Canon EOS 50D : It's officially official

[richard_christie]

I really hope Canon starts offering lighter weight cameras with proper viewfinders sometime soon.

 

The new Nikon D90 has a 96% coverage pentaprism viewfinder but weighs 120g less, much closer to what midrange

film cameras weighed. This is important to active photographers - hikers, travellers etc. You should be able to get a

body with a good viewfinder (pentaprism, not pentamirror) plus good quality standard zoom (dare I suggest an EF-S

15-55/3.5-4.5 IS USM?) to weigh under 1kg.

[hawkman]

>>The new Nikon D90 has a 96% coverage pentaprism viewfinder but weighs 120g less, much closer to what midrange film cameras weighed. This is important to active photographers - hikers, travellers etc. You should be able to get a body with a good viewfinder (pentaprism, not pentamirror) plus good quality standard zoom (dare I suggest an EF-S 15-55/3.5-4.5 IS USM?) to weigh under 1kg.

 

<<

 

Canon uses pentaprism with 95% coverage, that 1% is not visible to your eye. Nikon weighs less because it is made of plastic and some magnesium (which is a very light alloy but heavier than plastic) Canon 50D chassis is entirely made of magnesium with weather seals and no plastic part.

[markci]

Well semiconductors rely on quantum mechanics for their operation. So I suppose once one these amazing new physical discoveries are made, our cameras may cease to function altogether (along with every other modern electronic device, chemical process, etc). At least we can cease having these stupid discussions on photo.net, because there won't be any computers.

[robert_reiss]

I had been wondering about buying a 10-22mm ef-s, or Tokina 116 lens for my 20-D rather than buying a 5D to use with my 16-35mm L lens. Would a lens of this type on a 50D be more like a 5D with 16-35mm L compared to using my 20D, (which would become a backup body)?

[andrew robertson]

Physics is a rough model of a system that is very very complex. Information theory informs that to build a completely accurate set

of the laws of physics, we would need a full scale simulation of the universe.

 

That being said, physics as we know it obviously can not be said to be encompassing and correct, as there is obviously room for

improvement. People thought Aristotle was all they needed at one point, and some day people will think our physics is a quaint

anachronism, the same way we look upon Aristotle. I don't want to undermine the physicists out there, or scientists of any kind,

but we are really treading new ground here, and I don't think we are just "about done" with physics.

[mars c]

"I had been wondering about buying a 10-22mm ef-s, or Tokina 116 lens for my 20-D rather than buying a 5D to use with my 16-35mm L lens. Would a lens of this type on a 50D be more like a 5D with 16-35mm L compared to using my 20D, (which would become a backup body)?"

 

Hello robert,

 

I have the 10-22, and it is a sharp and sturdy lens, image quality is without question, excelent. The only advantage of the 5d and 16-35 combo is the 2.8 aperture.

 

 

From Mark Ci "At least we can cease having these stupid discussions on photo.net, because there won't be any computers."

 

Stupid ? Fun, sometimes silly maybe, but never stupid.

[keith reeder]

@ Jim Larson:

 

Oh don't get me wrong, Jim - I'm certainly not averse to more AF points, but the fact is that the 40D's "mere" 9

AF points (cf. the D300's 51) have been used to *crucify* the Canon camera, despite the wealth of evidence out

there that not only does the 40D's AF acquit itself *very* well against the D300's, it actually surpasses it in

some circumstances.

 

Personally I find the 40D's AF to be *excellent* (including for Bird In Flight - BIF - photography, and it does a

great job regardless of the AF point configuration I'm using, *as long as I do my bit too*).

 

I expect the 50D to be at least as good if not better, even with "only" 9 AF points (although the 40D's AF is

clearly already too

fast and too sensitive for some folk, so the 50D's - assuming that Brutus Östling is right - will give 'em a

heart attack!)

 

9 good 'uns are better than a plethora of mediocre 'uns, I believe, and when I read comments about the "poor" 40D

AF, I have to wonder if *the camera* is really the problem...

[yakim_peled1]

9 is enough, I agree, but I wish they would have more space in them so they'd cover a larger percentage of the frame.

 

Happy shooting,

Yakim.

[donald_weston1]

I totally agree Yakim, I have been saying this even back to film AF cameras. really how hard would it be to put AF sensors in a "Rule of Thirds" distribution...really....a good nine would well be enough...jmho...Don

[b.j._segel]

Just got a pre-order announcment email from Calumet. Clicked on the link and their web site says $1399.99 and ships in 7-14 days.

[photos by dan elliott]

Boy, am I glad I didn't go out and buy the 40D.

[sami_lahtinen]

Daniel Elliott , Aug 29, 2008; 12:11 a.m.

Boy, am I glad I didn't go out and buy the 40D.

 

 

What an idiot comment?

