Canon 50D

MysticalSoul

Has anyone tried this camera, and what are your experiences? Would it be a good investment? From what I can gather you can take monochrome pictures on the camera itself, rather than edit to monochrome on photoshop, which is something I like.

Any pros/cons etc.

projectmayhem

This is the camera I use. Upgraded from a 450D before Christmas and love it. I've learned so much about photography with it. It's easy to use, feature-rich and of course, being a Canon, has a full range of lenses available.

I can't really fault it tbh as I've yet to come across any niggles with it. If I could have though, I would have saved a bit more and got a 5D Mark II.

FX Meister

It's a good investment for taking pictures. The monetary value will drop sharply enough though. You can set it to monochrome but you should also save a raw file so you have more options for post processing at a later stage.

kumate_champ07

60d is coming very soon, 50d is a bad investment. from a 450d to 40d would also be a huge change.

if you need a camera now go for the 40d, if u want something current wait for the 60d. the 50d wasnt much of an improvement. same camera body except for a bigger screen so comparing the actual inside of the camera and the image quality/results the 40d has a small advantage in color dept and high iso/low light

http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/eng/Image-Quality-Database/Compare-cameras/(appareil1)/180|0/(appareil2)/267|0/(onglet)/0/(brand)/Canon/(brand2)/Canon

so your paying alot for an extra 5mp, do you need to print photos at over 12by8inches(@350dpi)? if not than 10mp from a 40d is plenty.


60d will have hd video.

and the monochrome thing is just a gimmik. you can do it easily in software and have much more control.

pyzon

i'm going for a 50d in november in the states, regardless of 60d. it has HD vid...not what I need....You can get camcorders to record your HD movies much better at a fraction the cost anyway so a gimmick to sell the camera if you ask me.

Anyway 40d is old hat, 50d is an improvement and once 60d is released (end of the month I heard) then prices on the 50d will fall sharply and should make it more affordable and a better purchase? i think anyway but we'll see i guess....I'm hoping it's released soon so the price of the 50d can drop off a bit...agreed it is a tough investment..

kumate_champ07

pyzon wrote: »

i'm going for a 50d in november in the states, regardless of 60d. it has HD vid...not what I need....You can get camcorders to record your HD movies much better at a fraction the cost anyway so a gimmick to sell the camera if you ask me.

Anyway 40d is old hat, 50d is an improvement and once 60d is released (end of the month I heard) then prices on the 50d will fall sharply and should make it more affordable and a better purchase? i think anyway but we'll see i guess....I'm hoping it's released soon so the price of the 50d can drop off a bit...agreed it is a tough investment..

you cant get camcorders with the same dynamic range,low iso performance/signal to noise ratio as what the 60d will have. all of the current hd camcorders around 1000euro mark use tiny sensors compared to dslr's. u cant get shallow DOF with them or use hundreds of manual lenses on them. the only downside to hd video on dslr's is the physical handling of them, u will need something to stabilise it if you want to operate handheld for pro quality video.


it might be a gimmick but its a very usable and high quality gimmick.

Pinarello

kumate_champ07 wrote: »

you cant get camcorders with the same dynamic range,low iso performance/signal to noise ratio as what the 60d will have. all of the current hd camcorders around 1000euro mark use tiny sensors compared to dslr's. u cant get shallow DOF with them or use hundreds of manual lenses on them. the only downside to hd video on dslr's is the physical handling of them, u will need something to stabilise it if you want to operate handheld for pro quality video.


it might be a gimmick but its a very usable and high quality gimmick.

I got into photography one year ago to take pictures.I can't see why Canon are using their dslr's to take video.I have both the 40D and the 50D.While there is not a huge improvement, there are some nice additions that i was happy with.I just needed a second body to shoot bicycle races.The technology these day seems to be changing ultra quick.In the past year i've bought a 40D and a 50D.Now they are bringing out a 60D......:eek:

Freddie59

I have the 450D and was looking at the 50D. Very mixed reviews with complaints of softness, noise, etc. Judge for yourself:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos50d/

50D samples:

http://www.dpreview.com/gallery/canoneos50d_samples/

450D samples:

http://www.dpreview.com/gallery/canoneos450d_samples/

Not knocking the 50D - let's get that straight. But there appear to be some issues. Have a look at the customer reviews on Amazon. These guys don't pull any punches. Yes, there is an amount of BS reviews, but have a look anyway.

