Posted by Jim Erhardt on November 28, 2008 at 3:00 PM
So yes, I tend to hold on to camera bodies for a long time! My 10D is still going strong and since the majority of my photos are for web presentation, the 6.3 megapixels are fine.
But it seems that the technology has come a long way. I am seriously considering upgrading to a 50D, but beyond all of the techno-hoopla, what can I expect? At any given ISO setting, will I notice an improvement in color accuracy, noise and shadow detail? Any input is appreciated!
Posted by Phillip Noll on November 28, 2008 at 3:21 PM
Expect better low light performance, much higher resolution images (print BIGGER!!), better autofocus performance, less noise, better IQ, and a much happier user!!
Posted by Steve Foss on November 28, 2008 at 7:12 PM
Jim, the upgrade from the 10D to the 20D alone was a big one. Further upgrades over the 20D (the 30D and 40D) were incremental, but now the 50D is another big upgrade.
You will be amazed at all the differences in performance.
Uh, time to buy some bigger CF cards.
Posted by Wayne Jones on November 28, 2008 at 9:23 PM
Jim,
You are going to love it once you get used to the menus and controls.
Giant LCD for reviewing each shot, and you can use live view when looking throught the viewfinder is awkard, or when you want to zoom in for fine-tuning manual focus on a tripod.
Group shots, action, etc. -- just lean on the shutter release for 6.3 frames per second.
Need to crop a lot? Go ahead, with 15MP.
Dim light? ISO 800 looks good, ISO 1600 is usable for most stuff, and even ISO 3200 is not so bad for family pictures, etc. when printing a 4x6. (I even used ISO 6400 for my grandkids lit by computer monitors and birthday candles, and they look fine after Noise Ninja. Only the 12,800 setting is WAY too noisy, but could be useful in a pinch to get at least some kind of image with almost no light.)
What Steve said about bigger CF cards: RAW files are 15-20MB. Shop for 8 GB cards.
Have Fun!
Posted by Adam Schallau on November 28, 2008 at 9:27 PM
You can get some great deals on SanDisk 8GB Extreme III cards from B&H right now. $29.95 and a $15.00 mail-in-rebate, or get three cards and a $70.00 rebate.
Posted by Ed Cordes on November 28, 2008 at 11:17 PM
It was taken with a 40D but the 50 D is at least as good. We like the faster focus and live view really does come in handy once in a while. The DIGI 3 processing seems to produce fantastic color. So, while I have not used the 50D I can certainly say the 40D is great. I am positive you will like the upgrade.
Let us know what you decide.
Posted by Phillip Noll on November 28, 2008 at 11:46 PM
You can get some great deals on SanDisk 8GB Extreme III cards from B&H right now. $29.95 and a $15.00 mail-in-rebate, or get three cards and a $70.00 rebate.
Crap! I just bought 6 of those very cards at $59.95 each!
Posted by Jim Erhardt on November 28, 2008 at 11:55 PM
Thanks to all for the feedback - good deal on those cards too!
Posted by Steve Foss on November 29, 2008 at 9:43 AM
B&H wasn't accepting orders last night so I ordered them at slightly higher expense from Canoga ($35 apiece instead of $30). Still got three for $114 incl shipping for a net cost of $44 after rebate.
Man, ya gotta love it when the cost of memory takes a dive! That's going to set me up for a LONG time with something like 50 Gb in Lexar and SanDisk cards.
Posted by Adam Schallau on November 29, 2008 at 12:46 PM
B&H wasn't accepting orders last night so I ordered them at slightly higher expense from Canoga ($35 apiece instead of $30). Still got three for $114 incl shipping for a net cost of $44 after rebate.
I was able to get three from Adorama yesterday for $29.95 each with free shipping for a net of $19.85 after rebate, assuming I actually get the rebate. I was going to buy an additional three cards from Adorama, but now they are directing buyers to Amazon where the card has a different part number that is not listed on the rebate.
Posted by Adam Schallau on November 29, 2008 at 12:47 PM
Crap! I just bought 6 of those very cards at $59.95 each!
Phil, that sucks! Any chance that you can reorder the cards at the lower price and then cancel or return your original order?
I never shot the 10D Jim, but I'm confindent enough in telling you to expect a burst in the number of keepers.
Of course there are many differences between the two cameras, and other contributors to the thread have already listed all. So I will just concentrate my reply on the most desirable feature this camera offers in my opinion: the big, amazingly bright and reliable 3" @ 920'000 pixels LCD and the fantastic 10x live view magnification. That's just like having a view camera ground glass coupled with a high end photographic tool filled up with the latest technological finds. That feature allows you to perfectly frame the image you wan to depict (100% field of view displayed) and find perfect focus on very difficult subjects and in bad light conditions. Think about what a 10x magnification in live view can do for you: it's just like having 30" of ground glass! Finding perfect focus has never been easier, no matter if your lens has AF or not. Therefore, in the end this will certainly results in remarkable increase in the number of keepers.
Of course there's a trade off: no more excuses for poor compositions and/or soft pictures...
PS: I swear, never had a buck from Canon...
Cheers,
Paolo
Posted by Jim Erhardt on November 30, 2008 at 8:28 AM
Paolo, thanks for your insight! The "high definition" LCD is indeed a reason I would spend the extra $$ over the 40D, along with the HDMI connection.
