picture Style. Setting aperture and exposure are converted to easier concepts of background blur (blurred or sharp), and exposure level (darker or brighter) with a slider that’s adjusted with the Quick Control dial. The more complex exposure decisions remain under automatic control in CA mode. The exposure slider is the more useful, standing in as a more comprehensible EV adjustment. Sometimes the blur or depth-of-field slider isn’t available, as when shooting indoors, because the flash is deployed automatically. Turning on the flash brings this control back, though, so it’s handy that you can actually disable the flash in a full-auto mode.
Live Face mode. We’ve all seen face detection by now, and if you’ve seen Canon’s face detection on a simpler digital camera, you know about how well it detects faces on the Canon 50D: quite well. Autofocus is a lot slower on the 50D, however, as it has to process a lot more data to judge focus, and move far larger optics than are found in a digicam; but it’s not bad. It’ll take a few seconds to focus at times, especially when handheld. Sometimes faster, sometimes slower. The system can track far more faces than other systems we’ve seen at this point, though, at up to 35 forward-looking faces.
If the Canon 50D detects more than one face, it adds two arrows around the frame it’s placed around its top-priority face, telling you that you can turn the Quick Command dial to select another face as the priority
DIGIC 4. Dropping the roman numerals from its name, Canon has included their new DIGIC 4 image processor in the EOS 50D. The new processor is said to offer improvements in processing speed, necessary to handle the 15.1-megapixel files while maintaining the 6.3 frames-per-second top speed. The 50D’s DIGIC 4 processor also keeps the noise down when compared to the Canon 40D, according to our tests, despite the smaller pixels.
High ISO. While the Canon EOS 40D and its predecessors had an ISO sensitivity range of 100 to 1,600 with the ability to extend this to ISO 3,200, the Canon 50D’s ISO ranges from ISO 100 to 3,200 in 1/3 EV increments, and can be extended to ISO 6,400 and 12,800, using the H1 and H2 ISO settings. This step up is in an answer to the Nikon D3 and D700’s impressive high-ISO performance. Though the Canon 50D doesn’t reach to the astonishing ISO 25,600 available in the latter two cameras, it does reach ISO 12,800 at 15.1 megapixels on a cropped sensor vs. Nikon’s full-frame sensor at 12.1 megapixels, an easier (though surely not easy) feat. To see how the Canon 50D does at these extended ISO settings, read the Image Quality section below.
Dust reduction. Yet another upgrade is in the Canon 50D’s integrated cleaning system. Canon has now applied a fluorine coating to the camera’s low-pass filter, which should make it easier for the existing ultrasonic dust removal system to remove sticky or wet particles (the dust removal system vibrates the low-pass filter to shake off dust particles; wet or sticky particles obviously will adhere more firmly to the surface than dry ones would).
Storage and Battery. Images are stored on CompactFlash cards, Type I or II, including Microdrives. One caution I found in the manual is that Canon recommends against using Microdrives when shooting in Live View mode, as the drive’s additional heat can combine with the heat generated by the sensor and start to degrade images. Worthy of note for those who still use Microdrives.
Kit Lens. Canon is including the 28-135mm IS lens with the 50D. It’s an older design, so it doesn’t focus quite as fast as the newer 17-85mm EF-S lens, and its image stabilization system isn’t as advanced as others, but it’s a good general purpose optic made better by the crop factor, which cuts out most corner softness. It also looks and feels great on the larger Canon 50D body, striking a good balance. The only major drawback is the lack of a true wide angle, since 28mm is roughly equal to a 45mm lens on a 35mm camera. Unfortunately, in our testing we found my personal copy to be a little softer than we’d expected, something we weren’t able to improve much with the AF Microadjustment feature. We can only conclude that once again, what looked quite good on a 10-megapixel sensor appears softer on the finer-grained 15-megapixel sensor.
Though I prefer to shoot with primes when I can, this lens is a good all-around choice for general photography. If you’re looking for better wide-angle coverage, look at the EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS, or the 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lenses.