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-50D-15-1MP-Digital-Body/product-reviews/B001EQ4BVI/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_helpful?ie=UTF8&coliid=&showViewpoints=1&colid=&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending

When is the 60D out?

FX Meister

Pinarello wrote: »

I can't see why Canon are using their dslr's to take video.

Because it's what people want? I know a number of people who use them quite often for video. One guy has shot three music videos on a 5DMkII for a few decent Irish bands with great results. He can use any lenses he wants, like the 16-35mm or fisheye as well as shooting with a 200mm lens as he has done. And he also uses uncoated lenses to get lens flare when shooting.

MysticalSoul

Thanks for your input guys - might wait for the 60d to come out, and then hopefully it will be cheaper then

-K2-

My opinion is that for the 30/40/50/60D there isn't much of a difference which the average photographer would be able to notice. It is unlikely that you would come close to pushing the limits on the camera and even then the differential between the models would be close to zero.

You could see a difference between bodies, but only if you are looking at big jumps like 450D -> 50D -> 5D

Any of those cameras would be a great starting body. Spending some more cash on the lenses would give you much more bang for your buck. I'd even say that if you are starting out a low-usage second-hand body would be your best bet.

My progression so far has been 30D with 18-55 kit lens -> 30D with EF-S 17-85 IS -> 30D with 24-70L -> 5D Mk II with 24-70L. Each step gave me better results, but only because I'd spent the time learning my kit on the previous iteration.

Fajitas!

Pinarello wrote: »

I can't see why Canon are using their dslr's to take video.

I like using video, though I prefer photography. It's a handy feature if you're like me, and there's plenty that are. Oh, plus, drunken high quality videos are hilarious.

daycent

MysticalSoul wrote: »

Has anyone tried this camera, and what are your experiences? Would it be a good investment? From what I can gather you can take monochrome pictures on the camera itself, rather than edit to monochrome on photoshop, which is something I like.

Any pros/cons etc.

Any of the entry level Canon cameras can take pics in mono. If you don't know that then you're probably just as well off with something cheaper than the 50D

MysticalSoul

daycent wrote: »

Any of the entry level Canon cameras can take pics in mono. If you don't know that then you're probably just as well off with something cheaper than the 50D

Stupid sales guy told me otherwise. I have an EOS film, so want to go the digital route, but want a better quality than what I have, where I will learn more about photography - I have the EOS 300.

decimal

One thing that really sticks out for me about the 1080p video in the 50D is that it only shoots 20fps. I've looked at a few videos and it is really noticeable, it's a complete gimmick to have a video with huge resolution but looks choppy.

I'd love to have full HD video on my DSLR, it's another source of creativity for me.

http://vimeo.com/5410762 (check out the scenes outside)

gloverdub

Hey decimal- Great link- that video really shows what can be done in the right hands with the 5D mark II.

kumate_champ07

decimal wrote: »

One thing that really sticks out for me about the 1080p video in the 50D is that it only shoots 20fps. I've looked at a few videos and it is really noticeable, it's a complete gimmick to have a video with huge resolution but looks choppy.

I'd love to have full HD video on my DSLR, it's another source of creativity for me.

http://vimeo.com/5410762 (check out the scenes outside)

the 50d doesnt shoot video!

kumate_champ07

the 5d mkII video when released was 30fps but alot of people wanted 24fps and i think they added that in a firmware upgrade

Tony1000

50D is a great camera i had one and then i upgraded to a 5D,i have looked at all the comments posted on your board and the one thing that no one mentions is lenses.
All these guys out there are giving you the their own advice or should i say opinions.
Lenses are what make a camera come to life and dont let anyone out there tell you anything else.We get so confused when we go out to buy a camera that we forget that in todays world all digital slrs are excellent machines and some are very good value for money.
The 50D is a great camera,that produces great pictures with fine quality up to A4 size,after that you would have to go full frame,5D or the 1Ds Mark 3.
So go out and buy one,enjoy it and have fun.
Regards Tony