A question about the LCD - when you stop down to check DOF (using the DOF preview button), does the LCD display compensate for the loss of light and remain easy to see? I always use DOF preview but of course getting used to the vastly dimmed viewfinder while stopped down is an art unto itself.
Yes Jim, it does. As far as I can see, the LCD is able to compensate for at least 5 stops down. That's more than what you usually need, with lenses averagely fast (say 2,8 or so). Of course with very bright lenses (such as f1,4) you could experience some dimming. But then you can increase the brightness of the LCD itself (there are 7 levels of brightness to choose) and get back to a readable image. It doesn't do miracles of course, so in very low light the LCD will display a dark image. However with the 10x magnification you will still be able to find focus on scenes that would look completely unreadable thorugh the viewfinder.
PS: I swear again, never had a buck from Canon... though I start thinking I should ask for some
Posted by Jim Erhardt on November 30, 2008 at 12:16 PM
Paolo, thanks - that 50D LCD display sounds mighty useful!
Posted by Phillip Noll on December 1, 2008 at 2:13 PM
[quote] Crap! I just bought 6 of those very cards at $59.95 each!
Phil, that sucks! Any chance that you can reorder the cards at the lower price and then cancel or return your original order? [/quote]
I emailed B&H and asked if they would extend the lower price to me and they did!! B&H = 1st Class!
Posted by Phillip Noll on December 5, 2008 at 12:23 PM
I emailed B&H and asked if they would extend the lower price to me and they did!! B&H = 1st Class!
I take it back!! After B&H said they would credit me the difference, they withdrew this offer and now tell me that they will NOT extend the lower price to me. NICE!
Discussion
16 repliesBut it seems that the technology has come a long way. I am seriously considering upgrading to a 50D, but beyond all of the techno-hoopla, what can I expect? At any given ISO setting, will I notice an improvement in color accuracy, noise and shadow detail? Any input is appreciated!
You will be amazed at all the differences in performance.
Uh, time to buy some bigger CF cards.
You are going to love it once you get used to the menus and controls.
Giant LCD for reviewing each shot, and you can use live view when looking throught the viewfinder is awkard, or when you want to zoom in for fine-tuning manual focus on a tripod.
Group shots, action, etc. -- just lean on the shutter release for 6.3 frames per second.
Need to crop a lot? Go ahead, with 15MP.
Dim light? ISO 800 looks good, ISO 1600 is usable for most stuff, and even ISO 3200 is not so bad for family pictures, etc. when printing a 4x6. (I even used ISO 6400 for my grandkids lit by computer monitors and birthday candles, and they look fine after Noise Ninja. Only the 12,800 setting is WAY too noisy, but could be useful in a pinch to get at least some kind of image with almost no light.)
What Steve said about bigger CF cards: RAW files are 15-20MB. Shop for 8 GB cards.
Have Fun!
http://www.naturephotographers.net/imagecritique/ic.cgi?a=vp&pr=110358&CGISESSID=cf054d945cdaef68e46c1b961c684381&u=26529
It was taken with a 40D but the 50 D is at least as good. We like the faster focus and live view really does come in handy once in a while. The DIGI 3 processing seems to produce fantastic color. So, while I have not used the 50D I can certainly say the 40D is great. I am positive you will like the upgrade.
Let us know what you decide.
Man, ya gotta love it when the cost of memory takes a dive! That's going to set me up for a LONG time with something like 50 Gb in Lexar and SanDisk cards.
I was able to get three from Adorama yesterday for $29.95 each with free shipping for a net of $19.85 after rebate, assuming I actually get the rebate. I was going to buy an additional three cards from Adorama, but now they are directing buyers to Amazon where the card has a different part number that is not listed on the rebate.
Phil, that sucks! Any chance that you can reorder the cards at the lower price and then cancel or return your original order?
Of course there are many differences between the two cameras, and other contributors to the thread have already listed all. So I will just concentrate my reply on the most desirable feature this camera offers in my opinion: the big, amazingly bright and reliable 3" @ 920'000 pixels LCD and the fantastic 10x live view magnification. That's just like having a view camera ground glass coupled with a high end photographic tool filled up with the latest technological finds. That feature allows you to perfectly frame the image you wan to depict (100% field of view displayed) and find perfect focus on very difficult subjects and in bad light conditions. Think about what a 10x magnification in live view can do for you: it's just like having 30" of ground glass! Finding perfect focus has never been easier, no matter if your lens has AF or not. Therefore, in the end this will certainly results in remarkable increase in the number of keepers.
Of course there's a trade off: no more excuses for poor compositions and/or soft pictures...
PS: I swear, never had a buck from Canon...
Cheers,
Paolo
A question about the LCD - when you stop down to check DOF (using the DOF preview button), does the LCD display compensate for the loss of light and remain easy to see? I always use DOF preview but of course getting used to the vastly dimmed viewfinder while stopped down is an art unto itself.
Thanks again for your advice!
PS: I swear again, never had a buck from Canon... though I start thinking I should ask for some
Phil, that sucks! Any chance that you can reorder the cards at the lower price and then cancel or return your original order? [/quote]
I emailed B&H and asked if they would extend the lower price to me and they did!! B&H = 1st Class!