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Next-Generation D-SLRs

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New models deliver technology advances for photographers of every level

This Article Features Photo Zoom

CANON EOS 50D
Breaking a tradition of 18-month, mid-level D-SLR introductions, Canon unveiled the EOS 50D just a year after the EOS 40D came out. And even though the 40D represented a major upgrade of its 30D predecessor, the 50D is a major upgrade of the 40D, with 50% more resolution, a new image processor, ISOs to 12,800, a fourfold increase in LCD monitor pixel count and much more. (Note that the 40D will remain in Canon’s lineup.)

New 15.1-Megapixel CMOS Sensor
The EOS 50D’s new 15.1-megapixel Canon CMOS image sensor provides 50% more pixels than the EOS 40D’s, yet is only 1.1% larger. Improved technology, including gapless microlenses over each pixel and advanced noise reduction, allows for ISO settings to 12,800, two stops more than the 40D’s top rating of ISO 3200.

New DIGIC 4 Image Processor
Canon’s DIGIC 4 image processor offers speedy operation, along with finer image detail and more natural colors than its excellent DIGIC III predecessor. Like the 40D, the 50D provides 14-bit A/D conversion, which can recognize 16,384 colors or brightness steps, four times as many as 12-bit conversion.

Quick Shooting
Despite the 50% increase in resolution, the EOS 50D’s maximum shooting rate is just a hair slower than its predecessor’s (6.3 fps vs. 6.5 fps). You can shoot bursts of up to 90 Large/Fine JPEGs using a UDMA CF card (up to 60 JPEGs with a standard CF card) or up to 16 RAW images at that rate.

9-Point AF System
The AF system is the same as the 40D’s, with all nine AF points working as cross-types with lenses of ƒ/5.6 or faster. A unique diagonally oriented central sensor provides enhanced precision with lenses of ƒ/2.8 or faster. Brought over from the pro EOS-1D Mark III is an AF Microadjustment feature that allows you to custom calibrate focusing for individual lenses.

EOS Integrated Cleaning System
While it incorporates the same Canon Self-Cleaning Sensor unit as the EOS 40D (which uses ultrasonic vibrations to remove dust from the low-pass filter in front of the image sensor each time you switch the camera on or off, and can be activated manually, the 50D also employs a new fluorine coating on the low-pass filter to minimize dust adhesion. You can have the camera map any remaining sensor dust and append it as Dust Delete Data to each image from that point on, then remove the spots automatically during postprocessing using software included with the camera.

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