[jim_larson1]

Yakim said: "9 is enough, I agree, but I wish they would have more space in them so they'd cover a larger percentage of the frame."

 

And I wish exactly the opposite. If the stupid AF point looks for contrast across a huge area. . . say a forearm to an ear . . .that makes F1.8 or F1.2 lenses (where the left eye is in focus but the right eye is not due to depth of field) impossible to use.

[robert lee]

"9 is enough, I agree, but I wish they would have more space in them ..."

 

I don't agree. I've 45 in the EOS-3 and could do with lots more. I wish Canon would bring back ECF as well on new DSLR offerings.

 

The whole point of small format equipment is nimbleness. The high end in the last generation of 135 SLR is still unmatched in some respects.

[cjogo]

Jeeze and I still carry a $25 EOS A2 for most of my jobs >> when I have to reach for digital ~~ a $300 20d does fine.

[cjogo]

SAMI

"What an idiot comment?" >>>>

"Daniel Elliott , Boy, am I glad I didn't go out and buy the 40D."

 

I may break-down and purchase a 50d >> when they drop down to a used market of $800 ....this time next year ...I remember when the 20d was priced @ the new 50d. Glad I did not go out and buy the 30d :-)

[melissa_klingerman]

As a 40D user I have to say this announcement doesn't excite me, there seems to be some nice advancements but really. I'll save my money and splurge on the next gen 5D when I move up.

[john fleshin]

On the question of Grammar, in UK English, I have often seen what we would term collective nouns treated as plurals, it sticks out to us in the colonies, well, to me, but then again, in the EU they use commas where we would use decimal points. I assumed it was a difference in accepted grammar. e.g. Ford, Jessops, or any business seem to be used the same as we would use a plural. Not having gone to school in England, I cannot add further, and am open to correction by them foreigners who contribute here.

 

I am not sure if it extends to Canadians and Australians, but am sure someone can explain this better than I.

 

Next week we can work on the common errors of using like in place of as. ;-)

 

When I use spell check, I often wonder who made the errors it finds, and often when I correct someone else's grammar, I make an error, but just listening to the news on the box in recent years seems to demonstrate the authors of the copy are not nearly as proficient wordsmiths as were my teacher Mom and Grandmother.

 

Perhaps Photo Net can find some editors to clean up our copy?

[obakesan]

Robert Lee said "<BLOCKQUOTE>

The whole point of small format equipment is nimbleness. The high end in the last generation of 135 SLR is still unmatched in some respects.

</BLOCKQUOTE>

"

<P>

actually aside from the fact that they produce digital images directly, I wonder in which way the D generation matches the functionality and performance of the older generation?

<P>

just a quick off the top of my head

<UL>

<LI> ECF - eye controlled focus </LI>

<LI> proper working DEP function </LI>

<LI> My old 1989 model 630 had 5 frames per second out of the box </LI>

<LI> view finder size </LI>

</UL>

<P>

... planned delivery schedules?

[anthony_hicks]

"open to correction by <i>them</i> foreigners who contribute here"

<p>

I assume that comment was tongue in cheek John? ;o)

[dan_hall4]

I think I will wait for the 60D to come out and then go and buy me another 40D for about $750.

[sbp]

"them foreigners who contribute here">>>

 

Do you mean like "them foreigners" who manufacture Canon, Nikon, and Hasselblad? Or, do you mean like those Americans who

are quick to criticize, but seem to have very little knowledge themselves regarding syntax or sentence structure?

[fotolopithecus]

Well, I've been doing a little research, and it seems that Canon "may" have packed a few too many pixels into the 50D sensor, if the talk I'm hearing from some 50D owners is to be believed. On the other hand, I haven't been able to find any serious tests of the camera so far,to confirm whether or not there are any noise, or dynamic range issues.Apparently they've packed 4.5mp/cm2 into the sensor as compared with 3.7mp/cm2 for the 12mp xsi. This whole gapless microlens deal helps to some degree from what I hear, but it remains to be seen how much. Anyone here know of any serious dpreview type tests done as of yet?

[pop_khan]

<p>Before considering other equipment eliminate the usual variables. Work on your technique for optimal sharpness: tripod or fast enough shutter speed to eliminate motion blur; the sweet spot for the lens. Work on your post processing.<br /> Sharpening alone is an art unto itself. What works for one camera design may not work for another. Study this thread in the Digital Darkroom forum (ignore some of the followup bickering in that thread, stick to Patrick Lavoie's info - he's got the experience and chops to back up his advice)</p>

<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="551" height="21">

<col width="64"></col>

<tbody>

<tr height="17">

<td width="64" height="17"><a href="http://www.upiq.com/api.php?pid=70528406">http://www.upiq.com/api.php?pid=70528406</a></td>

</tr>

</tbody>

</table>