50D has no advantage to 20D based on comments I have heard so far

[david_john_appleton]

Bob

Yes the spot meter is 1 of the reasons a wonted a 40D,

 

got the S/H 5D i get instead has the spot meter but i now don't use it because when i was waiting to get the 5D i came across a soliger 1 degree spot meter for just over 40 GBP

 

i find it so much more handy as the camera can stay on the tripod so not always on off on off the tripod .

if you use spot metering a lot can recommend one big time

 

I think everybody has different reasons for upgrading. For me the big thing was the screen as i like manual flash often using 4 to 6 vivitar 285/285s so have to keep looking at the screen to see if i have the effect i want so not easy on a 1.8 inch

 

The image below was for Thar agent,

Is an example ,4 guns used, was trying the get the black shirts to stand out on black background (this image was not the final one and i think half edited but is the only one on this new PC)

A 3 inch screen would have made life much much more easy

[www.photo.netphotoslan]

Then I wouldn't recommend buying a 40D or 50D. The upgrades and improvements aren't worth the cost in my view -

assuming your 20D is in good working order of course. The 20D remains a world class camera. Just compare it to the

new Nikon junk out on the street. OK, a 50D give you a better LCD, yada, yada.

 

A better investment is some new "L" glass!

 

If you are really considering upgrading your working camera - then I would look to upgrading your sensor to the "H" size

in the 1DM3 or go full frame (5D, 5DM2 or 1DSM3). As one that now uses my 30D as a backup - using a 1DM3 is a

HUGE upgrade in image quality, viewfinder, speed and build. I'll keep my 30D as a backup, but the 1DM3 is the one I

grab out of the bag.

 

Good luck! Go buy some new glass to scratch that itch!

[alan_myers]

Over time as people learn to work with it, and softwares/firmwares are tweaked to get the best out of it, I bet

the 50D will just get better and better.

 

Is it perfect? No, only moderate.

 

Is it a big jump from the 40D? No.

 

But the 40D was even less of an upgrade from the 30D, and the 30D was pretty minor upgrade from the 20D.

 

I use a pair of 30Ds with a 10D as a backup. The 40D was just never 'enough different' to make me get out my

credit card.

But I will almost certainly be replacing all three cameras with a trio of 50D in the new year. But, that's just

me... What you choose to do may be different and there's nothing at all wrong with your decision. .

 

There have been a number of advancements in the 50D that make it well worthwhile... to me. Wait until Noise

Ninja and Adobe and others come out with new versions that can really wring the most out of this and some other

cameras' high ISO files. It'll happen.

 

These days, software lags hardware development by some months at least. Even magazines and book publishers are

having a pretty tough time keeping up with the pace. There are 'new' books being published on Photoshop CS3, even

though CS4 was just announced last month! Remember, CS3 won't suddenly stop working just because CS4 comes

available. And, 10, 20, 30 and 40D are all just as capable as they ever were, even though 50D is now available.

[kbroderick]

Just to update, I did print the image I attached above at 8x10, and I rather like it. There's some chroma noise, visible when

I stick my nose about 4-8" from the print, but it looks great (to me, at least) at arm's length.

 

I also tried printing an ISO 6400 print 8x10; the results were rather yucky, as could be expected.

[martin_chamberlain1]

I've thinking about a second body to work with my 20D and so naturally gravitated towards the new 50D. But I've now read two reviews (one on www.dxomark.com/ and one on www.dpreview.com/ ) that show the 50D to be clearly worse in terms of image quality than the 40D. I find this astounding.

 

Are there any readers with genuine first hand experience think that their 50D has better image quality then their 40D?

[photohns]

Though it was interesting--I see some 50D's being sold almost practically new in the classifieds. If people are totally happy with them I guess they wouldn't be selling them.

[john_alexander]

I still marvel at the quality of shots I took with the Canon D30! YES, that's the 1st Canon engineered D-SLR, the one with the D

'before' the number, circa 2000. That 3 megapixel gem took some mighty fine photos. Some pros compared them to 5 or 6

megapixel photos from other cameras of the day because it used a "CMOS" sensor, which created smoother images than

cameras with CCD sensors.

 

I made my way up the ladder: D60, 10D, 20D and now 30D. I've been very happy with the 30D for over two years now. (That's

roughly 10 years in "digital" years.) Looking at real-world photo comparisons on sites like imaging-resource, I really don't see too

much difference in shots taken with the 30D vs. the 40D/50D. Yes, they have more pixels, but the 30D can provide enough

resolution to print pretty big photos.

 

That said, I have my pre-order in for a 5D MkII. I was going to go for the 50D for the AF fine tuning, bigger/better LCD

and faster AF but, I decided that the lure of the full-frame sensor on the 5D MkII was just too much to ignore. I want to finally get

the best out of my "L" glass and wide angle lenses! Yes, I could get a 5D MkI for cheaper, but I still want the AF micro adjustability (I've had issues),

bigger/better LCD and higher ISO performance (I shoot a lot of indoor concerts and events). Oh, and the HD video is something I will definitely be

taking advantage of. It's a worthwhile upgrade (for me).

[manuel barrera houston,]

Noise is not that bad, some times can even be put to good use, use my 20d above 400 all the time when I have my long lens, But I don't peep at pixels, but the 5D is miles ahead in the noise and IQ department, but in very low light no flash, the noise is there, nothing that noise ninja can't make a little better and acceptable.

[yakim_peled1]

>> The crux of matter is that I usually want to exhaust my camera before upgrading. I dont want to rush to upgrade unless I know that camera has specifications that is really important to me which are imgae quality and lack of noise.

 

Then why not get the 5D or 5D Mk II? If hight ISO is your goal then FF is the way to go.

 

Happy shooting,

Yakim.