Canon EOS 50D review

Although Canon's 10-million pixel Eos 40D was a capable contender for the top slot in the semi-pro market, it quickly lost out to the superior and pricier Nikon D300.

Now, though, using its considerable manufacturing muscle, Canon has introduced the Eos 50D to compete head-on with the D300 before Nikon has a chance to update it.

Although the outer magnesium shell is seemingly unchanged from the 40D, the Eos 50D packs a new 15.1-million pixel sensor, boasts improved weather sealing and carries a photo-quality (920K dot) 3in LCD for good measure.

As well as the new sensor, the 50D has Canon's new Digic 4 processor to handle 14-bit A/D conversion at up to 6.3 frames per second (fps) and noise reduction (NR). How well Digic 4 handles NR is crucial, as the 50D offers native sensitivity up to ISO3200 plus a two-stop expansion up to ISO12,800.

Like the 40D, the new Canon Eos is reassuringly solid, and while we can't vouch for its weatherproof abilities, both the card slot and battery compartment use foam rather than the more usual rubber gaskets as a sealing material. There are some cosmetic changes, too, as well as a few tweaks to the control set. The print button now doubles for Live View, and Canon has dropped one of the three handy custom shooting modes in favour a new Creative Auto (CA) mode. Aimed at beginners, with scales to denote sharpness and exposure using the new Quick Control data screen, the CA mode seems totally out of place.

Despite that, we like the new data screen. This enables you to make quick selections in various exposure modes like that used by Olympus and Sony. The new 3in panel is the best we've seen to date. With more effective reflection coatings and seemingly wider viewing angles, the screen even surpasses the excellent LCDs found on the current Nikon bodies.

We also like the new menu graphics, but too many of the camera's important features - including Highlight Tone Priority, Auto Lighting Optimiser and Mirror lockup - are still accessed from the lengthy custom setup screen. Nevertheless, the My Menu Settings screen can be used to register and recall up to six functions.

Features such as AF micro-adjustment with storage for as many as 20 lenses are lifted straight off Canon's pro-cameras, and a new Peripheral Illumination function with correction data presets for around 20 lenses to date is built in. Jpegs have the correction applied during capture, while Raw files are tagged for use with the supplied DPP software.

What's still missing from the 50D, and others in Canon's range, is wireless flash using the built-in pop-up flash as the commander (master), like that found on the semi-pro Nikon models. And although fast and highly accurate, the nine-point AF system is more in keeping with its entry-level DSLRs.

The viewfinder is a highlight, though, as are the Live View options, now expanded to include exposure simulation, contrast-detection AF and face detection. These work well, although face detection will only locate one face at a time.We were also impressed with the speed and accuracy of AF using the new Quick mode - there's no auto detection, but it's nothing if not speedy.

Picture quality is a strength, but shoehorning pixels onto a APS-C size sensor has some drawbacks. Noise levels are, by and large, well controlled - there's enough detail at low ISOs to keep most users happy - but performance is a bit of a mixed bag overall.

We noticed a lack of Raw headroom in files with sensitivity at just ISO400: even the slightest lifting of shadows using Aperture or Adobe Camera Raw, for example, produced very prominent chroma and luminance noise. However, while the coloured speckles can be cleaned up to a degree using software, noise levels are appreciably higher than the 10-megapixel 40D. And it's quite obvious that more NR is being applied leading to levels of detail that aren't much better than the 40D at high ISOs.