50D - thoughts and impressions

[twoshadows]

In early October I made the decision to sell my 1DmkIIn, retire my 20D and pick up the 50D and 5DmkII. Well, the 1DmkIIn is sold and I have replaced it with a 50D while the 5DmkII is on order. For now my 20D is my second camera, until the 5DmkII arrives. This change in camera bodies reflects a change in my shooting habits (less sports and more journalistic type photography).

Some would ask why I would take a step "backwards" in a sports camera by choosing the 50D over the 1DmkIIn, but I see it as more of a lateral move with the improvements gained with the 50D as critical to my style of shooting/printing.

Here are my impressions/observations regarding the 50D:

High iso performance - This is definitely a step up from both the 20D and the 1DmkIIn. And from what I've seen and been told, the iso handling of the 50D is about the same as the 40D (on a per pixel basis) EXCEPT that the 50D has 50% more mpixels. So, when resized to a 10mpixel image the 50D actually looks better than the 40D. In subjective terms, everything up to and including iso 3200 is very good and can be used for large prints while iso6400 (H1) is still usable for web, newspaper print and small prints. Iso12800 (H2) is really a last resort (like iso3200 on the 20D). *Important* - To take advantage of this camera's (50D) high iso performance one must expose to the right. Underexposing will "bring on the noise" so to speak.

AF - It seems that with the new Digic 4 processor the AF of the 50D has improved quite a bit over the 20D. And from reports I've seen it has even improved over the 40D. Having a 20D myself, I can confrim a big improvement in AF. The 50D is not the equal of a 1DmkIIn in terms of AF, but surprising to me, it is close IF one uses an f/2.8 or faster lens. I use an f/4 lens for some outdoor sport and this is where the AF gets logey.

Megapixels - Previously I had 2 8.2mpixel cameras and I was often asked to print large (24x36). Between the lack of high iso performance and the usual cropping that occurs with sports shots, I was constantly struggling to produce large prints. At 15mpixels I can now crop my sports shots and still print large. Add in the extra iso performance and the prints look even better. The downside is that the average RAW+LJpg (fine) file sizes exceed 25Mbytes, so expect to get more storage for your computer.

AF Micro-adjust - A very handy tool, but a little tricky in its implementation. I adjusted my camera to 7 of my lenses (it remembers each lens and its calibration numbers), two of which needed -7 and -8 adjustments (out of a possible +/-20). The rest were adjusted 2 points or less, plus or minus. Is the difference noticable? Yes, but only with the two that were adjusted to -7 and -8 (135L and 85mm f/1.8 respectively). Nonetheless, this is a valuable tool for those niggling AF issues that would normally require a trip to Canon.

In General - the shutter is much quieter than the 20D and even the 1DmkIIn. It is a light camera when compared to the 1DmkIIn - even with the grip attached. Frame rate, at 6.3fps, is more than adequate for me.

I know this isn't a complete review, so if anyone has a question feel free to ask.

[photographicfireman]

damn man, I wish I had your budget lol. Sounds like you've improved greatly. Good luck with everything!

[twoshadows]

damn man, I wish I had your budget lol. Sounds like you've improved greatly. Good luck with everything!

Thanks .

[Orgnoi1]

Very good review Ian... sounds like a nice rig for sure...

[oldnavy170]

High iso performance - This is definitely a step up from both the 20D and the 1DmkIIn. And from what I've seen and been told, the iso handling of the 50D is about the same as the 40D (on a per pixel basis) EXCEPT that the 50D has 50% more mpixels. So, when resized to a 10mpixel image the 50D actually looks better than the 40D. In subjective terms, everything up to and including iso 3200 is very good and can be used for large prints while iso6400 (H1) is still usable for web, newspaper print and small prints. Iso12800 (H2) is really a last resort (like iso3200 on the 20D). *Important* - To take advantage of this camera's (50D) high iso performance one must expose to the right. Underexposing will "bring on the noise" so to speak.

Ian, I would love to see photos with the high ISO. I am upgrading to either the 40D or 50D this April and a high ISO is a HUGE plus for me!!!! I have such issues with indoor photos (portraits, weddings, etc) and I just know a higher ISO will help improve this......especially when I can't use my flash or when my flash just isn't powerful enough.

[twoshadows]

Jamie,

Here's a good example of a good iso6400 exposure:

1/125s f/2.8 at 155.0mm iso6400 (PPed)


and here's the original (It is unprocessed with in camera NR turned off):
http://www.pbase.com/iangreyphotography/image/105614332

As to iso3200, here's one, cropped and processed for newspaper print:
1/640s f/2.8 at 148.0mm iso3200


And here's the original with no NR of any kind in camera or post:
http://www.pbase.com/iangreyphotography/image/106638512

As to 40D or 50D, i think the only reason to get the latter over the former is for the extra mpixels, AF micro-adjust, or iso6400. Good luck in your decision.

[oldnavy170]

I am SOLD!!!!!! Wow 6400??? I can barely see the grain. If I wasn't a trained eye I wouldn't of noticed it at all!!!! Thanks for posting these! Just makes me wish it was April already!

[zacker]

Thanks Ian... definetly something to work too.. are you still using the Sigma body as well?

Also, thanks for mentioning the file sizes and that youll need alot more HD space on your comp to hold it all... lol alot of folks dont consider that..

[twoshadows]

Thanks Ian... definetly something to work too.. are you still using the Sigma body as well?

Also, thanks for mentioning the file sizes and that youll need alot more HD space on your comp to hold it all... lol alot of folks dont consider that..

That's a "no" to the Sigma body - sold it along with the lens to fund a 5D(which didn't happen at the time, lol).

Yeah the file sizes are pretty big from the 50D. I imagine the 5DmkII will be a lot worse . Still, it's a small downside to having 15 and 21mpixel images respectively. Can't wait to shoot hummingbirds with the 5DmkII.

[zacker]

ahhh go grab up a 1TB external drive or two... lol