Dean Eades
Dean Eades Wildlife Photography One to One's
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Canon 50D (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Dean Eades
- Start date
Robert_Scanlon
Well-known member
From the "unofficial" test results I've seen and the general chit chat over at DP Review, it seems that the 50D does capture slightly more detail than the 40D, but the noise advantage is not as much as Canon claimed. The AF doesn't appear to have been improved much / at all over the 40D.
Not quite the ideal birding camera body many were hoping for (though still not bad!), and not worth £1100 or £1200 that WE and Jessops are asking. Some internet sites are offering it for less, nearer £800, so I assume the final price will be £800ish in most places once the fever has died down a bit.
Not quite the ideal birding camera body many were hoping for (though still not bad!), and not worth £1100 or £1200 that WE and Jessops are asking. Some internet sites are offering it for less, nearer £800, so I assume the final price will be £800ish in most places once the fever has died down a bit.
WELL!.................From the images that I have seen from the 50D, I won't be rushing to sell my 40D, unless there is a little price drop on the 1D MK111.
I get some cracking shots fom my 40D, and also see the same from others, so why is it, that a so called step up can look like it is a step backwards from what I hear and see, I really thought that the 50D was going to be the real deal!!
I get some cracking shots fom my 40D, and also see the same from others, so why is it, that a so called step up can look like it is a step backwards from what I hear and see, I really thought that the 50D was going to be the real deal!!
Overread
Hunting birds with a canon
meh I have seen very few camera body upgrades that are worth upgrading to if you have the previous model. I just that we all expect a big improvment in a new model and we don't get it since the manufacturers don't want us to stay with a low or midrange model - they want us to fork out the money for the topline.
That said Nikon do appear (At the moment) to have a better upgrading policy when compared to Canon who appear to be more reserved with upgrading lower end cameras
That said Nikon do appear (At the moment) to have a better upgrading policy when compared to Canon who appear to be more reserved with upgrading lower end cameras
I know what your saying, but it does seem like it is NOT as good a camera as the 40D, surely it should be a bit better.
You are right about Nikon, I have seen images at my local camera club from the new Nikon D700 and they are nothing short of amazing, I am sure that Canon are loosing the plot, but having said that, I am very happy with my 40D, but I would still buy the 1D MK111 over the NIKON.
baillieswells
Well-known member
I have come to the conclusion Digital Cameras are like computers, where I only upgrade every alternate models. Thus I went from Mac OS-X 10.3.9 to 10.5.1. Completely missing out 10.4. I expect I shall do the same with my Canon 40D missing out 50D and waiting until 60D. Looking back there was not that much improvement of 30D over 20D, but the jump from 20D to 40D was significant.
StrikingSlug
As in "Speed of a Striking Slug"
It just proves the old adage that it is generally better to spend money on glass than a new body.
Richard
Richard
Overread
Hunting birds with a canon
Personally I think Canon were used to ruling and defining the Camera standards and did not expect Nikon to jump far ahead of them. Nikon on the other hand advanced in a quick and big step - to take the market out from under Canon's feet - and its worked.
Canon now I will expect to come out with some new bodies in RnD with a view to beating Nikon and taking back the market - which means no more silly things like the 1000D and it will also mean an intersting time come the next "Body Wars!"
websurfer
Well-known member
Well - all crop factor cameras are more or less noisy, so expectations were not too high...... I know, that a lot of pics in here would be really bad if not resized.... so I think we have to go FF with the big guns mounted before it´s going to be perfect.
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I think people get overexcited when new cameras are announced and expect too much. Why compare the 50D to a Nikon D700? Even the Nikon D300 does not have the IQ of the original 5D let alone the 5Dll, it is just not on comparing crop cameras to FF in terms of noise etc. The 50D has been brought out to combat the D300 and the questions are how does it compare to that and is it worth upgrading from a 40D? Until proper tests are carried out it is hard to judge from a few pictures on a screen but the consensus seems to be that the LCD screen is well worth having, the focus micro adjustment could well be useful and that there is more detail available giving better 'cropability' with roughly comparable noise which responds well to noise reduction. Is it worth the upgrade once prices have settled? Each person has to answer that themselves.
Roy C
Occasional bird snapper
I have seen some pretty good shots from the 50D elsewhere. On the assumption that IQ and noise levels turn out to be at least as good as the 40D then for me the extra cropability will come in handy - I have taken 1000 pixel crops from a 30D image and a 40D image of the same subject and there is a significant increase in the target size. Going from 10mp to 15 mp should be greater still - might even save me having to get a 500mm lens for web images (before the purist start to jump I am only joking).
(before the purist start to jump I am only joking).
Saphire
Christine
I have also seen some great shots at 3200 and with that extra resolution I think its going to be a great birding camera.
I may be getting one in the next couple of weeks if the price keeps falling,o Apparently my hubby has started a camera fund for my special birthday in a couple of weeks time.
I may be getting one in the next couple of weeks if the price keeps falling,o
Apparently my hubby has started a camera fund for my special birthday in a couple of weeks time.
vkalia
Robin stroker
50% more res with the same noise characteristics == big improvement. Downres those 15MP down to 8MP and see the noise go down drastically. And from other reports I have seen, the 50D does improve noise a little compared to the 40D, even at its native resolution.