Canon 50D Review and User
Canon 50D review .The jump from the Canon 20D to 30D was similar to this transition from 40D to 50D, with most of the changes made internally. This time, though, those internal changes are more significant, helping the Canon 50D better compete against the current crop of 12 to 14-megapixel digital SLRs, including Canon’s own consumer model, the 12.1-megapixel Rebel XSi (450D). In both cases, the 50D’s resolution exceeds the norm for this level of camera, while the 40D’s 10.1-megapixel resolution didn’t exceed any of the market leaders at the time, nor did it hold up for long against the Canon XSi’s 12.2 megapixels, introduced earlier this year.
We’ve never held that megapixels were as important as noise handling and high-ISO performance, though, so we’re excited that the 50D’s 15.1 megapixels also includes excellent high-ISO performance. Other interface improvements are also welcome, including a Quick Control screen, as well as several feature enhancements, like face detection in Live View mode, and contrast-detect autofocus in Live View, all making the already great EOS 40D even better.
Look and feel. The Canon EOS 50D weighs just a little less than the 40D, coming in at 1.81 pounds (822 grams) compared to the 40D’s 1.86 pounds (844g), both with battery and card. Add the 18-135mm lens and weight is 3 pounds (1,375g), and with the 18-200, it’s 3.16 pounds (1,436g). Dimensions are identical, at 5.7 x 4.2 x 2.9 inches (145.5 x 107.8 x 73.5mm), so if you’re familiar with the 40D, you’ll feel right at home with the Canon 50D.
The Canon EOS 50D’s body is magnesium alloy, with slightly improved seals against dust and water. Seals protect connection ports, the battery compartment, and the compact flash door. The frame is stainless steel, and the mirror box is high-strength engineering plastic. Holding the Canon 50D is like gripping a well-sculpted rock: solid, with no twisting or creaking. The EF lens mount is metal, compatible with all Canon EOS EF and EF-S lenses.
The grip has a good-sized indent for the middle finger, as we’ve enjoyed on the EOS 5D, 40D and other recent SLRs we’ve handled. The indent on the 50D is a little broader than the 5D, and a lot bigger than the 1D-series. Regardless of size, this divot improves control and comfort, and better centers the hand for the right grip every time.
To remind you which camera you’re holding, just look for the silver bezel on the mode dial on the EOS 50D’s left shoulder (the 40D’s bezel is black). The Canon 50D’s new Mode dial bezel seemed like a minor change at first, but I find it helps read the dial more quickly, both indoors and out. The Print/Share button has been given real purpose when shooting, as it activates Live View mode. On the 40D, you had to press the SET button, which caused a lot of confusion, and took away the SET button’s usual utility while in Live View mode. Below the LCD, the Jump button has disappeared, and the Info and Picture Styles buttons have moved left to make room for the FUNC. button. (Jump is now done with the Main Dial on the top deck, with the type of jump preset via a playback menu item.)
The Canon 50D’s Multi-controller isn’t new, but is now in charge of activating and navigating the Quick Control menu system that turns the new Status display into a simple graphical menu system. Ironically, the Quick Control dial doesn’t activate the Quick Control system, but it does play a part. Press the center of the Multi-controller to activate the menu, then toggle around on the screen until you reach the setting you want to change. Then either press in on the Multi-controller to bring up the full array of options for that screen, or just turn the Quick Control or Main Dial to cycle through the available options without leaving the Quick Control menu.
Little else is new about the Canon 50D’s control array. It’s a very good design, with an excellent textured thumbgrip, a very good grip up front, and most controls are very easy to access. I’m not crazy about the Live View button’s location on the left of the optical viewfinder, but it’s at least in an area that you’ll get used to accessing, since the Menu button is just to the left.
LCD. Canon’s new LCD may be smoother than the other 920,000-pixel displays on the Sony and Nikon cameras; then again, my close vision isn’t what it used to be, so for now we’ll just call it an impression based on the fact that I can’t see any jaggy edges on any displayed curve
With a 160-degree viewing angle, the Canon 50D’s LCD has quite an array of coatings designed to reduce internal and external reflections, for a crisper image in all lighting situations. It’s also coated to resist fingerprints, dirt, and scratches. I’m not sure how a scratch-resistant layer residing under two other layers will prevent those layers from scratching, but time will tell whether it works. So far, our production sample has no scratches after weeks of use.