Archive for August 26th, 2008

Product summary

Canon EOS 50D

Manufacturer: Canon USA

Part Number: 2807B006

CNET editors’ take

• By: Lori Grunin
• Published on: 08/25/2008

(Credit: Canon USA)

Bringing another rumor cycle to an end, Canon has announced the EOS 50D, a follow-up to the popular 40D, which will remain available at least through the end of the year. Though the timing seems a bit surprising–the 40D is only a year old, and midrange dLSR cycles tend to run closer to 18 months rather than 12–it was probably inevitable once the Rebel XSi, which is very similar to the 40D, shipped.

Built around the identical body as the 40D–the only differences are the name plate and mode-dial bezel–the 50D brings with it a bump to 15 megapixels. According to Canon, the new sensor has smaller pixels than that of the 40D’s 10-megapixel version, but the company claims superior noise and image quality; 1.5 stops better, in fact, thanks to an improved manufacturing process and larger, gapfree microlenses that effectively result in the same light-sensitive area, according to Canon.

In combination with an upgrade to a newer version of the company’s image processor, dubbed Digic 4, Canon also says that the higher resolution won’t impose a significant performance penalty, and that the 50D will be able to maintain burst speeds close to the 40Ds. And now that the camera’s CompactFlash supports UDMA, the burst buffer can process more shots–JPEGs, at least.

And though it has a 3-inch LCD like the 40D, Canon has switched to the same higher-resolution display found on the Nikon D300

Some key differences:

50D
40D

Sensor
15.1-megapixel CMOS
10.1-megapixel CMOS

Sensitivity range
ISO 100 to ISO 12,800
ISO 100 to ISO 3,200

Image processor
Digic 4
Digic III

Continuous shooting
6.3 fps
90 JPEG/16 raw
(60 JPEG with non-UDMA card)
6.5fps
75 JPEG/17 raw

Autofocus
9-pt AF
all cross-type to f5.6
high-precision diagonal cross-type in center to f2.8
9-pt AF
all cross-type to f5.6

Price (body only)
$1,399
$1,099

The Digic 4 enables some other new capabilities, including face detection in Live View mode (up to 35 faces), additional settings for the Auto Lighting Optimizer and high-ISO noise reduction (low, medium, and strong), and user-requested variable raw sizes of 7 and 3.8 megapixels. There are also some tweaks to the autofocus system, for example compensation for pulsed versus constant illumination, and support for in-camera lens databases that enable it to perform vignette correction and ensure undergraded illumination across the entire frame. Finally, Canon has improved the dust prevention, with a fluorine coating in front of the low-pass filter to deal with sticky dust.

Canon expects to ship the 50D in early October. The body will run $1,399, and a kit with the f3.5-5.6 28-135mm IS USM lens will cost $1,599.

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It’s been sooo many years since I was last back in ol’ E-town (Emporia, KS), and I’m with very mixed emotions that my 20th high school reunion that is coming up this weekend (with the first event being Friday night at the bar and grill that used to be the movie theater that I worked at all though those HS years).

For the most part I haven’t seen almost any of those people since graduation day. Now that I think about it, I think I might be able to say that I have seen none of them since graduation day. Most of the people after that which I hung out with were all from the year above me.

I was never very popular (a classic 80s spaz/geek/nerd), so didn’t know a great many of them. I’m finding myself going back over my yearbooks to match names to faces. I wonder what it’ll be like this weekend.

I have arranged for some meetings with some of my favorite ol teachers, and can hardly wait to catch up with them.

Oh Pru Schmidt, I need to see if I can run into her while I’m back. If anyone ever could be blamed for being a formative teacher/mentor, it’d be her and Mr. Chapman.

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