And 50% more res is nothing to sneeze at. The 40D itself was a very capable birding/wildlife camera (and I use a 1-series as well, so I have a frame of reference here). Apparently, it is only after Nikon's D300 came out that people started finding a 9pt AF system inadequate. Go figure. With all the improvements on the 50D, it is a very attractive camera. I am buying one in a couple of weeks.
Vandit
And 50% more res is nothing to sneeze at. The 40D itself was a very capable birding/wildlife camera (and I use a 1-series as well, so I have a frame of reference here). Apparently, it is only after Nikon's D300 came out that people started finding a 9pt AF system inadequate. Go figure. With all the improvements on the 50D, it is a very attractive camera. I am buying one in a couple of weeks.
Vandit
Any feedback on the autofocus capabilities i.e. servo performance compared to the 40D would be much appreciated when people start getting their hands on one.
I don't think I will be investing in a 50D, as my camera budget for the year has been blown on new glass but it will be interesting to gauge people's thoughts on its real world capabilities when the 50D is finally out in the field.
ta
Matt
I don't think I will be investing in a 50D, as my camera budget for the year has been blown on new glass but it will be interesting to gauge people's thoughts on its real world capabilities when the 50D is finally out in the field.
ta
Matt
kungsfiskare
Active member
The 50D delivers!
What impresses me most is that the 50D actually delivers on the those extra pixels outresolving the 1Dmk3 when shooting from a fixed distance, like a hide. For the last year I have almost always used my 1Dmk3 with the 500/4 and the 2X extender since I can never get close enough.
With the 50D I can use the 1.4extender and get the exact same perspective with a larger aperture and/or lower ISO resulting in a sharper picture. Here is an example taken from 10 meters:
http://www.pbase.com/kingfisher/image/103739600/original
No sharpening or postprocessing on either picture, taken in raw, converted in dpp and saved as jpeg quality 10 in PS CS3
The one shortcoming of the 50D compared to the 1Dmk3 is that the AI-servo is not as quick, but at the price it's still a fantastic camera, and will definitely remain a part of my arsenal.
Michael
What impresses me most is that the 50D actually delivers on the those extra pixels outresolving the 1Dmk3 when shooting from a fixed distance, like a hide. For the last year I have almost always used my 1Dmk3 with the 500/4 and the 2X extender since I can never get close enough.
With the 50D I can use the 1.4extender and get the exact same perspective with a larger aperture and/or lower ISO resulting in a sharper picture. Here is an example taken from 10 meters:
http://www.pbase.com/kingfisher/image/103739600/original
No sharpening or postprocessing on either picture, taken in raw, converted in dpp and saved as jpeg quality 10 in PS CS3
The one shortcoming of the 50D compared to the 1Dmk3 is that the AI-servo is not as quick, but at the price it's still a fantastic camera, and will definitely remain a part of my arsenal.
Michael
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Good test Michael,
The worrying element for the MkIII, compared to 50D shows just how much the sensor can't cope with the light conditions, increasing the overall darkness of H&S of the image through the colour channels.
With the 50D, 1K cheaper, I think the quickness of the servo on the MkIII is a minor inconvenience.
Granted the 2X can cause the increase in shadow, contrast and correcting in Photoshop takes seconds, but I would not have expected the 30% difference.
The worrying element for the MkIII, compared to 50D shows just how much the sensor can't cope with the light conditions, increasing the overall darkness of H&S of the image through the colour channels.
With the 50D, 1K cheaper, I think the quickness of the servo on the MkIII is a minor inconvenience.
Granted the 2X can cause the increase in shadow, contrast and correcting in Photoshop takes seconds, but I would not have expected the 30% difference.
kungsfiskare
Active member
Another very interesting obeservation is that the 50D takes much better pictures in low light with the live view enabled. I tried taking long exposures with the 50D and 1Dmk3 using live view and the 2sec timer and the 1Dmk3 pictures suffered much more from blur caused by vibrations in conjunction with the shutter movement. This was an unexpected surprise.
Michael
Michael
chrisli
Well-known member
I have both the 40D and the 1dmk3 and just acquired the 50D, what I notice most is the Auto Lighting Optimiser, it balances the contrast bewteen the High/Shadow, I just posted a pic of the Asian Koel using the 50D, what surprise me most the is black plumage of the bird which gave me more details compared to the Mk3. The LCD is awesome, you can really checked the sharpness of the pic compare to the 40D and MK3 where you are not sure until you look at it in the computer.
The noise level is slightly better maybe 1 to 1.5 stop than the 40D which is an added advantage when shooting under low light condition where you can increase the ISO to 800 or 1600 where the pic is very acceptable. This is just my observation after trying the 50D.
http://www.birdforum.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/215675/limit/recent
The noise level is slightly better maybe 1 to 1.5 stop than the 40D which is an added advantage when shooting under low light condition where you can increase the ISO to 800 or 1600 where the pic is very acceptable. This is just my observation after trying the 50D.
http://www.birdforum.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/215675/limit/recent
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